Assessing your inclusion impact

- Leaders play an instrumental role in creating an equitable workplace environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging and inclusion. They possess the unique abilities to recognize and highlight each team member's individual strengths. They provide psychological safety for employees to share their thoughts and ideas freely. They encourage different ways of thinking and doing things and ensure all voices are heard and amplified, not just those who readily speak up or speak louder. They make tough decisions that may not be popular but are in the best interest of the organization. Moreover, inclusive leaders recognize that talent comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, ethnicities, personalities, cultures, and the like, and they embrace it as the new normal for achieving competitive advantage, high performance, and business success. Too many leaders do not possess these skill sets, nor do they demonstrate them consistently, and they are unsure of how effective their inclusive practices are stacking up. I challenge you to review the bulleted list above and consider where you excel and where you need to improve. In addition to the list, here are a few assessment questions for you to consider. Use the notebook feature to rate your response to each statement on a scale of one to five, with one being strongly disagree and five being strongly agree. Be honest with yourself, but don't answer them from an aspirational perspective, meaning what you would and hope you're doing. Answer them from a consistent practice perspective. Additional questions can be found in the exercise files. Assessing yourself. Do I have a clear understanding of what every team member values and expects from me as their leader? Do I regularly gather feedback from all members of my team to understand their unique needs, goals, motivations, and preferences? Do I ensure that my team members are paid equitably for the work they do? Do I actively promote a culture of inclusion and belonging within my organization? Am I committed to transparency and open communication within my organization regarding our values and mission and commitment to inclusion? I ensure that I'm aware of my own biases and I work to minimize them in decision making. If you rated yourself a five on all or most of them, congratulations. Keep up the great work. If you rated yourself mostly fours, identify the one to two areas where you rated yourself lower and commit to getting better. If you rated yourself a three or below on most of them, consider obtaining a mentor who demonstrates the skills you need. Attend training programs and take the necessary development steps needed to close those gaps and seek out feedback on your progress from your team. Knowing your strengths and areas for development in becoming an inclusive leader will better position you to operate more effectively in leading top talent and developing them to reach their full potential. It will also allow you to tap into a broad spectrum of ideas and solutions for connecting and meeting the needs of a more diverse customer base. This concludes the section on the changing role of leadership. Join me for the next chapter as we dive into the skills and competencies needed.