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ALL VOICES ON DECK: HOW INCLUSIVENESS CAN HELP DEFINE YOUR LEADERSHIP STYLE

2017; Wiley; Volume: 2017; Issue: 85 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/ltl.20300

1531-5355

Rebecca Shambaugh,

Gender Diversity and Inequality

“All voices on deck.” When advising on leadership development for the twenty-first century, this is the rallying cry that I offer to Fortune 500 companies and senior leaders alike. Finding ways to leverage an organization’s full span of thinking styles and problem-solving approaches for both women and men is key to inclusive leadership, which is rapidly growing in importance throughout all corners of corporate America and beyond. The rationale is not because it’s a nice thing to do, but, rather, it’s a smart business thing to do. What exactly is inclusive leadership? Simply put, I like to say that inclusion is the new diversity. Striving for traditional measures of diversity—creating a fairer and more balanced workforce based on equality by gender, and other measures—is of course still critical. But an increasing number of leaders and organizations worldwide have realized that we collectively need to raise the bar on this relatively limited definition. These leaders are aware that diversity can’t be maximally leveraged without also considering how to create greater gender inclusion in the workplace. It may sound like splitting hairs if you’re unfamiliar with the nuance behind the terminology. But inclusive leadership means focusing on creating diversity initiatives that move beyond striving for greater balance in integrating both women and men from different demographic categories into our work environments. When structuring their teams, inclusive leaders gender consider not only how people are defined by external differences, but also how people think and problem-solve. In short, successful teams of the future will highly value inclusion as well as gender diversity, and will begin to prioritize how to combine each individual’s unique perspective to help companies more effectively solve challenges and reach business goals. As compelling as this vision is, there is a Catch-22 of inclusive leadership: namely, that many of the leaders currently controlling corporate boardrooms prefer that the culture—particularly at the leadership level—remain at status quo; this is how they feel safe. Yet it is important to move beyond this type of “Like prefers like” thinking, and there are many compelling reasons to do so. A few examples may help illuminate why this is so important. I recently met with a CEO of a major technology company—let’s call him Mike. Mike had asked me to meet with him because he was getting pressure from his board and now shareholders regarding the lack of diversity on his executive committee. Based on a recent board meeting, he said several of the members were concerned that the representation of his executive committee and senior leadership team did not reflect their major customers and the demographics of today’s diverse workforce. The board firmly stated to Mike that this needed to be addressed. Reluctantly, Mike also shared with me that he just lost his only female executive, and he was surprised this had happened, because Mike and his leadership team had recently implemented a mentorship program to emphasize the importance of diversity and women in leadership. This is not the first such conversation I’ve had with a top executive, and what I tell them is this: though their previous leadership models aren’t necessarily “broken,” these frameworks alone will no longer move companies in the direction they want to go. In the past decade, the business environment has changed dramatically. “Talking the talk” of diversity is no longer enough; leaders must walk the walk of inclusion. In an inclusive culture, all participants are able to share their best ideas. When people feel psychologically safe to be themselves, they are more likely to speak up and take the risks needed to succeed. What’s more, inclusive leaders understand that humanity matters, not just efficiency. They encourage people on their teams to store away their “work faces” and be themselves. Inclusive leadership is really quite a simple concept: it’s about giving everyone a chance to be heard. If you can cultivate this type of work environment as a leader, you’ll become part of the change that our organizations need. When we bring all voices on deck, we make possible the emergence of leadership teams that can leverage diverse strengths while integrating the group’s full potential of creative insights. That’s what we all need to solve tomorrow’s most challenging problems. Rebecca Shambaugh is an internationally recognized gender-balanced leadership expert, author, keynote speaker, blogger for the Huffington Post and contributing editor for Harvard Business Review. She is president of SHAMBAUGH, a global leadership development organization, and founder of Women In Leadership and Learning (WILL), one of the first executive leadership development programs for female leaders. Rebecca has been appeared on CNBC, NPR, and ABC, and is the author of the bestselling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor, and Make Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results. For more information visit her website www.shambaughleadership.com.