How to Lead a Diverse Workforce

Last week, I had the pleasure of serving on a panel, sponsored by the International Leadership Association, to discuss inclusive leadership, with experts such as Bernardo Ferdman, an author and consultant who has written about best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); Cindy Pace, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for MetLife; and my colleague, friend, and former student, Stefanie K. Johnson.

Stefanie has a best-selling book entitled Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams. This book looks at how leaders, and followers, can foster inclusion in groups and organizations.

She begins with the premise that there are two basic human needs and explores how these relate to inclusion. These are: the need to be unique and the need to belong.

I’m going to try to summarize the main lessons from Stefanie’s book (although there is so much more included in there).

1. Uniqueness

To satisfy this basic need, inclusive leaders need to:

• Support diversity by recognizing and embracing differences.
• Empathize in order to understand others’ perceptions and experiences.
• Learn from others who hold different viewpoints and opinions.
• Be fair and realize that it is critical to treat everyone equitably.

2. Belongingness

To satisfy this basic need requires leaders to:

• Be transparent so that members know where the leader is coming from.
• Empower and hold high expectations that members will contribute in meaningful ways—the well-known psychological construct called the Pygmalion Effect.
• Align by actively working to bring in diverse team members and orienting everyone around shared goals.
• Motivate by building spirit and making an appreciation for diversity and inclusion a fundamental part of the organization’s values.

Being an inclusive leader is not easy. It involves doing both “internal” and “external” work.

Internal work means that leaders need to become aware of their own identities, as well as their own biases and prejudices. Leaders also have to learn more about the identities of the people they lead.

External work involves understanding how the leader’s behavior impacts others, and how patterns of behavior might promote or inhibit inclusion and acceptance. As in all areas of leadership, getting feedback is important—whether that come from followers, peers, mentors, or coaches.

Some ideas:

• Think of ways that you can recognize followers’ uniqueness, but also their sense of belonging.
• Do a “diversity audit” of your own team and organization. What are the various identities of those you work with? What challenges have you encountered? What strategies can you come up with to improve your ability to work in your diverse environment?
• Make diversity, equity, and inclusion a core part of your organization’s mission and your vision for it. How can you create a culture that values DEI?