Closing the Inclusive Leadership Perception Gap
April 24, 2024
By Trish Foster
It’s well-established that inclusive leaders are vital to successful workplaces. They create positive, agile cultures where employees feel valued, know their contributions matter and believe they have a voice.
Research indicates that inclusive leaders create genuine human connections among employees.1 They embody empathy, learning agility and humility.2 They inspire people to contribute, perform and fulfill their potential.3 They are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB).4 And they are humble, aware of bias – including their own – curious about others, culturally intelligent and collaborative.
The cultures that successful inclusive leaders create are marked by trust, encouragement, empathy and a shared sense of values and purpose.5 Employees feel free to question the status quo without fear of backlash. In short, they feel psychologically safe, a concept Harvard Business School Professor Amy Edmondson uses to describe environments where employees can “take risks, to express their ideas and concerns, to speak up with questions and to admit mistakes — all without fear of negative consequences.”6
- The evidence in support of an inclusive leadership approach is ample: Employees in inclusive organizations experience reductions in burnout, greater job satisfaction and deeper commitments to their organization7
- A full 94% of those in the Generation Z age cohort expect companies to take a stand on important social issues8
- Workplace culture has become a top criterion on job candidates’ lists of important factors when vetting potential employers9
Despite this persuasive data, a troublesome “disconnect” between the views of senior leaders and workers often exists. Research indicates that:
- While a significant majority10 of leaders strongly believe they are creating empowering environments where employees can be authentic and thrive, data11 shows that a strong minority of employees believe that their employer’s actions and values are aligned
- 90% of CEOs and CFOs12 report a positive culture being important to their organization, yet a majority of leaders13 are viewed as lacking compassion or being completely unaware of how they are doing in the eyes of their employees
- While 79% of business leaders say that an organization’s mission or purpose is integral to its success, only 40% of U.S. workers strongly agree that the purpose of their organization makes them feel their job is important14
While an authentic commitment to DEIB is a hallmark of inclusive leadership, here again, leaders and workers often disagree. Gallup reports that 97% of human resources leaders think their organization has made changes that have improved DEIB, while most employees believe their DEIB needs are not being met and a third say they don’t know whether their leaders are making DEIB-related changes.15
The perception gap extends even to frontline managers. McKinsey-LeanIn.org research shows that 60-75% of such supervisors believe they engage in a range of inclusive behaviors, only 28-45% of those they manage agree.16
Why are leaders and employees out of sync with their teams when it comes to inclusion, and what can be done to close the divide?
A combination of factors helps answer why. A “perfect storm” of remote work, hybrid work, pandemic-related workplace upheaval, changing demographics, generational change, social activism, political polarization and the growth of social media’s impact make it hard for leaders and employees to agree.17
While leaders can’t solve all challenges, they can eliminate the existing perception gap around inclusion by taking substantive action that will reap rewards for their organization and individual employees. Here is a step-by-step approach:
- Check your authenticity as a leader
If your employees don’t believe you are as committed to inclusion as you think you are, start by asking, “Why?” Determine whether you embody the key traits of an inclusive leader. If you are lacking in any area, commit to building competency in that trait. Deloitte identifies six signature competencies:18 - Commitment – stay the course
- Courage – talk about your imperfections, vulnerabilities, risk-taking
- Cognizance – recognize your own biases
- Curiosity – embrace new ideas and pursue growth
- Cultural intelligence – recognize that everyone sees and experiences the world differently
- Collaboration – leverage diversity, because diverse teams are greater than the sum of their parts
- Assess your organization’s culture. Please see my comment
McKinsey notes that no metric or benchmarking tool, used alone, is effective; therefore, organizations must employ multiple assessment strategies.19 It’s important to remember that even anonymous surveys are subject to bias because employees can be influenced by what they believe their employer considers to be an acceptable response. Combine surveys and in-person feedback (focus groups, listening sessions and one-to-one conversations) to empower employees to provide information in a variety of ways. Share your findings with employees, even if you are not where you want to be on a certain metric. Transparency about DEIB data is a way to lead by example.20
- Make an organization-wide commitment to inclusion.
Get your employees involved. When employees are engaged, they are more willing to give leaders the input they need, hear what their leaders are communicating and embrace change.21 Invite employees at all levels to help craft your organization’s inclusion goals and values. Together, determine how all workers will be involved and held accountable. A shared sense of values and mission are core to an inclusive workplace. So, the very act of engaging employees in this step of the process makes leaders and their organizations more inclusive.
- Approach inclusion with a systems-human approach.
A comprehensive approach to inclusion combines both people and systems strategies. While the human element is paramount, DEI strategist and author Lily Zheng writes in the Harvard Business Review that backlash to inclusion can occur when emphasis on individual, “human-centered” approaches takes too much precedence over systems and processes. She adds that, “Because people are strongly motivated to protect their own sense of self-esteem, competence and ‘inherent goodness,’” they can perceive DEI interventions focused on peoples’ behavior negatively.22
The systems-human approach ensures comprehensive action, incorporating job design, recruitment, hiring, benefits, onboarding, promotion and training. This formula also equips employees with appropriate knowledge, including foundational information about DEIB. Remember also to review and revise benefits and flexible work options to ensure equitable, inclusive design.
- Prioritize psychological safety.
Google’s Project Aristotle, a well-known study examining teams and how they work, found that the single most important factor influencing team effectiveness was psychological safety.23 On these teams, workers felt confident that no one would shame another member for making a mistake, questioning the status quo or offering a new idea. Researcher Amy Edmonson notes that, “Organizations with higher levels of psychological safety perform better on almost any metric compared to those with a low psychological safety score.”24 HubSpot Executive Matthew Corritore highlights the importance of trust for underrepresented individuals, “Establishing trusting social bonds with colleagues helps overcome outsider status and leverage one’s distinct attributes.”25
- Communicate at every step in the process.
Poor communication is a significant contributor to the inclusion perception gap between leaders and employees; therefore, communication related to inclusion should be almost constant.
While most businesses assert that culture is a competitive advantage, they seldom explain the link between values and performance, or they do so too abstractly. Instead, spell out your inclusion values, goals, processes, successes and setbacks wherever you can. Let workers know where you as a leader and your organization stand in your inclusion journey. Describe your “systems-human” approach. Leverage your internal communication channels and social media. Hold town halls and other in-person forums.
Think about external communications, too. Do you talk about culture on your website? HubSpot included this: “Culture doesn’t just help attract amazing people, it amplifies their abilities and helps them do their best work.”26 Readers know that inclusive culture is a HubSpot priority.
- Focus on culture factors that fuel innovation.
Research indicates that workers’ willingness and ability to innovate is almost five times greater in businesses with a robust equality culture -- where everyone can advance and thrive – than in companies with low equality cultures. And while diversity is important, an “innovation mindset” becomes nearly eight times greater when diversity is combined with a culture of equality.27
Innovation is essential to success. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet says that “In this era of widespread disruption, businesses and organizations need to respond with continuous innovation to succeed.28 Our research makes it clear that tapping the power of workplace culture is essential to unleashing innovation across the company.” Empower your employees by focusing on Accenture’s “top ten” workplace culture factors influencing an innovation mindset: 29 - Provide employee skills training
- Offer flexibility around training times and formats
- Make virtual/remote work a common practice
- Actively support flexible work requests
- Give employees the freedom to be creative and innovative
- Model work-life balance
- Build a workplace where no one feels excluded
- Participate in women’s networks (employee resource groups) regardless of your gender
- Demonstrate support for employees’ needs to balance work with other commitments
- Assemble a diverse leadership team
- Serve as a role model.
The evidence is overwhelmingly clear, inclusive workplaces begin and end with leaders who embody inclusion and imbed it throughout their organization.30 They serve as authentic role models. Accenture identifies “culture makers” as leaders who hold themselves accountable and believe they need to serve as models for their employees.31 The good news? These types of leaders – although only a small percent of all business leaders – run organizations that are growing more than twice as fast as those of their peers!
Actively demonstrate inclusive behavior in everything you do. Take concrete actions both big and small. Tell your team how you manage your own challenges. Practice active inquiry and listening. Model vulnerability, compassion and other “high EQ” traits to normalize them in your organization.
MassCPAs, in its report, Workplace Inclusion: An Imperative for Change in the Accounting Profession, addresses the need for inclusion in the accounting industry. The publication provides extensive best practices that build upon strategies outlined in this article. Learn more at masscpas.org/DEIBreport.
Trish Foster (she/her) is a diversity, equity and inclusion change agent and independent consultant at Trish Foster Consulting. Contact her at trish@trishfosterconsulting.com.
Footnotes
Bush, Michael and Christopher Tkaczyk. “Why 2020 Marks the Era of the “For All” Leader.” Fortune, 18 February 2020, https://fortune.com/2020/02/18/100-best-companies-2020-for-all-leader/ Web. (Bush and Tkaczyk)
Grieser, Randy et al. The Culture Question: How to Create a Workplace Where People Like to Work. ACHIEVE. 2019. (Grieser et al.)
“Building a Workforce Where Belonging is the Rule-Not the Exception.” Cognizant Reports, November 2017, https://www.cognizant.com/whitepapers/building-a-workforce-where-belonging-is-the-rulenot-the-exception-codex3121.pdf Web. (“Building a Workforce”)
Bourke, Juliet and Andrea Espendido. “Why Inclusive Leaders Are Good for Organizations, and How to Become One.” Harvard Business Review, 8 April 2020, https://hbr.org/2019/03/why-inclusive-leaders-aregood-for-organizations-and-how-to-become-one Web. (Bourke and Espendido, “Why Inclusive Leaders”)
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:5f716157-079c-30f9-9a87-4318413109a7
https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/the-equity-imperative.html
Shellenbarger, Sue. “The Dangers of Hiring for Cultural Fit.” The Wall Street Journal, 23 September 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dangers-of-hiringfor-cultural-fit-11569231000 Web. (Shellenbarger)
United Minds. Cultural Vigilance: A Corporate Imperative. 2019 (United Minds)
Shook, Ellen and Julie Sweet. “Getting to Equal 2020: The Hidden Value of Culture Makers.” Accenture, 2020, https://www.accenture.com/us-en/about/inclusion-diversity/culture-equality-research Web. (“Getting to Equal”)
Fuqua School of Business. “How Corporate Culture Affects the Bottom Line.” Duke University, 12 November 2015, https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/duke-fuqua-insights/corporate-culture Web. (Fuqua)
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/267014/one-employee-question-leaders-afford-ignore.aspx
HBR; Research: Where Employees Think Companies’ DEIB Efforts Are Failing by Jeremie Brecheisen
McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org. Women in the Workplace 2019. (McKinsey and LeanIn.Org, 2019)
3 sources
https://hbr.org/2018/03/divided-we-lead.html
McKinsey & Company. Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters. May 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Featured%20Insights/Diversity%20and%20Inclusion/Diversity%20wins%20How%20inclusion%20matters/Diversity-wins-How-inclusion-matters-vF.
HBR 7 Metrics to Measure Your Organization’s DEI Progress by Lee Jourdan
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/327371/how-to-build-better-company-culture.aspx
To Avoid DEI Backlash, Focus on Changing Systems -- Not People, Lily Zheng, September 21, 2022, HBR
https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/
https://fearlessorganization.com/
https://hbr.org/2020/01/the-new-analytics-of-culture
Dowell, Erin and Marlette Jackson. ““Woke-Washing” Your Company Won’t Cut It.” Harvard Business Review, 27 July 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/07/wokewashing-your-company-wont-cut-it Web. (Dowell and Jackson)
Shook, Ellen and Julie Sweet. “Getting to Equal 2020: The Hidden Value of Culture Makers.” Accenture, 2020, https://www.accenture.com/us-en/about/inclusion-diversity/culture-equality-research Web.(“Getting to Equal”)