What Makes an Inclusive Leader?

Five key behaviors that set them apart.

by

and

Lisa Mascolo

by

and

Lisa Mascolo

September 27, 2023

Illustration by Chen Wu

Summary.

Leaders play a critical role in fostering inclusivity within their organizations. They account for a difference of up to 70 percentage points in employees’ experience of belongingness and psychological safety, and inclusive leaders see a 17% increase in team performance, a 20% increase in decision-making quality, and a 29% increase in team collaboration. Inclusive leaders also cut down employee attrition risk. If inclusive leaders are so influential, then inclusive traits like humility, curiosity, and empathy should be treated as critical leadership capabilities rather than simply desirable. The authors conducted structured interviews with 40 DEI award–winning or peer-nominated exemplary inclusive leaders from a wide variety of job functions, organizations, and industries. They identified five key behaviors that help leaders make their organizations more inclusive.

Organizational leaders are increasingly leveraging inclusion to attract talent, retain employees, and motivate high creativity and excellence. Indeed, inclusive organizations are 73% more likely to reap innovation revenue, 70% more likely to capture new markets, up to 50% more likely to make better decisions, and up to 36% more likely to have above-average profitability.

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Wei Zheng is the Richard R. Roscitt Endowed Chair Professor in Leadership at Stevens Institute of Technology. Her research, teaching, and practice focus on leadership and diversity. Her research work has appeared in top scholarly and practitioner outlets. She is currently co-leading Stevens Inclusive Leadership Certificate Program to train inclusive leaders and Stevens Leadership Portal that disseminates actionable insights at the intersection of leadership, technology, and inclusivity.
Jennifer Kim is a research assistant professor at Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Tufts School of Medicine. Her research and consulting focus on quantifying the impact of DEI initiatives in drug development.
RK

Ronit Kark is a full professor of leadership and organizational psychology in the department of psychology at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and was the founder and director of the Gender in the Field Graduate Program. She is also a Distinguished Research Professor at the Exeter School of Business, UK, and an Anna Boyksen Awardee and Fellow for the Study of Gender and Diversity at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). She sits on different NGO boards to promote diversity and gender equity and is an academic nomad, traveling internationally to give keynote presentations and workshops on leadership and diversity topics.
LM

Lisa Mascolo is an accomplished C-suite leader in strategy, business development, change management, IT, and operations. Lisa is an Accenture founding partner and a trustee and graduate of the Stevens Institute of Technology, where she serves as chair of alumni & development and vice chair of nomination & governance. She is a director of the MedStar Washington Hospital Center Board in Washington, DC, and a member of the board of trustees of EWAAB.

New!

HBR Learning

Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Course

Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.

How to build a better, more just workplace.

Start Course

Learn More & See All Courses

What Makes an Inclusive Leader?

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