Inclusive Leadership Partnerships Are Necessary For Successful Inclusion.
I've said it before, and I'll repeat it: managers who treat their employees poorly work against achieving the authenticity and inclusive environments they say they are for.
Let me share two examples of what I mean by treating employees poorly:
Take away the employee's voice: A manager removes an employee's voice by demonstrating ongoing exclusionary practices (i.e., delivery or handling of microaggressions) in the workplace.
Disempowerment of employees: A manager who cannot appreciate diverse perspectives impedes the genius and gifts of employees, ultimately minimizing work contributions. Employees and the company alike suffer from these actions.
It is vital to regularly (I don't mean micromanaging here) check in on managers to hold them accountable for upholding organizational values such as diversity and inclusion. Work with the managers to provide examples of deliberately inclusive approaches to leverage with managing teams. Additionally, pay special attention to managers adhering to the organization's code of valuing all voices and highlighting the power of each employee.
Upholding inclusion, teamwork, collaboration, and other organizational values is critical to avoid pitfalls that tarnish the employer brand. If that's not enough motivation, failing to do so can also cause legal and financial ramifications.
For inclusive company leaders wanting more for the organization and its managers, I've outlined some suggestions for tackling exclusionary hiccups. These will bolster the work environment:
Hold Managers Accountable By Providing Tools To Create and Foster Inclusion In the Workplace
First and foremost, the organization must not assume that all managers have the necessary skills and knowledge to lead successfully. Starbucks remains an example of the potentially costly impact of manager situations that have gone awry regarding inclusion. Leaders who take the initiative to impart inclusive skills will do well in creating inclusion in the workplace.
The key to success. The golden key that says success opens the door.
That said, accountability also works from the employee side. However, the managerial teams must be open to receiving personalized feedback on inclusive leadership performance—or lack of it—from all directions. Develop a reputation for listening to all employees. The wise ones will transform the company for the better.
When managers get it wrong, the workplace can become less-than-great, causing the company to lose the talent it worked hard to attract and retain.
I applaud the managers who regularly take action to create a thriving, inclusive culture, using their power to make a workforce that feels included and valued.
The McKinsey Talks Talent Podcast episode "The Elusive Inclusive Workplace" unpacks inclusion to showcase employees' expectations of organizations regarding inclusion. Employees want fairness and opportunity. Employees want to trust and be trusted.
But if managers haven't received—or heeded—recent and consistent training in effective leadership and stopping microaggressions, trust, opportunity, and fairness will vanish.
Try creating resources for managers that provide improved solutions. These solutions allow every teammate to contribute and collaborate.
One avenue worth exploring is providing managers access to multiple educational sources. These include both types of training: relevant conferences on diversity and inclusive coaching experiences.
Be sure to leverage available learning and development teams to provide updated training. The SHRM Inclusion Conference is one example of a conference focused on building inclusive leadership skills. This conference feeds conversations centered around inclusion needs.
Its All About Relationships clouds
How Organizations Can Use Impactful Resources To Strengthen Manager/ Employee Relationships
Secondly, it is crucial to empower managers to stop poor management. Provide tools to replace default management actions with effective ones. Show managers how to overcome challenges. Stress that they build fairness, opportunity, teamwork, and trust.
Conversely, it imparts practices wherein employees have outlets to highlight their challenges. Then, address such challenges.
Employees need good managers, and managers need good employees. Strategies for course correction include:
- Provide safe coaching spaces to build confidence in exploring and unpacking employee-manager dynamics.
- Develop a plan of action and implement it consistently.
- Provide support from HR business partners.
These three provide the beginnings of a toolkit that outlines how to stop managers from creating a toxic environment.
Determine to no longer avoid the issue of poor leadership. Otherwise, organizations risk sabotaging progress with inclusion goals.
