Many modern organizations are striving to become more diverse, but to often struggle to put it into practice because they narrow it down to gender, race and religion. Expanding the definition, a diverse workplace is composed of employees with varying characteristics including but not limited to gender, ethnicity, education, religious and political beliefs as well as socioeconomic background.
Diversity is a cultural thing. It is about fostering a sense of belonging, an inclusive culture that allows and encourages the employees to pursue their dreams by participating in the company activities that make best use of their talents and skills. A culture that reinforces their nature to the benefit of the organization.
So, if diversity is the buzzword, the key word here is inclusivity.
Diversity without inclusivity is like a body without a soul. Empty!
From a leader’s perspective, building an inclusive culture is challenging and requires a great level of self-awareness. As leaders we must take an inward look and face your inner emotions, thoughts, strengths, weaknesses and fears. We must be truly self-aware. We must have empathy. For sure it is not easy and it requires a lot of courage and a lot of self-confidence.
From my experience, most leaders fail to promote an inclusive culture because they don’t have the courage to go deep and they choose to follow the easy path: They reflect ONLY on their strengths and then they build upon them because it makes them more confident. Being confident is a nice feeling but confidence without emotions and thoughtfulness results to lack of empathy and in turn to Arrogance.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
The problem with Arrogance is that it turns your world smaller; it makes you to “dismiss” people as incapable if they do not understand you. You categorize them and when it comes to asses them, you turn the attention back to yourself. You are not interested sitting down with them to find a common ground. You are reluctant to embrace the diversity of their backgrounds and their perspectives. You are forcing them to silence and isolation losing their talent, innovation, creativity and contributions.
We live in the digital era and wide demographics alone will not make a difference unless the people within the organization feel authentically welcomed. If you are hesitant about it just watch the following video from Accenture. Always remember that authentic leadership Starts With I not with …. A(rrogance). #INCLUSIONSTARTSWITHI
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