Can Inclusive Leadership Nurture Organizational Flexibility?

Over the years, the leadership field has developed substantially, and it is still developing. Interestingly, there’s no one best leadership model. Relatively earlier models of leadership, such as transformational leadership, were focused on the leader himself/herself. However, relatively newer forms of leadership, such as authentic, servant, and inclusive leadership, are more focused on subordinates. Recently, inclusive leadership has become an important part of corporate requirements, especially in developing countries, due to the increased emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

What is inclusive leadership? 

There are many ways of looking at inclusive leadership. In academic literature, Nishii and Mayer used the term ‘inclusive leadership’ in 2009. In the practitioner’s world, Deloitte’s oft-quoted six important traits of inclusive leadership include curiosity of leader, courage, commitment, awareness of biases, cultural intelligence, and collaboration. In a noteworthy article on ‘What makes an inclusive leader,’ it was emphasized that inclusive leaders strive for authenticity instead of mere leadership presence. 

Leaders may feel comfortable showcasing his/her own vulnerability, which may, in turn, help the subordinates to connect with him/her genuinely. Secondly, an inclusive leader should have the courage to question the norms, rules, or status quo, which requires courage and conviction toward making a better world. Thirdly, inclusive leaders are expected to be continuous learners and implementers of change. For example, it’s not sufficient to merely know the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ) guideline on ensuring gender diversity on the board of listed companies; it is also equally important to implement it. Fourthly, inclusive leaders are committed to ensuring equal opportunity and outcomes for everyone. They are aware that it is not a level playing field for all. For example, Lemon Tree Hotel has given opportunities to disabled employees by recognizing that it is the ignorance of ability that brings disability and sensitizing everyone on how to treat people with disability with dignity and respect. Lastly, leaders who are committed to inclusive leadership know that it cannot be the sole duty of the human resource management department but rather everybody’s responsibility.

Inclusive leadership tries to support two contradictory needs of human life: a sense of uniqueness and a sense of belonging. On the one hand, any individual would like to maintain his/her own unique identity, which we are referring to as a ‘sense of uniqueness.’ On the other hand, s/he also wants to be an integral part of the community and social milieu, which is called a ‘sense of belonging.’

Inclusive leadership is expected to provide support for these contradictory human needs by being open, available, and accessible to their subordinates. “Open door policy,” which sometimes becomes a namesake, is not expected to happen in the context of inclusive leadership. Inclusive leadership is expected to provide a psychological safety net, and there ideally should be not only tolerance towards failure but also the freedom to fail. As a result of which, it is expected to build up a context that nurtures different ideas, opinions, and problem-solving skills and develops organizational flexibility.

But the question comes: is too much good always necessarily good? Can inclusive leadership always ensure organizational flexibility that nurtures creativity and innovation in the workplace? A recent academic study finds that while inclusive leadership may boost subordinates' creativity by enhancing psychological safety, at the same time, it may reduce creativity by decreasing challenge-related stress. 

In the corporate world, there is evidence of the tension between inclusive leadership and employees' freedom to express themselves. For example, tech giant Google has long positioned itself as an organization that promotes inclusive leadership, but it has come under scrutiny several times for how it silenced its employees' voices. Sometimes, in a too-democratic consultative environment, under inclusive leadership, an extreme ‘analysis paralysis’ phenomenon may take place. This may create unnecessary delays in decision-making.

There are also several success stories of inclusive leadership as well. For example, an article in Harvard Business Review highlights how the inclusive leadership of Satya Nadella has enhanced innovation and employee engagement at Microsoft. Similarly, Sodexo, Johnson & Johnson, and Accenture, which promote inclusive leadership, demonstrate that inclusive leadership is a strategic imperative for consistently outperforming peers.

The jury is out—there is more research required to substantially establish whether or not inclusive leadership promotes flexibility. Overall, inclusive leadership is like the engine, but to successfully run a car, an efficient supporting chassis is called for. Organizational systems, people, and processes build up the chassis, which, in alignment with the engine, can efficiently run the business.

Authored by: Dr. Anita Sarkar, Professor - XLRI Jamshedpur