By: Vanessa Ferreira
GOTMINK is proud to belong to the group of companies that focus on inclusive recruitment and leadership.
And what is inclusive leadership?
Put simply, inclusive leadership is based on a set of actions that ensure equal human treatment for all employees.
In this way, teams are led by professionals who respect them, value them, listen to their opinions and build strong bonds of trust and communication.
When this practice is consolidated in the company, the collaborators feel that they are important for the business. Therefore, any tendency or appearance of segregation is eliminated, which would be differentiated treatment according to the professional’s profile, that is, giving more advantages to some than to others.
What is the importance and what is inclusive leadership for?
A study conducted by Deloitte and published in the article “The six signature traits of inclusive leadership“, shows that an inclusive leader needs to encourage employees to deliver their potential in collective work. To do this, it is necessary to train, develop, monitor and give autonomy to their employees.
In this way, teams will be composed of professionals with distinct skills, but who complement each other to deliver expressive results. In addition, inclusive leadership “knocks down” prejudices that prevent people from being hired because of colour, gender, etc. – something that may lead the company to lose great talents.
And what are the main characteristics of inclusive leaders?
For a leader to be considered inclusive, they must have some important characteristics, such as:
- Collaboration: the ability to look at the other as a partner and not as an adversary. In this way, the leader will consider it important to create autonomy in each collaborator, respect diversity of thought and prioritise team unity;
- Empathy: quality of trying to put oneself in the other’s shoes to understand their difficulties and needs. A leader with this characteristic listens and accepts the opinion of the collaborators;
- Humility: tendency to not put oneself above others and to admit one’s personal mistakes. This quality promotes a light atmosphere in which employees are not afraid to seek help or express their opinions;
- Loyalty: the loyal leader supports and encourages the team in its victories and also in its defeats. In this way, professionals feel committed and motivated to give their best in all projects;
- Observation: it is important that the leader shows interest in the team, in order to identify strong and weak points. With this, it is possible to reward them or help them reach their full potential.
And what is the role of HR in promoting inclusion at work?
HR is responsible for people management. Therefore, it is one of the most important Departments for promoting inclusive leadership in the company.
In this sense, for this to be the internal reality, HR needs to adopt strategies that directly impact on the business culture, transforming collective thinking.
The example of some actions that could be implemented in the organisation:
- Accessibility: adequate physical infrastructure for professionals with special needs;
- Combating discrimination: ensuring that all employees have access to a career plan, adequate training, incentives or bonuses, regardless of their individual profile;
- Recruitment and selection process: open opportunities for professionals of different races, genders, age groups, with or without experience, training in a different area, etc;
- Promotion of the culture of inclusion: create events, workshops, campaigns and daily actions that show the company’s respect for diversity;
- Monitoring of the inclusion process: managers should worry about the effectiveness of inclusion strategies, observing if the effects are being achieved by employees and the processes carried out successfully.
How to implement inclusive leadership in your team?
When leaders become inclusive, the tendency is that teams begin to emulate their example. However, to leverage this practice, HR can implement the following actions:
- Soft skills development: training can include activities that promote, for example, the collaborative spirit of all professionals;
- Reverse feedback: leaders need to listen to their teams to understand to what extent they accept or do not accept inclusion. The aim is to help them change prejudiced behaviours and attitudes;
- Company culture: make all employees have a conductive line with the identity of the business through inclusion actions;
- Inclusion process from hiring: all those involved in the selection process should have an inclusive thought. When a professional is hired, HR should assist in the admission and entry process in the internal environment.
To conclude, there is no doubt that inclusive leadership is the path to success for any company. In fact, organisations that position themselves as inclusive are looking to the future.
After all, the tendency is for human society to continue to diversify as people take on their individualities.