Navigating the new world order of DE&I

Last week I had the pleasure of being invited to speak at the annual APPDI - Associação Portuguesa para a Diversidade e Inclusão conference in Lisbon, where I was asked to deliver a keynote presentation on the critical importance of inclusive leadership in the context of shifting narratives on DE&I. 

Perhaps an obvious point to make, but clearly inclusive leadership is more critical as an operational action, as well as a mindset, than it has been in that last decade.

But when thinking about inclusive leadership, several obvious questions emerge – who are the leaders in a corporate world that stresses employee empowerment and enablement? What does inclusive leadership look like in today’s complex business environment, and how does inclusive leadership align to more pressing issues – that of corporate cohesion?

What makes for a leader these days? 

Classic concepts of leadership focus on leadership as a position within an organisational hierarchy. As stressed by social scientists like Max Weber, it is embedded within organisational power dynamics, where leaders set the direction, vision and strategy, and others (followers) operationalise these individuals' ideas. 

This leader-knows-best concept has little room in the modern business landscape where leadership has become more decentred – leadership can be found at all levels within a business culture. It no longer requires a place; instead, it is more of a mindset that places collaboration, connectivity and curiosity at the centre of its philosophy. It’s a decentred idea aligned to the work of Robert K Greenleaf’s notion of Servant Leadership that values the principles of listening, empathy, awareness, stewardship and community building. It is, in essence, a version of inclusive leadership.

Watch the video below to explore more about what makes an inclusive leader.

Inclusive leadership in practice

We at FAIRER Consulting have been researching and practicing inclusive leadership with our global clients for over 20 years. And now, in this critical watershed moment in the history of DE&I, it’s a way of navigating the politics of DE&I through a human-centred approach. However, while we need leaders to actively lean into the principles of inclusive leadership, we (as a DE&I community) – and they – face a number of strategic challenges which is leading to a radical shift from loud leadership – active allies who call out inequity – to a strategic silence, driven by culture wars, political scrutiny and employee activism.

Challenge number 1: The rise of global identity politics

The rise of identity politics that is fuelling a politics of division across many Western countries is now entering corporate cultures at a pace previously unseen. It is the biggest challenge of our time. It’s an identity politics that has already infiltrated the DE&I community, resulting in internal conflict and the lack of a coherent response to both internal and external challenges. 

The consequences are a breakdown of what the late feminist Bell Hooks refers to as ‘alliance politics’, where traditionally marginalised groups stand up as mutual allies. This alliance politics has been replaced by communities fighting within the corporate space and this, together with employee activism and opposing views is placing leaders in a lose-lose situation. They are moving from being strategic partners and operating from the principles of allyship, to one of strategic silence, driven a fear of public criticism on increasing polarising viewpoints. 

Challenge number 2: The DE&I Re-brand

Many global corporates are undergoing a rebranding of DE&I. Across many sectors, there is an increasing dialling down of terms such as ‘diversity’, and a play up of concepts of inclusion, culture and community. Without question, this is an obvious and fundamental paradox, as the logical question here is: why have many global businesses over the last decade adopted strategic intentions to drive inclusion? 

In short, it’s a response to the real-world experiences of many communities who have been, and who continue to be excluded (under-represented) from access to opportunities. The current corporate response clearly takes us back to diversity (representation), as its strategic intent is to increase the representation of groups who continue to be marginalised and excluded. 

Thus, an approach that incorporates inclusion without diversity is bound to intellectually fail and is – borrowing the term from the contemporary philosopher Judith Bulter – performative in nature. 

Challenge number 3: The need to layer up from DE&I to an agenda that places corporate cohesion at its centre

For organisations to continue to thrive in the current times, leadership should focus on building cultures that foster innovation through connectivity, which is facilitated by the principles of teaming and psychological safety. 

Google’s Project Aristotle stressed the connection between psychological safety and high performing teams. It’s an approach I discussed this week when hosting a roundtable with our partners, d&i Leaders. For me this means having strategic intent in system, structural and policy redesign for the purpose of fostering cohesion and community building inside our corporate spaces. This is the new frontier of inclusion management. This calls for shifting our focus away from organisational inputs and toward actions that deliver equitable outcomes for everyone.

The role of leaders in shaping change 

While there are many components of inclusive leadership, within this context, for me there are three standout traits that are in urgent need of development: 

1.    Curiosity

In the Harvard Business Review article, The Five Dimensions of Curiosity, the authors stress the importance of leadership curiosity in building leadership insight, awareness, perspective-taking and overall relationship building. 

They set out the difference between what they call ‘humble curiosity’ versus ‘voyeuristic curiosity’. The former stresses the desire to seek out information in a manner that drives respect and inclusiveness, having conversations with an open mind. The latter focuses on questions that support confirmation bias and pre-existing ways of thinking and working. As stressed by Dr. Debra Clary in her book, ‘The Curiosity Curve’, curiosity is a strategic leadership advantage that can drive innovation and adaptability. 

2.    Perspective-taking

Perspective-taking is the ability to imagine the world from another person’s point of view. In a world of social media echo chambers and growing identity politics, this is one of the most difficult aspects of inclusive leadership. As stressed by Gillian Ku, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School (LBS), perspective-taking is “the active cognitive process of imagining the world from another’s vantage point”. Not to be confused with empathy – which requires an emotional tuning in to other people’s feelings – perspective-taking requires leaders to engage in cognitive processes that respect alternative ways of experiencing the world around us. 

Research from social and cognitive psychology has shown how perspective-taking assists with bias mitigation and prejudice reduction. The additional up-side is the promotion of team bonding and corporate cohesion through a focus on team connectivity and collaboration.

3.    Stewardship

Aligned to Greenleaf’s notion of Servant Leadership, stewardship is the process of active mentoring, coaching, sponsorship and allyship for the purpose of fostering inclusive decision-making, bias mitigation and to achieve fair and equitable outcomes for under-represented communities. 

Without stewardship, concepts such as curiosity and perspective-taking become limited in impact. They assist with building insight and awareness, but it is through stewardship that fair opportunities happen. This is a critical element and aligns with allyship and the concept of amplification, as popularised by female staffers under President Obama. Iris Bohnet, the Harvard behavioural economist calls out amplification as a behaviour nudge in her ground-breaking book, ‘What Works: Gender Equality by Design’.

Let’s work together

It’s clear that inclusive leadership has become a necessity in navigating complex business environments. As employee activism, identity politics and shifting DE&I narratives continue to redefine organisational cultures, leaders must shift away from traditional hierarchical styles towards a more collaborative and curious approach.  

Our inclusive leadership training is designed to equip leaders with the tools to navigate these challenges and lead with empathy, authenticity and perspective-taking. For more information, please get in touch for a complimentary one-to-one call with one of our consultants or connect with Dan on LinkedIn.