Are You An Inclusive Leader?

As a leader, manager or supervisor, you may strive to be inclusive. It’s possible, however, that you may be unaware of how certain groups or employees may feel they’re treated differently.

Ask yourself these questions to explore how you might be able to improve inclusion in your workplace:

Does everyone on your team speak up with concerns and suggestions? If not, who is silent?

When employees speak up, do you let them know how you take their feedback into consideration, especially around decisions that have the potential to impact their jobs?

How do you modify your leadership style for different team members?

For example, competitions with prizes motivates some, but for those who are more team focused, it could do the opposite.

Have you taught your team members to have respectful and productive differences of opinion?

Do you encourage and consider opinions different from your own?

Which cultural or religious celebrations do you recognize at work and which ones do you ignore?

What do you consider when planning work or social events?

For example, do you consider things like religious observances such as fasting, food restrictions, time of day for those with caregiving obligations, cost for those with financial pressures, alcohol consumption for those in recovery?

Do you have employees who are overachievers with poor personal boundaries?

Learn more about how you can assess and take action to ensure diversity and inclusion in your workplace: Are You an Inclusive Leader? | Workplace Strategies for Mental Health