Managing the Change: Inclusive Leadership

Having left the boundaries of informatics, digital technology is now leading the individual and mass digital transformation.  Forcing us to step out of our comfort zones, the digital transformation changes the way of doing business in a holistic manner in order for meeting the needs in a more effective and efficient way. Adapting quickly to new conditions and managing expectations correctly is an action requiring agility. Utilizing the opportunities brought by agility and increasing performance can be possible by managing the change. Those who are most affected by all this change process are employees who need to quickly adapt to changes. Finding a place in the competitive world of the future and acting as a pioneer of corporate change besides ensuring the harmony of the employees is possible through a next-generation leadership approach instead of the traditional leadership approach.

Inclusive Leaders are the next-generation leaders who empower and inspire their teams

Organizations that have become multicultural structures today consist of employees with different demographic characteristics who differ from each other in terms of expectations and desires. The inability of existing organizational cultures to manage this diversity in the workforce renders managing multicultural environments difficult. The inclusivity achieved through the correct application of Emotional Intelligence competencies is related to creating an environment that acknowledges different perspectives and contributions and holds them important. Inclusivity is a significant competency for leaders in managing workforce diversity. Inclusive leaders are the next-generation leaders who are aware of their own prejudices and preferences, see the differences of their team members as a resource, actively benefit from different skills and experiences, and give strength and inspiration to their teams in order to focus on corporate and individual goals together.

What are the values that appear in mind when we speak of Inclusive Leaders?

Characteristics of Inclusive Leaders

• Creating an organizational culture where different ideas are utilized
• Internalizing diversity and equal opportunity
• Not looking down, accepting mistakes
• Being courageous, encouraging
• Getting rid of prejudice and paving the way for individual development
• Considering different worldviews as wealth and benefiting from them
• Communicating openly and inclusively
• Creating an integrative organizational climate

Displaying behaviors that should be made into daily behaviors for Inclusive Leadership

• Continuously learning, seeing, leading the change, and embracing differences
• Keeping themselves and their team away from prejudices
• Encouraging diversity
• Acting together with their team
• Receiving and giving feedbacks
• Communicating in a friendly way
• Creating an organizational climate that is not afraid of making mistakes

While inclusiveness is positioned at the center of being an effective leader, the diversity, complexity, and disorganization of today's workforce have revealed the necessity for leaders to be inclusive in order to be effective. Employees willing to contribute, high-performing teams, new ideas, and concepts such as employee engagement are significant outputs of organizations that manage the change together. Working environments where employees are empowered, different ideas are met, and mistakes are turned into learning tools can be created through inclusive leaders who can manage the change.

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