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An English word that I regularly hear and see is “inclusion”. All kinds of companies use it. Examples are “Financial Inclusion”, “Military Inclusion”, “Inclusive Architecture”, “Inclusive Design”,”Inclusive Leadership”, or “Inclusive Management”.
This article is about inclusive leadership within an organization.
For me, inclusion means that someone belongs to a group, organization, tribe, country, or company. This is regardless of race, origin, orientation, or disability. In my experience, it is also about belonging: fitting in and feeling at home there.
In addition, inclusion is the extent to which you are appreciated for who you are. Within an organization, this can include your personal and professional background, experience, and skills.
Effects of inclusion
If an organization is inclusive, it can have positive effects on the people who work there, the organization itself, and the world. Below, I give you a few examples:
More involvement
If you inform people and involve them in decision-making, this will lead to more involvement. It also meets people’s need to belong.
More diversity
Inclusion is about appreciating people for who they are and what they do. Inclusion leads to more diversity.
Diversity without inclusion is like a bath without a plug.
—Kate Craig-Waller
More self-confidence
Because people belong, they feel more secure and have more confidence to speak up about possible improvements, errors, and concerns within the organization.
Better performance
If people know where the organization is headed, they can contribute more effectively to its success. Inclusion delivers better individual performance and that of the organization.
Clearer future
People see a future for themselves within the organization because the mission, vision, and the WHY of the organization are clear.
Inclusion as a value
For many organizations, “Inclusion” is a value. Values don’t mean much to me if they aren’t supported by an organization and if people don’t express them in their behavior. An example could be: ” We are open to your thoughts and ideas here.”
Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.
—Vernā Myers
The behavior of inclusion
The question is what you, as an organization, company, manager, or leader, can do to increase “inclusion”? What behavior comes with inclusion?
Create trust
You create trust by getting to know everyone and by listening to them. In this article, I will give you 7 ways to listen better. To listen, you must also ask good questions. The challenge with asking questions is to ask them out of sheer interest and curiosity, not to lead them toward a statement or opinion of yours. Here, I have my favorite questions for you.
And don’t assume that you already know everything. Often, others know much more and have more answers than you.
It’s about having conversations. It cannot be a single conversation. A series of conversations is better. Maybe that is a challenge with people from different backgrounds, but try to find out where they come from, what concerns them, what drives them (or not), what their strengths are, and get to know their world. If you know this, you can also be a better leader.
Without trust, you will not have people around you who feel involved, who belong, who are motivated, and who do their best to perform well.
Show empathy and compassion
While listening to the stories, put yourself in someone’s situation. That is empathy, and you can read more about it in this article.
Chances are that as a professional, you are often in your head (logical thinking). With compassion, it is about not making a head-to-head connection but a heart-to-heart connection. Feel what the other person is feeling. This will also ensure more trust.
And don’t assume that you know what the other person is thinking and feeling. Check whether you have understood correctly, and be curious about what others think or how they came to say or do what they did. This also requires that you do not immediately respond to the actions or statements of others. Often, they provoke a particular emotion in you, such as anger or fear.
Within inclusive leadership, you focus on how you respond. You have a choice in how you react to emotions and feelings (they are allowed to exist). You can use this as an opportunity to have an impact and to be compassionate. People will therefore feel safer, recognized, and heard.
Promote your mission, vision, and WHY
Do this in an effective way. That does not mean that you present them in your annual report at the entrance and in various places of your organization. It’s about talking to others and asking them about their mission (“Why are you doing this work?”). Involve the people, connect them with the bigger picture, the mission, vision, and WHY of the organization.
It is therefore important to know this well: both for the organization and for yourself. If you do not know your mission, vision, or your WHY, it is difficult to help others. If you do know, then you are a better leader who can work on inclusion, know how to involve others, onboard them, and motivate them by showing the best of yourself.
Do you also want to find an organization where you belong? Or do you want to be a better leader who can be more inclusive and have more impact? Discover your WHY! Contact me today to take the first steps!
What do you do (or what does your organization do) to be more inclusive? Let me know in the comment field below. The other readers of this article and I are looking forward to reading from you!
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Have you seen an error in this article? Let me know! I am grateful!
Update: I wrote the original article titled “Do You Belong too?” on February 11, 2020, and it was updated on April 24, 2026.
