Tips for becoming a more inclusive and equitable leader
Inclusivity and equity are both essential values to prioritize in the workplace, but putting them into practice can be more challenging. How do you ensure that your employees continue to feel comfortable and supported and that they’re treated fairly when they come to work? There are a few areas you can work on to help make this culture a reality.
Accountability
Holding yourself and others responsible for performance, behaviors and actions is an important part of leading your employees. When they know that you’ll admit to mistakes and get the team back on track when others make mistakes, it builds essential trust. You can prioritize accountability in a few ways:
- Have consistent meetings: One-on-one meetings allow you to check in with your employees and create opportunities to collaborate, problem solve and understand each other. You can also track progress and make sure your employees are taking steps toward meeting their goals. Find tips on Continuous Performance Management here.
- Avoid placing blame: It can be uncomfortable to receive criticism when something goes wrong, but placing blame within your team can break their trust and create feelings of resentment—it can also undermine your professionalism. Try to focus your energy on solving the problem and guiding your team with constructive feedback.
- Prioritize communication: Open channels of communication help to identify problems early and manage expectations. It’s also helpful to let your team know if you have preferred methods of communication. If your inbox is always overflowing, it might be better for them to utilize Teams or stop by in person. Or if your emails help you stay organized, let them know that’s the best way to reach you.
Emotional Intelligence
Your skill in recognizing your own emotions and the emotions of others can go a long way in the workplace. The ability to make decisions that successfully take those emotions into account while balancing policies and the needs of the agency is essential—and actively listening is a great place to start. Do your best to:
- Give someone your full attention. Angle your body towards the speaker and remove distractions like your computer, especially if they’re discussing a sensitive topic.
- Consider if advice is needed. If it’s clear that your employee wants your input on how to move forward, then you can absolutely offer advice. But sometimes an employee is looking for support more than they are looking for a solution. If you’re having trouble telling the difference, simply ask if they need advice or direction to move forward.
- Focus on the speaker rather than your response. It can be easy to want to jump ahead to your own thoughts, but when you start planning your own response too early, you can miss important details and risk making your employee feel like you’re not listening. Give yourself time to absorb the information they’re telling you.
- Look for nonverbal cues. Your employees’ body language, tone, gestures, etc. can all offer insight into how they’re feeling. Are they quieter than usual or is their tone of voice tense? These cues can help you to better support them and respond to their needs.
- Repeat back what you understand. By summarizing your key takeaways, you can confirm if you’ve understood the issues that are most important to your employees. It offers them the chance to adjust or confirm your understanding.
Vulnerability
Sharing your feelings and experiences with your employees when appropriate can help you to connect with them. Start by asking for help when you need it. You’ll set a good example for your employees to do the same and accomplish more than you would by struggling in silence.
Trust also goes hand-in-hand with vulnerability. By putting your trust in your employees when they have new ideas (with the knowledge that they may not always be successful), you’ll encourage them to continue looking for creative solutions. Finally, vulnerability helps to create a workplace that is psychologically safe and encourages employees to look to each other and to you for support. This support will help you and your team achieve more together.
If you’d like to continue learning about topics like accountability, inclusivity and other aspects of leadership, enroll in one of our upcoming workshops. You can find the full list of workshops here.