If you go alone, you’ll be faster, but there is an enormous price to pay. A price that is no longer adequate for today’s world – where collective intelligence, innovation, and human skills are more critical than ever before.

Today’s leading organizations and most forward-thinking leaders understand that diversity and inclusion is much more than a buzzword, it’s a priority to achieve good decision-making, resilience, innovation, agility, organisational performance, and contribute to engaging and retaining talented employees.

Extensive research shows that companies and institutions that prioritise Gender Equality and inclusion of  people of different groups (origins, ages, cognitive profiles, backgrounds, races, etc), will have more chances to rebuild after the current pandemics and to proper, as they will gain in the well-proven advantages of a diverse organization.

At REDSCOPE we have been pioneers in developing and training the Inclusive Leaders the world needs today. These people-oriented leaders are able to tap into the abilities and motivation of their teams, and genuinely commit to diversity and inclusion of different talents and groups.

Inclusive leaders are values-driven, emotionally intelligent and act in alignment with their personal values. They know it is a strategic need to bring different talents into the “new normal” of today’s digital world. They know the importance of bringing in a balanced ratio of women and men, of different backgrounds. They also know how crucial it is to create space and use the biggest talent pool in Europe and the world: the 61% of university graduates who are women.

An inclusive leader does not only ask a lot of questions and listen actively. He or she is consciously collaborative and aware that the diverse people in the team, the different experiences, knowledge and backgrounds, and able to create space for better and more innovative solutions that will benefit people and organisation. These leaders stand for a growth mindset, for the willingness to continuously learn, while having the humility not to “know it all”.

Below are our 10 Tips of the Inclusive Leader – feel free to adapt to your context, or to ask us for customised support:

1. Hold yourself and others accountable to the creation of a culture of diversity
   and inclusion. Walk and BE the Talk.
2. Communicate Inclusion and gender balance as a strong organisational ambition and priority. Weave it programs, teams and processes.
3. Develop your boldness and long-term resilience, as there are no “magical fixes” when it comes to people – it is a journey. Act upon your convictions and principles even when it requires personal risk-taking.
4. Learn about unconscious bias and the weight of stereotypes in your context. Improve yourself, learn about diversity, and be a role model of self-awareness and commitment.
5. Don’t be afraid of challenging bias and requesting change. Do not tolerate discrimination, intolerance or sexism, even if micro.
6. Be curious and open about people, especially those who are different from you. Listen actively.
7. Empower people: invest and provide opportunities to all. Mentor and develop under-represented groups of people. Give visibility opportunities to those who have been less visible.
8. Admit mistakes, learn from feedback and from different points of view
9. Make time in your weekly or monthly agenda to discuss D&I and assess progress.
10. Show the example also in your work-family balance, including in parental leave, working hours, holidays, etc. Build a flexible family-friendly culture both for men and for women.