Are You An Inclusive Leader?

As Ken Blanchard said, “We are all smarter than one of us.”

In my last blog posting titled, “Forget About Diversity,” I talked about the importance of fostering an inclusive environment. If you have not read that posting, I suggest you do, before you read this one.

Here are some things every single one of us can do to foster and inclusive environment where everyone matters and they know they matter.

Get To Know Your Team Members…I mean really get to know them as individuals.

Someone told me once that her manager, after ten years of working with her, did

not know if her child was a boy or a girl! That is pretty sad. Know all about them. Know their past work experiences, know their aspirations and know what skills and talents they possess. Take the time to go back and review their resume or application. Ask them their long and short term goals and how you can help.

Engage Your Team Members…Make it clear to each individual that you are interested in their opinion and that you really want to hear their point of view. This means asking for their opinion and ideas even if they don’t volunteer them to you:

         “What do you think?”

         “Do you think this is the best way?”

         “Do you now anything else I should think about before I make this decision?” 

         “I want you to know that I appreciate your advice even when we end up not    

          agreeing.”              

  

Great leaders have comfortable relationships with their team members at all levels.

Develop Your Team Members…Teaching and developing your team members is one of the leader’s main responsibilities. If you get to know each one of your team members really well and you are continually engaging them, then you will know where they need training and development. Development might be giving them candid, thoughtful feedback and other coaching and counseling. It might be getting them into the right training classes or university program. It might be exposing them to new situations, experiences and roles. It might be giving them large doses of appreciation, recognition and encouragement which will build their self-esteem and self-confidence. It might be giving them tough feedback too.

Listen To Understand…Most leaders are not good listeners. They do not stay focused on the person speaking or take the time to listen carefully. Good listeners are not only listening to what is being said, but they are also trying to understand what is not being said and what the person is trying to tell them. Most often what people are saying and what they are trying to say are two different things. Many leaders are thinking about what they are going to say when this person stops talking! When you are thinking about what you are going to say verses listening intently, you lose.

Some good hints on being clear would be to say, “I think you are saying…” or “I understand from what you said that this is what you want me to do.” or “Is there anything else that you think I should know?”

Communicate Clearly, Directly, and Honestly&Communicate with people using regular words, and say what you mean just like most of our mothers did. Don’t beat around the bush. Don’t leave people more confused when they leave than when they got there. There was never any misunderstanding when my mother finished communicating with me. Communication is Clarification. When you communicate with someone clearly, directly and honestly, then they know what is expected. When you do this you will get better and better at it and will develop trust and a good reputation. The best way to communicate is in person. Having difficult conversations through email is a big mistake.

Hear All Voices…Make sure you are hearing all voices. This includes the younger worker and the older worker. This includes the new employee and the disabled employee. This includes the single mom and the divorced dad. This includes the introverted and the extrovert. This includes the college graduate and the high school dropout. This includes people from different minority groups, people from different cultures and people who practice different religions. There are many voices within your organization. Learn to hear them from their point of view and try hard to lead them as individuals. Each one of these voices wants to be heard. We all want to be heard. On of the best ways to build commitment is to make sure that each and every person has a voice and that each every voice is heard. People will only let you hear their voice if they trust you 100 percent.

Every day some of your team members at all levels are holding back their voices because they do not trust you. Safety and security are the basics in life for a healthy, respectful environment to take hold and thrive. The last few sentences, facts or issues are the ones you don’t often hear. When people trust you enough to tell you the entire story, then you are hearing their voices. Voice is not a sound; it is content.

At the end of the day the best way to foster an inclusive environment and to hear all voices is to make everyone feel special, treat them as individuals, show total and complete respect to them and to focus on their development.

Just remember that appreciation, recognition and encouragement is the fuel that drives human performance. This fuel is more powerful than the fuel which lifts off the space shuttle and it is free…Dispense it freely and often to everyone around you. You will then see their performance and your results soar…Lee