Diversity and Inclusion

The Role of Inclusive Leadership in Promoting Group Diversity within Organizations

The current organizational environments are comprised of diverse teams due to the benefits and value such teams mean to the organizations. Teams from different backgrounds can solve problems much more effectively, given the different perspectives they hold. In problem-solving processes, team members will propose different ideas based on how they understand the problem, and the final agreed solution will be the most sustainable. Research posits that diverse individuals have different perspectives due to their diverse cultural underpinnings that make everyone understand problems and better approaches for sustainable solutions (Ashikali et al., 2020). When such individuals are grouped to share ideas on a problem, their unique perspectives will lead to innovative ideas, which are impractical to achieve with homogenous groups that share the same culture.

While the current literature on leadership has provided various types of leadership styles and how these styles mediate corporate governance with employee performance, the research on the role of inclusive leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion remains largely understudied. The most cited leadership styles that promote team performance are authoritative and transformational leadership. These styles remain relevant to the success of an organization. However, with the growing need for diversity in the workplace, Ashikali et al. (2020) argue that the two leadership styles are not sufficient to foster a successful, diverse team. On that premise, the researchers sought to advance the study on the role of inclusive leadership in promoting diversity in the workplace. In addition, Tan (2019) published a supplement article to review the importance of diversity, inclusion, and access to the success of organizations. Based on the two studies, this paper reviews the relationship between inclusive leadership and diverse teams.

Problem Statement

Representative bureaucracy contends that the inclusion of diverse teams is important for a positive outlook of the organization, fostering a legitimate relationship with the general public. However, several factors influence the success of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. These factors are primarily inherent in individual differences and perceptions about the characteristics of an outstanding team. Thus, it is important to understand the organizational operations and mediate these processes with individual principles or beliefs for a diverse team to work. Optimal distinctiveness theory states that an individual is motivated by the need to be unique and a sense of belonging to a particular kind of group. For an individual to fit into a group, they will have to be convinced that they belong to the group demonstrated through respect of their ideas by group members. As such, the group needs to respect the diverse opinions of members due to unique individual identities and cement that respect by considering the ideas in decision-making processes.

Also, the group needs to embrace the expression of innermost feelings without judgment on the position of members. Matters of feelings will involve divergent reservations, which the group should embrace to solve collectively. This description pertains to a group that has developed a strong engagement climate with conventions of collective will and aberration of divisive ideas. First is the collective appreciation of individual differences, ensuring that everyone is open to objective critiques and contributions to the solution. Secondly, the final decision must include individual differences to foster a cohesive decision-making process.

However, even with diverse teams, it may not be easy to obtain different ideas that contribute to sustainable decision-making processes. Kanter's theory of empowerment states that imbalanced diversity groups will lead to majority members having a significant contribution to the group. The majority members create an environment where the minority group feels left out in the decision-making process; hence, belonging and uniqueness are lost. In these circumstances, the group may appear cohesive, but a selection of individuals controls the mechanics of decision-making processes. Kanter's theory is in close relation to social identity theory, which posits that individuals will look for common grounds with peers and form strong ties with those they affiliate with, distancing themselves from others. The influences of the two theories are common in imbalanced groups or groups with unfavorable climates. Thus, decision-making processes will not be representative of the whole team.

The main role of an inclusive leader is to prevent such circumstances from occurring in groups. These leaders promote inclusion by encouraging diverse opinions and inclusion of these ideas in the decision-making processes. In addition, they accept individuals for who they are, promoting a sense of belonging and uniqueness in the team. Under the direction of inclusive leaders, imbalanced decisions are implausible as they encourage all members to participate and contribute regardless of their position. Thus, every team member is free to express themselves without fear of prejudice due to a safe climate created by an inclusive leader. Therefore, it is important to understand the role of an inclusive leader in promoting diversity and inclusion in real-world environments. Also, it can be hypothesized that diverse organizations without inclusive leaders will perform poorly in coordinating diverse workforce talent.

Purpose of the Study

In light of the important role of inclusive leadership in creating a safe environment for diverse teams to express themselves openly for successful decision-making processes, Ashikali et al. (2020) sought to confirm the efficacy of this argument in a real-world environment. Thus the study sought to answer the role of inclusive leader based on the following hypothesis: Inclusive leadership moderates the relationship between team ethnic–cultural diversity and inclusive climate, such that the positive effects are enhanced and the negative effects reduced.

The research was conducted at the Dutch public institutions because they were determined to be the most diverse institutions in the country. The study involved 45 teams representing 293 members from various government institutions. Using a questionnaire, the researchers then collected data on inclusive climate, inclusive leadership, and collective decision-making processes.

The result indicated that inclusive leadership is a significant moderator when diverse teams from different racial backgrounds are involved. Diverse teams with more inclusiveness in the decision-making processes experienced better outcomes in finding solutions. Also, the research found that diverse teams with less inclusive leadership exhibited dissatisfaction from their teams. These findings confirm the earlier argument that having a diverse team does not infer better decision-making processes. As such, inclusive leadership supports positive contributions and limits the effects of disagreements. However, the findings indicated that inclusive leadership would not significantly affect a large imbalance in ethnic representation circumstances. Finally, the findings showed that highly diverse teams experienced more inclusiveness in the decision-making processes. Thus, a more diverse team creates robust solutions due to the consideration of the team's diverse ideas (Tan, 2019). The study's findings show that organizations need to consider inclusive leadership as an important bridge that fosters the inclusion of ethnically diverse opinions while also attenuating the differences that arise in decision-making processes.