By Priya Nalkur, Ed.D and Asmi Dhotre
Effective leadership relies on inclusivity. Creating a work environment where diverse perspectives drive innovation and foster a sense of belonging leads to higher engagement and productivity. Despite these benefits, many leaders face challenges in achieving true inclusivity. Part of the problem is that inclusive leadership is an adaptive challenge. Leaders may fail to recognize underlying issues like biased practices, pay rates, and lack of career advancement opportunities for underrepresented groups. Even with the best intentions, their actions can inadvertently lead to an environment that is not truly inclusive. There are several ways that leaders inadvertently stumble on their way to inclusion: they include self-blame, introspective over-analysis, excessive advocacy without discernment, excessive consensus-seeking, overly friendly approaches, overbearing rescuer tendencies, perfectionism, and vocal advocacy without substantive follow-through. Stumbling blocks are typically overused strengths - all leaders face these challenges. To understand how these challenges are distributed among leaders, we conducted a survey and received 205 responses from leaders across industries. We observed that excessive friendliness, excessive consensus amongst team and excessively rescuing are more prevalent than others. Recognizing and anticipating these barriers is crucial for leaders to mitigate their negative impacts and prevent them from becoming significant liabilities. By proactively identifying and addressing these challenges, leaders can maintain progress towards fostering a truly inclusive and effective work environment.
In contemporary discussions surrounding organizational culture and leadership, there exists a prevailing notion that kindness inherently translates to inclusivity. However, recent insights from scholarly works underscore a crucial distinction between these concepts. Adams and colleagues emphasize various insights and applications to help the effects of inclusion, discrimination and well-being. While kindness is undoubtedly a commendable trait, it does not inherently foster genuine inclusion within the workplace. In fact, it can often serve as the greatest stumbling block to achieving true inclusivity and effectiveness in leadership roles, according to the assessment created by Dr. Priya Nalkur. Approximately, 70.10% of the participants stumble by over-indexing on warmth, demonstrating that kindness is widely regarded as inclusive but may come at a cost. We have characterized this stumbling block as the “Warmth Wizard” in the assessment. Unchecked kindness may lead leaders to shy away from difficult conversations, postpone necessary actions, or avoid addressing systemic issues. According to Cecchi-Dimeglio it is crucial to be adaptive, communicative, resilient, empowering, etc. to overcome challenges and sustain growth. Effective leadership demands a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths, challenge thoughts/opinions, and advocate for equitable practices. It requires leaders to navigate through complexities with empathy and decisiveness, ensuring that the needs and perspectives of all individuals are acknowledged and addressed. Thus, while kindness is undoubtedly a valuable trait, it can’t be seen as the only way to achieve inclusion. This understanding helps leaders understand that being warm and nice is just one tool for being inclusive, but should not be used at the expense of other tools like effective conflict resolution, giving constructive feedback and being courageously authentic.
In our assessment, we found that excessive consensus-seeking is the second most prevalent stumbling block. This stumbling block is defined as a leader who overemphasizes the use of democratic processes and consensus-seeking in decision-making, often causing detriment to time and effective action. We have defined this stumbling block as the “Democracy Drone” in the assessment. Approximately, 61.02% of the participants believe having a democratic leadership is associated with inclusive and effective leadership. Beerbohm mentioned how democratic leadership style faces significant hurdles such as slower decision-making processes and the difficulty in achieving consensus among team members. These challenges can impede timely progress and responsiveness, particularly in fast-paced or highly competitive environments. Despite these obstacles, a substantial number of leaders equate democratic leadership with being an inclusive leader. A paper by Villanova University highlights the potential conflicts and struggles due to democratic leadership. Many opinions clash, leading to tensions and reduced cohesion within the team. The reliance on group input can dilute accountability, making it difficult to establish responsibility for specific decisions or outcomes. Furthermore, Labella and colleagues specify that there is a delay in decision-making processes as you need to achieve consensus among all team members. While democratic leadership is beneficial in prioritizing creativity, innovation and engagement, it also causes conflicts and reduction in efficiency and productivity. The stumbling block “Democracy Drone” can impede timely progression and responsiveness in a workplace.
The third most prevalent stumbling block is due to overbearing rescuer tendencies. This can look like a well-intentioned leader who habitually steps in to assist marginalized individuals without their explicit consent, which can inadvertently undermine their autonomy and voice. We have characterized this stumbling block as the “Rescue Ranger” in the assessment. This phenomenon occurs when individuals, aiming to support those from excluded and equity-deserving groups, intervene without explicit consent or request. Hughes mentions the unintended negative impacts of certain well-intentioned diversity practices. Additionally, the use of inclusive language, while well-meaning, can sometimes fail to address deeper issues and inadvertently maintain existing power dynamics. While the intention is to act as an ally and uplift marginalized voices, this approach can unintentionally minimize those very voices by overshadowing the individuals they seek to help. True inclusive leadership involves amplifying diverse perspectives in a way that respects and empowers individuals, ensuring they have the agency to share their experiences and contribute to the broader narrative. Instead of stepping in on behalf of others, inclusive leaders should focus on creating environments where everyone feels valued and heard, allowing individuals to advocate for themselves and share their stories authentically. According to the assessment, about 56.74% of the participants received “Rescue-Ranger” as a stumbling block. Therefore, while the Rescue Ranger's impulse comes from a place of allyship, it is essential for inclusive leaders to balance their support, fostering spaces where everyone can meaningfully and authentically contribute.
To be in an inclusive and effective leadership, self-awareness is crucial for identifying and overcoming potential stumbling blocks. Dr. Priya Nalkur's assessment highlights overly friendly approaches, excessive consensus-seeking, and overbearing rescuer tendencies as the most prevalent challenges. Effective leaders must recognize these challenges and balance empathy with decisiveness, creating environments where all individuals feel valued, heard, and empowered to contribute authentically. Understanding and addressing these stumbling blocks is key to developing a leadership approach that genuinely values and incorporates diverse perspectives. To gain deeper insights about your stumbling blocks, participate in the assessment. The assessment not only identifies your stumbling blocks, but provides actionable strategies to overcome the stumbling blocks.
Priya Nalkur, Ed.D. is the President of the RoundTable Institute where she leads a global group of coaches and facilitators to help companies build more inclusive leaders and workplaces. She is a professional speaker, coach and facilitator and has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Heller School for Social Policy and has several courses on Udemy for Business. She is the author of the recent book (2024) Stumbling Towards Inclusion: Finding Grace in Imperfect Leadership.
Asmi Dhotre is a Junior majoring in Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Passionate about mental health, Asmi aspires to build a career in clinical psychology where she can advocate for and support individuals facing mental health challenges. She is dedicated to fostering awareness and providing care to those in need, driven by a commitment to making a positive impact in the field.
