The critical importance of true diversity

Sara Bailey at Trowers & Hamlins LLP argues that now is the time to realise that inclusivity leads to business success

 

In the week where we are celebrating inclusivity, particularly with the theme this year being ’Now is the Time’, it’s apt to look at how business leaders can do more to embed inclusive cultures in their businesses and encourage and support true inclusivity through actions and not just words. 

 

Leadership comes in many forms, but to be truly inclusive and to break down the barriers that still exist in the corporate and professional worlds, you need to lead in an empathetic way. What does this mean, and how do we break this down?

 

For me, an empathetic leader engages with people. Someone who listens and who is authentic and true to themselves. Someone who possesses emotional intelligence and can apply it effectively when making business decisions. Someone who can step into the shoes of their employees, recognise their challenges, and actively look for ways to support them professionally and on a personal level.

 

It is not, as many people seem to think, someone who is considered "soft", "weak" or incapable of making hard decisions. In fact, being empathetic is more about how you make and implement those decisions.

 

Put simply, it means that when making business decisions, you understand their impact and, where possible, strive to make it positive. It’s about pausing to think of the consequences of your actions before implementing them.

 

Why is this important? To be a successful and sustainable organisation, diversity in its widest context is vital.  It goes beyond the statistics and doesn’t mean measuring yourself against others. It is about creating a workplace that allows different voices to speak and be heard. 

 

To foster inclusivity and have a diverse workforce, you need to understand people, accept, and indeed nurture their differences. We are all unique individuals, and we all respond to different stimuli. What inspires one person may cause another to feel insecure or worse, excluded or marginalised. The only way we can create an inclusive workplace is by being empathetic, having an understanding of what makes people tick and actively helping people to develop.

 

Inclusion shouldn’t be a single campaign or a theme for leaders to get behind once a year. It is something which we need to build every day. It’s about asking the right questions and then properly listening. It’s about fostering a culture where people feel confident enough to speak up without worrying about the consequences.

 

This is not an easy thing to measure, but embracing new ideas, listening to what people need and constantly learning are all key to this - with a huge emphasis on the learning part.

 

Authenticity is fundamental. As a leader, it is about being yourself and staying true to your core values and beliefs. To engender trust in others, people need to know that they are interacting with the real you. In essence, this means staying true to yourself in all situations. Whether you are speaking in business meetings or mentoring someone at the beginning of their career, you should be you, and your personality should remain. This builds relationships and allows people to feel comfortable around you, so that they can also be themselves.  

 

It is clear from research that McKinzie and others have done that a truly diverse workplace is proven to be more successful. To quote the McKinzie report: "A diverse workforce brings a range of unique perspectives, experiences, and skills, leading to improved problem-solving, higher productivity, and better employee retention." 

 

So, if we know this, why does it seem so hard to achieve? We are all human, and humans naturally gravitate to what feels comfortable and what feels familiar. It is no different in business. It’s sometimes a comfort blanket to continue along the same path, the safe option perhaps. However, creating a diverse culture is about challenging yourself and being open to being challenged by others. It’s about breaking out of the norm, coming out of your comfort zone, and looking at what needs to be done differently.

 

Being challenged can be very difficult, but it is essential if you are going to have a truly diverse workforce, and it’s about diversity in its broadest sense. Diversity of people, diversity of thinking, diversity in ways of working and how people interact. Embracing this approach makes for a successful business where people want to work and can thrive.

 

In my profession as a lawyer, our industry could do better. My challenge to all my contemporaries is that we need to stop just talking about being inclusive and start taking action by looking at culture and making plans to support change. Every interaction matters, whether it’s big or small. It’s about listening and being open to doing things differently.

 

For me, a good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader; a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves. That will help to create a truly inclusive culture. 

 

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Sara Bailey is Senior Partner at Trowers & Hamlins LLP

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and AndreyPopov