write a 2–4 page reflection paper that includes the following sections:
•
o
•
o
•
o
•
o
o
Section 1:
Identify your most valuable learning experience from Units 1–5 and explain why it
was so meaningful for you. This might include facts, concepts, insights, or ideas
derived from course content, outside research, your instructor, your peers, or
professionals in the field. The six signature traits of Inclusive Leadership was my
most valuable learning experience. I really think a leader that works with their
peers is the best trait.
Section 2:
Provide an example of knowledge, awareness, or a skill gained in Units 1–5 and
explain how or why it is applicable to your current or future career. Employment
Laws and Diversity
Section 3:
Discuss ideas, material, research, or topics that you did not have time to fully
investigate but would like to revisit. Diversity and Inclusion in health care
Section 4:
Create a list of resources for future reference and possible use in your courses,
career, or both. This might include articles, authors, websites, professional
organizations, research studies, and publications. For each resource, provide a link
(where applicable) and consider including a brief annotation about why you
included the resource.
Hint: You may wish to save the resources from Sections 3 and 4 in RefWorks for
future access. Instructions for using RefWorks are included in the resources for this
assignment.
Because this assignment concerns specific, personal aspects of your learning
experience so far in this course, it should be written in first person
(using I, me, my, et cetera).
References
http://www.diversityconnection.org/
http://www.agediscriminationinemployment.com/
http://www.boardroomdiversity.org/
https://www.edi.nih.gov/training
The six signature traits
of inclusive leadership
Thriving in a diverse new world
Deloitte’s Human Capital professionals leverage research, analytics, and industry insights to help design and
execute the HR, talent, leadership, organization, and change programs that enable business performance
through people performance. Visit the Human Capital area of www.deloitte.com to learn more.
About the authors
Bernadette Dillon is a client director in Human Capital consulting at Deloitte, where she specializes in diversity and inclusion. A chartered accountant by background, she has worked with a range
of organizations, both locally and internationally, with respect to diversity and inclusion strategy
development, inclusive leadership assessment and development, analytics and diagnostics, and
inclusive culture change. Dillon has co-authored a number of publications relating to diversity and
inclusion, and is currently based in the United Kingdom.
Juliet Bourke is a partner in Human Capital consulting at Deloitte, where she leads the Australian
Diversity and Inclusion practice and co-leads the Australian Leadership practice. She has over 20
years’ experience in human capital and is an internationally recognized author and speaker on
diversity and inclusion, cultural change, and leadership. Bourke has authored many publications on
diversity and inclusion, most recently publishing Which two heads are better than one? How diverse
teams create breakthrough ideas and make robust decisions, which examines decision making, diversity of thinking, biases, and behaviors.
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
Contents
Introduction: A new leadership capability | 1
A diverse new world: Markets, customers, ideas, and talent | 4
The six signature traits of an inclusive leader
What can organizations do?
| 19
Appendix: Research methodology
Endnotes
| 23
Contacts
| 25
Acknowledgements | 26
iv
| 21
| 7
Thriving in a diverse new world
Introduction: A new
leadership capability
W
HAT will it take to be a great leader in
the future? In five years, ten years, even
fifteen years?
Say those numbers slightly differently—2020, 2025, or 2030—and your imagination takes you somewhere else entirely. To
the realm of science fiction in which books
and films paint vivid pictures of a future that
looks vastly different from that which we know
today. There is the devastated world and its
dystopian societies, the artificial world with
synthetic humans, and myriads of other worlds
scattered throughout foreign galaxies.
In these books and films, there’s always a
quest, and there’s always a hero. Smart and
strong, they carry the weight of the world on
their shoulders. They have a sidekick, if lucky,
but rarely are the leader and the sidekick
equals, and they almost never operate as a
team. The decisions these leaders make—the
actions they take—culminate in the restoration
of humanity.
What’s curious is that this iconic image of
the heroic leader remains constant despite the
vastly changed environment. It seems we can
easily imagine different future contexts, but
when it comes to thinking about leadership
differently, we are on a repeating loop. It makes
for great entertainment, but it is not the stuff
of reality. Yes, the context will change—it is
changing already—and this will demand adaptation by those playing a leading role.
So what is this different context? In a volatile and complex world, predicting the future
with precision is a risky business. We can be
sure, however, about four global mega-trends
that are reshaping the environment and influencing business priorities:1
First, diversity of markets: Demand is shifting to emerging markets. With their growing
middle class, these new markets represent the
single biggest growth opportunity in the portfolio of many companies around the world.
Second, diversity of customers: Customer
demographics and attitudes are changing.
Empowered through technology and with
greater choice, an increasingly diverse customer base expects better personalization of
products and services.
Third, diversity of ideas: Digital technology, hyper-connectivity, and deregulation are
disrupting business value chains and the nature
of consumption and competition. Few would
argue against the need for rapid innovation.
Fourth, diversity of talent: Shifts in age
profiles, education, and migration flows, along
with expectations of equality of opportunity and work/life balance, are all impacting
employee populations.
Diversity of markets, customers, ideas,
and talent: These simultaneous shifts are the
new context. For leaders who have perfected
their craft in a more homogenous environment, rapid adjustment is in order. Of course,
1
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
Figure 1. The six signature traits of an inclusive leader
Cognizance
Curiosity
Because bias is a leader’s
Achilles' heel
Because different ideas and
experiences enable growth
The six
signature
traits
Courage
Because talking about
imperfections involves
personal risk-taking
Cultural
intelligence
Because not everyone
sees the world through
the same cultural frame
Commitment
Collaboration
Because staying the
course is hard
Because a diverse-thinking team is
greater than the sum of its parts
Graphic: Deloitte University Press | DUPress.com
2
Thriving in a diverse new world
the core aspects of leadership, such as setting
direction and influencing others, are timeless,
but we see a new capability that is vital to the
way leadership is executed. We call this inclusive leadership, and our research has identified
six traits that characterize an inclusive mindset and inclusive behavior.
This report is intended to help leaders think
about how traditional notions of leadership
must change.2 We are not suggesting a wholesale replacement of previous leadership theory.
Elements of inclusive leadership are echoed
in transformational, servant, and authentic
leadership, for example, and these concepts are
carried forward. However, we have amplified
and built on these known attributes to define
a powerful new capability uniquely adapted
to a diverse environment. Understanding
and being adept at inclusive leadership will
help leaders thrive in their increasingly
diverse environment.
This report is structured in three parts.
First, we briefly describe the four shifts
elevating the importance of inclusive leadership—the “Why care?” aspect of the discussion. In the second part, we have identified the
six signature traits of an inclusive leader (figure
1). In doing so, we have mined our experiences with more than 1,000 global leaders,
deep-diving into the views of 15 leaders and
subject matter experts, and surveying over
1,500 employees on their perceptions of inclusion. We have also built on existing thought
leadership and applied research and drawn
on work with our inclusive leadership assessment tool—on which our six-part framework
is based—which has proved both reliable and
valid in pilot testing.3 Sensing that inclusive
leadership is a new capability, we have been
examining this space since 2011, rather than
relying solely on pre-existing leadership assessments and databases, with their historic biases.
We conclude with some suggested strategies to
help organizations cultivate inclusive capabilities across their leadership population.
3
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
A diverse new world: Markets,
customers, ideas, and talent
F
OUR global mega-trends are creating a
business context that is far less homogenous and much more diverse than has historically been the case. These interrelated shifts are
influencing business priorities, and reshaping
the capabilities required of leaders to succeed
in the future.
Diversity of markets
The growth in emerging market economies may have slowed—and big challenges
abound—but the long-term potential
remains significant.4
By 2025, the world’s middle-class population is expected to reach 3.2 billion, up from
1.8 billion in 2009, with the majority of this
growth coming from Asia, Africa, and Latin
America.5 As income levels rise, so does consumer demand. This growing population now
represents the single biggest growth opportunity in the portfolio of many companies
around the world.6
Reaching these consumers profitably, however, is anything but straightforward.7 Markets
are characterized by significant cultural, political, and economic differences. Tension exists
between local adaptation and international
scale. Home-grown players can provide stiff
competition and strong local talent is scarce.
Indeed, in a 2015 survey of 362 executives, just
10 percent believed that they have the full suite
of capabilities needed to win offshore.8
4
So what does this mean for those with
global ambitions? While there is no single
formula for success, research shows that having
people with a more global mindset and capability is critical.9 John Lewis, Jr., global chief
diversity officer of The Coca-Cola Company,
agrees: “Right now, our fastest-growing
markets around the world are sub-Saharan
Africa, India, and China. How we win in these
markets is as much a matter of how we embed
ourselves in these cultures [as any other factor]. The question I put to our business leaders
is: Even if we get all the tactics and logistics
right, can we win if we don’t get the people part
right?”10
Diversity of customers
Customers have always been able to vote
with their feet. Today, this power is even
greater. Empowered through their digital
devices and with more choice, customers
expect greater personalization and a voice in
shaping the products and services they consume.11 Facing millions of individual expectations and experiences across an increasingly
diverse customer base, the challenge for companies is to deliver individualized insights and
a personal touch with the efficiencies of scale.
To remain competitive in this environment,
organizations have realized, customer centricity is paramount. Customer promises are
being written into vision statements, operating
Thriving in a diverse new world
models are being redesigned to ensure that
customers are at the heart of the business, and
the role of the “chief customer officer” has been
created and elevated to the executive team.
But more than just changing systems and
structures, organizations are increasingly
focusing on cultivating more customer-centric
mindsets and capabilities. The new buzzwords
of “empathy” and “connectedness”—concepts
that underpin popular methods such as design
thinking—are taking hold as organizations
strive to better understand customers’ worlds
and future needs. And while development
programs of the past may have focused on
traditional customer-facing roles, a leader-led
approach is increasingly being adopted.
Telstra has embarked on a journey to orient
the entire organization around the customer,
including the way leaders are developed.
“Leaders are central to the connected strategy,”
says Rob Brown, director of customer advocacy.12 “They are the linchpin that sets the pace
and culture of our organization. If leaders don’t
understand how we need to think differently,
if they don’t get that we need to connect with
customers’ needs to understand what they
want and how best to simplify things for them,
then it’s hard, if not impossible, for the teams
to get it.”
Diversity of ideas
Organizations must “innovate or die,” extols
Bill Gates.13 A bold statement, but we need not
look far to see its validity. Seemingly overnight, digital disruption has reshaped whole
industries and iconic brands and brought forth
new players.
For most leaders, it’s an imperative that’s
well understood. In a 2014 survey of 1,500
executives, three-quarters said that innovation
was among their company’s top three priorities.14 Despite this, 83 percent perceived their
companies’ innovation capabilities to be average (70 percent) or weak (13 percent).15
So what sets apart breakthrough innovators from the rest? The survey found that,
compared with others, “breakthrough” innovators “cast a wide net for ideas.”16 In the
race for new ideas, diversity of thinking is
gaining prominence as a strategy to protect
against groupthink and generate breakthrough
insights. However, while many agree intellectually that collective intelligence enhances group
performance, few understand how to consistently achieve it with any degree of specificity.17
In this context, a leader’s understanding of
how diversity of thinking works will be critical
to success. As François Hudon, an executive
at Bank of Montreal, states: “For leaders, it’s
making sure you have little risk of being blindsided by something that a diverse team would
have known about and would have identified
as an opportunity or a risk. I think it brings
far greater confidence to the decision making
when you know you are being supported by
people who have far more diverse points of
view.”
Diversity of talent
Diversity of talent is at risk of being
overshadowed by other shifts. This is because
demographic change has a slow-burn effect on
workplace profiles. And, of course, diversity of
talent is not a new topic. Anti-discrimination
laws and the “war for talent” have seen organizations pay attention to historically marginalized groups for some time. Leaders underplay
this shift at their peril.
Changes in population age profiles, education, and migration flows, along with expectations of equality of opportunity and work/life
balance, are all deeply impacting employee
populations. More than ever, future success
will depend on a leader’s ability to optimize a
diverse talent pool.
By way of example, the world’s population
is aging rapidly. In 2050, those aged 65 and
over are predicted to reach 22 percent of the
global population, up from 10 percent today,18
with implications for workforce participation.
Against that backdrop, the expansion of higher
education is creating a group of highly mobile,
5
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
educated workers.19 By 2030, China will have
more graduates than the entire US workforce,
and India will produce four times as many
graduates as the United States by 2020.20 The
Millennials, too, are coming of age. This generation will comprise 50 percent of the global
workforce by 2020.21 With high expectations
and different attitudes toward work, they will
be integral in shaping organizational cultures
into the future.
To date, however, data suggest that many
companies have struggled to include diverse
6
employees. For example, while their number in
the workforce is increasing, women hold just
12 percent of corporate board seats worldwide.22 In the future, demographic shifts will
put greater pressure on leaders to be inclusive
of diversity. According to one leader interviewed, “Fundamentally, inclusion is a principle that anybody who is good enough to be
employed within the team is capable of becoming a leader and developing to the best of their
potential. And that is anybody.”
Thriving in a diverse new world
The six signature traits of an
inclusive leader
I
F inclusive leadership reflects a new way of
leading teams, then we need to look beyond
traditional leadership assessment tools and
frameworks. Since 2011, we have researched
this new leadership capability, with our initial
exploration leading us to be much more certain
about “inclusion” itself—what it means, how it
is experienced by others, and how to measure
it. More specifically, our research revealed that
when people feel that they are treated fairly,
that their uniqueness is appreciated and they
have a sense of belonging, and that they have
a voice in decision making, then they will feel
included.23 (See the appendix for a full description of our research methodology.)
2. Personalizing individuals—that is, understanding and valuing the uniqueness of
diverse others while also accepting them as
members of the group
3. Leveraging the thinking of diverse groups
for smarter ideation and decision making
that reduces the risk of being blindsided
To achieve these aims, highly inclusive
leaders demonstrate six signature traits—in
terms of what they think about and what they
do—that are reinforcing and interrelated.
Collectively, these six traits represent a powerful capability highly adapted to diversity.
Embodiment of these traits enables leaders to
Table 1. Elements of inclusion
Fairness and respect
Value and belonging
Confidence and inspiration
Foundational element that is
underpinned by ideas about equality
of treatment and opportunities
Individuals feeling that their
uniqueness is known and
appreciated, while also feeling a
sense of social connectedness and
group membership
Creating the conditions for high
team performance through
individuals having the confidence to
speak up and the motivation to do
their best work
Putting this into the context of leaders,
inclusive leadership is about:
1. Treating people and groups fairly—that is,
based on their unique characteristics, rather
than on stereotypes
operate more effectively within diverse markets, better connect with diverse customers,
access a more diverse spectrum of ideas, and
enable diverse individuals in the workforce to
reach their full potential.
7
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
Table 2. The six signature traits of an inclusive leader
Six traits
15 elements
1
2
3
4
5
6
Commitment
Courage
Cognizance
of bias
Curiosity
Cultural
intelligence
Collaboration
Personal values
Humility
Self-regulation
Openess
Drive
Empowerment
Belief in the
business case
Bravery
Fair play
Perspectivetaking
Knowledge
Teaming
Coping with
ambiguity
Adaptability
Voice
These six traits and fifteen elements are not
a meaningless or aspirational laundry list. As
our interviews and formal 180-degree assessment of leaders and peers/followers revealed,
they are very tangible and developable.
Trait 1: Commitment
Highly inclusive leaders are committed to
diversity and inclusion because these objectives align with their personal values and
because they believe in the business case.
Being inclusive of diversity is a big challenge. It takes time and energy, two of a leader’s
most precious commodities. So what motivates
a leader to expend these resources in the pursuit of diversity?
Clearly, an understanding of the commercial imperative is critical, as discussed in the
previous section. “It is hard to argue with the
diversity argument in a business context,” says
Jennifer Reid, head of retail, business, and treasury payments operations at Bank of Montreal.
“When you look at the changes in the business
environment, it would be very difficult for any
business leader to say they don’t need to pay
attention.”
Intriguingly, however, many of the leaders interviewed in our research cited the
extrinsic reward of enhanced performance as
a secondary motivator. Their primary motivation for pursuing diversity and inclusion was
8
alignment with their own personal values and
a deep-seated sense of fairness. “To me, it’s all
about fairness and equality of opportunity,”
says Belinda Hutchinson, chancellor of the
University of Sydney. “It’s about giving people
the opportunity to achieve what they should be
able to achieve. It doesn’t just relate to gender.
It relates to race, religion, sexual preference—
whatever else it may be.”
This insight is consistent with research
by the US-based think tank Catalyst, which
identified “a strong sense of fair play” as the
most significant predictor that men would
champion gender initiatives in the workplace.24
Interestingly, Catalyst also observed that individuals’ “commitment to fairness ideals was
rooted in very personal experiences.”25 This
finding has particular resonance for one leader
we interviewed: “At school . . . it was very
much an in-group and out-group dynamic that
I experienced. And I have always had sensitivity to any form of exclusion that comes from a
person.”
This combination of intellect (that is, belief
in the business case) and emotion (that is,
a sense of fair play and caring for people as
individuals, not “resources”) is consistent with
the “head and heart” strategy emphasized
by change expert John Kotter. According to
Kotter, while engaging the minds of individuals through rational arguments is important,
Thriving in a diverse new world
“people change what they do less because
they are given analysis that shifts their thinking than because they are shown a truth that
influences their feelings.”26 The Coca-Cola
Company’s Lewis, Jr., agrees: “The business
case is compelling. But for this to work, you
need to connect to the minds and the hearts.”
We suspect it is this blend that enables leaders to speak about diversity and inclusion in a
compelling way. As one leader observes, inclusive leaders have an “authenticity about the
agenda and a consistency about it as well. It is
in their communications. People look at them
and say they are ‘fair dinkum.’” For Dr. Rohini
Anand, senior vice president and global chief
diversity officer at Sodexo, this contrasts with
those who are not committed: “It is not necessarily people saying overt things . . . [but] they
are just mouthing words without internalizing
it. Therefore it is shallow and not sustainable.”
More than just talking, when leaders prioritize time, energy, and resources to address
inclusion, it signals that a verbal commitment
is a true priority. As Mike Henry, president
of operations for Minerals for Australia at
BHP Billiton explains, prioritization includes
treating diversity and inclusion as a business
imperative: “Like any other organizational priority, or something that is strategically significant to the organization, it needs to be part of
the business plan, management conversations,
and targets, and you need to have an objective
way of assessing whether you are achieving
what you want to achieve.” At a personal level,
inclusive leaders also believe that creating an
inclusive culture starts with them, and they
possess a strong sense of personal responsibility for change. “You can’t just come out as
a leader and say, ‘This is important; set the
targets, and everyone go out and achieve the
targets,’” says Henry. “You may achieve the targets, but not the culture you need. The leader
needs to invest in people, building shared aspiration and building an aligned understanding
of the business case. They need to work with
the team on the ‘how.’”
CATALYST AND INCLUSIVE
LEADERSHIP
Founded in 1962, Catalyst is a leading nonprofit
organization that seeks to expand opportunities
for women and business. A 2014 study by
Catalyst identified four leadership behaviors
that predicted feelings of uniqueness and
belongingness—key elements of inclusion—
across employees in Australia, China, Germany,
Mexico, and the United States. These were:
• Empowerment: Enabling direct reports to
develop and excel
• Humility: Admitting mistakes; learning
from criticism and different points of view;
acknowledging and seeking contributions
of others to overcome one’s limitations
• Courage: Putting personal interests aside
to achieve what needs to be done; acting
on convictions and principles even when it
requires personal risk-taking
• Accountability: Demonstrating confidence
in direct reports by holding them
responsible for performance they can
control
The current research has identified similar
leadership behaviors (that is, personal risk-taking,
humility, and empowerment) as important to
inclusive leadership. However, our framework
expands on these ideas in the broader context of
diversity of markets, ideas, customers, and talent.
Most importantly, it identifies the 15 specific
elements inclusive leaders think about and do.
9
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
Table 3. Elements of commitment
Signature trait: Commitment
Element
Personal values
What inclusive leaders
think about
• Alignment of personal values to
inclusion
What inclusive leaders do
• Treat all team members with fairness and respect
• Understand the uniqueness of each team member
• Take action to ensure each team member feels connected to
the group/organization
• Proactively adapt their work practices to meet the needs of
others
Business case belief
• Commercial value of diversity
and inclusion with respect to
talent, innovation, customers,
and new market growth
• Treat diversity and inclusion as a business priority
• Take personal responsibility for diversity and inclusion
outcomes
• Clearly and authentically articulate the value of diversity and
inclusion
• Allocate resources toward improving diversity and inclusion
within the workplace
Trait 2: Courage
Highly inclusive leaders speak up and
challenge the status quo, and they are humble
about their strengths and weaknesses.
“The early adopters of this work have been
. . . perceived as mavericks in their environment,” says The Coca-Cola Company’s Lewis,
Jr. “Frankly, they need to be a bit courageous,
because they buck the trend. For leaders, they
need to make a decision as to whether they
dig in and entrench as they are, or recognize
the world as it will become, and be part of the
change.” The courage to speak up—to challenge others and the status quo—is a central
behavior of an inclusive leader, and it occurs at
three levels: with others, with the system, and
with themselves.
Challenging others is perhaps the most
expected focus for leaders. For one leader
interviewed, courage includes gently challenging followers to see their behaviors and
the impact they have on others. “I talk [to my
team] about how I came across in that meeting,” this leader says. “But I also give them
really regular feedback: ‘Did you know you did
that in that meeting, how others may perceive
10
that?’ It’s really important to make the feedback
regular . . . on-the-ground coaching is critical.”
Courage also comes into play in a willingness to challenge entrenched organizational
attitudes and practices that promote homogeneity. In the 1980s, for example, McKinsey
changed its recruiting practices to promote
divergent thinking and meet a demand for
consultants. Instead of continuing to recruit
from a narrow pool of MBAs from the top
business schools, McKinsey’s Advanced
Professional Degree (APD) program sought
out talent from industry and a broader base
of universities.27 Where courage came in was
the preparedness to challenge the status quo
and then to address the initial bias toward
MBAs as partner-elects. Courageous partners
talked with their peers and sought personal
promises of commitment to support APD
talent; they briefed the evaluation committee on the need to assess performance objectively; and they intervened when necessary to
improve APD recruits’ chances of fitting in.
Today, 20 to 30 percent of McKinsey’s North
American associates are classed as APDs, as
opposed to 10 percent in the early 1990s;28 the
Thriving in a diverse new world
diversity of background, industry experience,
and discipline knowledge of APDs are seen as
highly valuable.29
There’s a vulnerability to being an inclusive
leader, because confronting others and the
status quo immediately invites the spotlight to
turn on the speaker. Being an agent for change
can also be met with cynicism and challenges
from others. According to University of Sydney
chancellor Belinda Hutchinson, “You need to
take risks and recognize that you’re going to
have some failures along the way, and you will
need to get up, shake yourself off, and get on
with it. It’s about patience and persistence. You
may try this, or that, and it may not work, but
if you keep driving towards the end goal, then
you will get there. So it is about courage and
commitment to stay the course.”
Inclusive leaders have the courage to speak
out about themselves and to reveal, in a very
personal way, their own limitations. Instead of
shying away from the challenge of imperfection, highly inclusive leaders adopt an attitude
of humility. In 2014, the US-based think tank
Catalyst identified “humility” as one of the four
leadership behaviors that predicated whether
employees felt included (see sidebar above,
“Catalyst and inclusive leadership”).30 Yet, as
Catalyst rightly pointed out, humility is the one
attribute that is “most antithetical to common
notions of leadership.” It is difficult for leaders
in the public spotlight to admit they don’t have
all the answers. Courage and humility therefore go hand in hand.
Humility, according to Catalyst, also
encompasses learning from criticism and
different points of view, as well as seeking
contributions from others to overcome one’s
limitations.31 According to Sodexo’s Anand,
“Those [leaders] who lack the self-awareness
and humility to learn and admit they don’t
know everything—these would be leaders who
miss an opportunity to learn, and who will be
blindsided if they are not careful.”
Trait 3: Cognizance of bias
Highly inclusive leaders are mindful of
personal and organizational blind spots, and
self-regulate to help ensure “fair play.”
“The leaders that are inclusive do a couple
of things,” says Sodexo’s Anand. “At the individual level, they are very self-aware, and they
act on that self-awareness. And they acknowledge that their organizations, despite best
intentions, have unconscious bias, and they
put in place policies, processes, and structures
in order to mitigate the unconscious bias that
exists.”
Table 4. Elements of courage
Signature trait: Courage
Element
Humility
What inclusive leaders
think about
• Awareness of personal strengths
and weaknesses
What inclusive leaders do
• Acknowledge personal limitations and weaknesses
• Seek the contributions of others to overcome personal
limitations
• Admit mistakes when made
Bravery
• Being an agent for change and
the positive impact diversity and
inclusion can have
• Approach diversity and inclusion wholeheartedly
• Challenge entrenched organizational attitudes and practices
that promote homogeneity
• Hold others to account for noninclusive behaviors
11
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
EXAMPLES OF SUBTLE BIASES
THAT CAN NEGATIVELY IMPACT
THE WAY WE SEE OTHERS AND
THE DECISIONS WE MAKE
Implicit stereotypes
Occurs when people judge others according to
unconscious stereotypes
Similarity-attraction bias
The tendency to more easily and deeply connect
with people who “look and feel” like ourselves
In-group favoritism
A tendency to favor members of in-groups and
neglect members of out-groups
Attribution error
Occurs when the wrong reason is used to explain
someone’s behavior; coupled with in-group
favoritism, this results in a positive attribution for
in-group members and a negative attribution for
out-group members
Confirmation bias
Seeking or interpreting information that is partial
to existing beliefs
Groupthink
When the desire for group harmony overrides
rational decision making
Biases are a leader’s Achilles’ heel, potentially resulting in decisions that are unfair and
irrational. Inclusive leaders are deeply aware
that biases can narrow their field of vision
and prevent them from making objective
decisions. In particular, inclusive leaders are
highly sensitized to two fundamental phenomena: personal biases, such as homophily and
implicit stereotypes and attitudes; and process
biases, such as confirmation bias and groupthink.32 Importantly, they are cognizant of the
situations and factors, such as time pressures
and fatigue, causing them to be most vulnerable to biases’ pull. Inclusive leaders also exert
considerable effort to learn about their own
biases, self-regulate, and develop corrective
strategies. They understand that their natural state, without these interventions, tends
to lean toward self-cloning and self-interest,
and that success in a diverse world requires a
different approach.
BHP Billiton’s Henry is aware that recruitment is a vulnerable moment for him. “I am
very clear about the type of person I gravitate
to when hiring. Consciously, I put all sorts of
checks and balances in place with respect to
the thinkers I gravitate to. There have been
times when I have overridden my opinion
with others’ advice, and it has worked out
spectacularly.”
In the context of diverse talent, inclusive
leaders think about three features of fairness
with the aim of creating an environment of
“fair play”:33
1. Outcome: Are outcomes such as pay and
performance ratings, as well as development and promotion opportunities, allocated on the basis of capability and effort, or
does their distribution reflect bias?
2. Process: Are the processes applied in deciding these outcomes (a) transparent, (b)
applied consistently, (c) based on accurate
information, (d) free from bias, and (e)
inclusive of the views of individuals affected
by the decisions, or are they tinged with
bias, thus leading to undeserved success for
some and failure for others?
12
Thriving in a diverse new world
Table 5. Elements of cognizance of bias
Signature trait: Cognizance of bias
Element
Self-regulation
What inclusive leaders
think about
What inclusive leaders do
• Acceptance of bias and concern
for its impact
• Learn about their personal biases, including through feedback
• Follow processes to ensure personal biases do not influence
decisions about others
• Moments when they are most
vulnerable to bias
Fair play
• Identify and address organizational processes that are
inconsistent with merit
• Awareness of the three features
of fairness: outcomes, processes,
and communication
• Make fair and merit-based decisions about talent (for example,
with respect to promotions, rewards, and task allocations)
• Employ transparent, consistent, and informed decision-making
processes about talent
• Provide those affected with clear explanations of the processes
applied and reasons for decisions made
3. Communication: Are the reasons for
decisions made, and processes applied,
explained to those affected, and are people
treated respectfully in the process?
Importantly, as Bank of Montreal’s Reid
demonstrates, inclusive leaders are aware
that “fairness” does not necessarily equate
to “same.” She says, “I grew up with a learning disability and, at certain times, I required
different levels of support. My mum would
say that fairness didn’t always mean the exact
same, but the opportunity to be your best, and
this would mean that you need different things
at different times.”
In thinking about process, inclusive leaders
seek to pinpoint processes that create subtle
advantages for some and subtle disadvantages
for others, perpetuating homogeneity and
undermining inclusion. This understanding led Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas, to put
strategies in place to mitigate the impact of
bias in performance conversations. “In the
past, people’s opinions and biases were often
at the forefront of our talent discussions. We
embarked on a strategy to take out bias—using
external assessments, global benchmarking,
and leadership and “potential” data. Now we
have a more objective and collective view of
talent. This enables us to confidently discuss
career planning, mobility, and the benefit of
getting different critical experiences across
diverse business segments.”34
Trait 4: Curiosity
Highly inclusive leaders have an open
mindset, a desire to understand how others
view and experience the world, and a tolerance for ambiguity.
What’s the one attribute CEOs need to succeed in the future? “I would place my bet on
curiosity,” responded Michael Dell, chairman
and chief executive officer of Dell Inc., in a
2015 interview. “Because with curiosity comes
learning and new ideas, and in businesses that
are changing very rapidly, if you’re not curious,
you’re not learning, and you’re going to have a
real problem.”35
Inclusive leaders accept their limitations
and hunger for the views of others to complete
the picture. This thirst for continual learning
helps drive attributes associated with curiosity—open-mindedness, inquiry, and empathy.
Such behaviors do not come easily. Time and
effort are required to engage with diverse
others, as is the skill of synthesizing a broader
range of perspectives. But the result is loyalty
from others who feel valued, along with access
13
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
to a richer set of information that enables better decision making.
The openness to different ideas and experiences is a defining characteristic of inclusive
leaders, who give weight to the insights of
diverse others. As Bank of Montreal’s Hudon
describes: “I tend to specifically ask the opinion of someone who will bring a different view
from my own. As we discuss an issue, I will
often go to people who are likely processing
things differently, and purposely ask for their
opinion, knowing it will come from a different
place than my own.”
For inclusive leaders, asking curious questions and actively listening are core skills that
are key to deepening their understanding of
perspectives from diverse individuals. Since
the 1970s, Oscar-winning producer Brian
Grazer has conducted “curiosity conversations” with over 450 diverse strangers—talks
that have inspired many of the films and shows
he has produced, including Apollo 13 and A
Beautiful Mind.36 “I seek out their perspective
and experience and stories, and by doing that, I
multiply my own experience a thousand-fold,”
he says. For Grazer, curiosity is a “superhero
power.”37
Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, Chief
of Army, Australia, says about his own efforts:
“I try to listen. And I try to understand why
someone’s opinion is different from mine.
And I think in those two efforts . . . you are
both recognizing the individual and respecting them, and you’re giving pause to analyze,
compare, complement, and question your own
beliefs. In trying to understand the difference
of opinion, you are giving the project or the
initiative you are dealing with space to become
better.” Maaike Steinebach, chief executive of
CBA’s Hong Kong branch, agrees that listening
deeply is critical to her success. “I really make
an effort to try to learn something new from
the people I talk to. As an extrovert it’s very
easy to talk, but if you’re quiet, you can hear
more about others and what is going on, and it
can be a much more valuable experience.”
For inclusive leaders, openness also involves
withholding fast judgment, which can stifle the
flow of ideas. As Hayden Majajas, diversity and
inclusion director, Asia-Pacific at BP, explains,
Table 6. Elements of curiosity
Signature trait: Curiosity
Element
Openess
What inclusive leaders
think about
• Their own limitations and the
value of new and different ideas
and experiences
What inclusive leaders do
• Demonstrate a desire for continued learning
• Actively seek the perspectives of diverse others in ideation and
decision making
• Withhold fast judgment when engaging with diverse others
Perspective taking
• Enhancing one’s own
understanding of new or
different perspectives
• Listen attentively when another person is voicing a point of
view
• Engage in respectful and curious questioning to better
understand others’ viewpoints
• Demonstrate the ability to see things from others’ viewpoints
Coping with
uncertainty
• Acceptance that some ambiguity
and uncertainty is inevitable
• Cope effectively with change
• Demonstrate and encourage divergent thinking
• Seek opportunities to connect with a diverse range of people
14
Thriving in a diverse new world
making judgments can also limit personal
growth and connections: “I think that religion
is a good example at the moment. For example,
if we are talking about religion in the workplace, it is one thing to be curious, but another
to be able to suspend your own beliefs. Asking
a question knowing that you could not change
your beliefs under any circumstances—not
in terms of taking on someone else’s religion,
but in terms of what you think is right and
wrong—is pointless. But temporarily suspending your beliefs enables you to learn more and
to engage, and often that is the key to overcoming barriers.”
In a virtuous circle, curiosity encourages
connections with diverse others, which in turn
promotes empathy and perspective-taking.
Both have been shown to have a multitude of
benefits, including fostering a more constructive exchange of ideas (diversity of ideas),38
facilitating greater customer insight (diversity
of customers), and decreasing one’s susceptibility to bias (diversity of talent).39
Trait 5: Culturally intelligent
Highly inclusive leaders are confident and
effective in cross-cultural interactions.
For inclusive leaders, the ability to function effectively in different cultural settings is
about more than just having a mental map of
different cultural frameworks (for example,
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory). While
an understanding of cultural similarities and
differences is important, inclusive leaders also
recognize how their own culture impacts their
personal worldview, as well as how cultural
stereotypes—including the misuse of cultural
models—can influence their expectations
of others.
At a deeper level, inclusive leaders’ thirst
for learning means that they are also motivated
to deepen their cultural understanding and
to learn from the experience of working in an
unfamiliar environment. This curiosity leads
them to value cultural differences, defying ethnocentric tendencies that cause people to judge
other cultures as inferior to their own, and
enabling them to build stronger connections
with people from different backgrounds. As
Geert Peeters, CFO of CLP Group, comments:
“There is no one culture that is smarter than
another. In recognizing intelligence in each
culture, your culture’s intelligence may not
necessarily be used today for today’s problems,
but it will be used tomorrow for tomorrow’s
problems. There is no point in judging. We just
need to bank all of these cultural differences to
have a collective intelligence and to be able to
use it.”
Inclusive leaders are tolerant of ambiguity, which enables them to manage the stress
imposed by new or different cultural environments as well as situations where familiar
environmental or behavioral cues are lacking.
As BP’s Majajas describes, inclusive leaders are
also adept at changing their verbal and nonverbal behaviors according to cultural demands.
“It is about when and how you would adapt
your forms of expression and communication
with other people. And that includes everything—when you use gestures, when you slow
down, when you enunciate or pronounce your
words better, when you choose your language.
This is about being more specific and more
deliberate.”
Finally, inclusive leaders understand that
the ability to adapt does not mean “going
native,” which can cause leaders to lose sight
of what they want to achieve by overcompensating for new cultural demands.40 As Majajas
puts it, “It’s about being flexible but authentic. I
think a more inclusive leader is someone who
knows when to adapt and doesn’t necessarily
need to change who they are fundamentally.”
Many of the capabilities discussed above
are encapsulated in the model known as
“cultural intelligence” (CQ), which comprises
four elements:41
1. Motivational: The leader’s energy and interest toward learning about, and engaging in,
cross-cultural interactions
15
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
Table 7. Elements of cultural intelligence
Signature trait: Cultural intelligence
Element
Drive
What inclusive leaders
think about
• The personal and organizational
benefits of learning about, and
experiencing, different cultures
What inclusive leaders do
• Take an active interest in learning about other cultures
• Seek out opportunities to experience culturally diverse
environments
• Are confident leading cross-cultural teams
Knowledge
• The differences and similarities
between cultures
• Seek information on the local context; for example, politics
and ways of working
• Relevant country-specific
knowledge to operate effectively
within specific geographies (for
example, business and economic
knowledge, norms, practices,
and conventions)
Adaptability
• Acceptance that different cultural
situations may require behavioral
adaptation
• Work well with individuals from different cultural backgrounds
• Change style appropriately when a cross-cultural encounter
requires it
• Use appropriate verbal (for example, speed, tone, use of
pause/silence) and nonverbal (for example, gestures, facial
expressions, body language, physical contact) behavior in
cross-cultural encounters
2. Cognitive: The leader’s knowledge
of relevant cultural norms, practices,
and conventions
3. Metacognitive: The leader’s level
of conscious cultural awareness
during interactions
4. Behavioral: The use of appropriate
verbal and nonverbal actions in crosscultural interactions
Research has demonstrated the positive
relationship between CQ and a range of important business outcomes, including expatriate
job performance, intercultural negotiation
effectiveness, and team process effectiveness in
multicultural teams.42
16
Trait 6: Collaborative
Highly inclusive leaders empower individuals as well as create and leverage the thinking of diverse groups.
“The new IQ is based more on group intelligence,” says Bruce Stewart, acting director,
strategic initiatives, US Office of Personnel
Management. “The old IQ is about how smart
you are; the new IQ is about how smart you
make your team. If you take it to heart, it will
change the way you lead. Instead of the leader
leading from top of the pyramid, they lead
from the middle of the circle.”
At its core, collaboration is about individuals working together, building on each
other’s ideas to produce something new or
solve something complex. But while collaboration among similar people is comfortable and
easy, the challenge and opportunity thrown
Thriving in a diverse new world
up by the foundational shifts is collaboration
with diverse others: employees, customers, or
other stakeholders.
Inclusive leaders understand that, for collaboration to be successful, individuals must
first be willing to share their diverse perspectives. For Bank of Montreal’s Reid, this willingness is cultivated by creating an environment
where individuals feel valued personally and
are empowered to contribute. “It’s about people
having the freedom to work from their own
perspective . . . [feeling] that their perspective
is valued, and that they feel that in a very genuine way. And that empowers them to provide
alternative points of view.”
Rather than controlling the flow of ideas,
inclusive leaders encourage autonomy, empowering their teams to connect with others in
the pursuit of diverse perspectives. “The end
state for a good performing team is an autonomous team,” says Deven Billimoria, CEO of
Smartgroup Corporation. “I recently visited
a company that has a Net Promoter Score
through the roof and a best employer status
that is almost unparalleled. I talked to some
of the people that are on the phones, and one
thing that resonated with me is the sense of
autonomy. They have the autonomy to do what
they want. Their managers trust them, the
company trusts them, and I thought that we
could do that better.”
For inclusive leaders, diversity of thinking is
a critical ingredient for effective collaboration.
Far from being guided by hunches and feelings,
or leaving success to chance, inclusive leaders
adopt a disciplined approach to diversity of
thinking, paying close attention to team composition and the decision-making processes
employed.43 In this way, they understand the
demographic factors that cause individuals and
groups to think differently, both directly (for
example, educational background and mental
frameworks) and indirectly (for example, gender and race), and purposely align individuals
to teams based on that knowledge.44
Table 8. Elements of collaboration
Signature trait: Collaboration
Element
Empowerment
What inclusive leaders
think about
• Ensuring that others feel able
and comfortable to contribute
independently
What inclusive leaders do
• Give team members the freedom to handle difficult situations
• Empower team members to make decisions about issues that
impact their work
• Hold team members accountable for performance they can
control
Teaming
• Being disciplined about diversity
of thinking in terms of team
composition and processes
• Assemble teams that are diverse in thinking
• Work hard to ensure that team members respect each other
and that there are no out-groups within the team
• Anticipate and take appropriate action to address team
conflict when it occurs
Voice
• Adapting styles and processes to
ensure that every team member
has a voice
• Create a safe environment where people feel comfortable to
speak up
• Explicitly include all team members in discussions
• Ask follow-up questions
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The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
Inclusive leaders are also deeply aware
that—even when a diverse-thinking team has
been assembled—process biases can pull a
group toward sameness and the status quo.
For example, like-minded team members are
drawn toward each other when testing ideas;
confirmation bias causes individuals to reference only those perspectives that conform to
pre-existing views; and in-group favoritism
causes some team members to cluster. These
leaders therefore work to mitigate the effects of
process biases.45 They are attuned to the propensity for fault lines to fracture the team into
subgroups, which can weaken relationships
and create conflict. They proactively employ
strategies that foster a sense of “one team,”
creating a superordinate group identity and
shared goals, and working to ensure people
understand and value the bank of knowledge
and capabilities across the group.
Further, inclusive leaders understand that
people are most collaborative when they feel
safe to contribute without fear of embarrassment or punishment. They understand that
power dynamics, dominating styles, and low
tolerance of differences can stop team members from speaking up. They focus on building
trust across the group, establishing a set of
18
guiding principles, for example, that encourage people to contribute without fear. “I think
that it is important to assume good intent,”
says Rachel Argaman, CEO of TFE Hotels.
“If we are talking around the table, I might
suggest something, and more than half of my
team might say, ‘No, we shouldn’t do that,
we should do this!’ I think that’s normal and
healthy. It’s certainly normal and healthy for
our team.” Finally, inclusive leaders appreciate
the importance of understanding team members’ thinking styles (for example, introvert
versus extrovert), and they adapt their communication and approach as necessary to elicit
valuable perspectives.
In addition to formal processes, inclusive
leaders also consider whether the broader
organizational culture and infrastructure,
including workplace design and technology, promote social connections across the
organization. As the US Office of Personnel
Management’s Stewart explains, “If leaders
want to be inclusive, they [also] need to think
about idea spaces. They need to make sure
there are places where different ideas and
individuals can mix. Folks who generate more
ideas in inclusive ways—they are the smarter
companies.”
Thriving in a diverse new world
What can organizations do?
T
HE six signature traits of an inclusive
leader have important implications for
how organizations select and develop leaders.
Below, we provide some possible actions to
help organizations develop inclusive leadership
capabilities and build a culture of inclusion.
Strategic alignment
• Highlight inclusive leadership as a core
pillar within the organization’s diversity and
inclusion strategy.
• Articulate a compelling narrative as to
why inclusive leadership is critical to
business success. For example, how may
inclusive leadership drive innovation
and prevent the organization from being
blindsided, support greater customer connectivity, optimize talent, and/or enable
leaders to operate more effectively in a
global marketplace?
• Make symbolic workplace changes to signify the importance of inclusive leadership.
For example, incorporate inclusion into an
organization’s values to guide behaviors,
and appoint senior leaders who embody
inclusive leadership.
Recruitment
• Ensure that job advertisements emphasize inclusive leadership capabilities (for
example, collaborative, curious) and the
organization’s commitment to diversity
and inclusion.
• Incorporate inclusion into behavioral interview questions. For example, an interviewer
could ask, “Describe a situation where others you were working with disagreed with
your ideas. How did you respond?”
Capability and competency
management
• Integrate inclusive leadership capabilities into the organization’s leadership
competency model.
Performance management
• Link KPIs to inclusive behaviors and diversity and inclusion outcomes. For example,
establish a metric around employee perceptions of leadership commitment to diversity
and inclusion and their inclusive behaviors.
• Ensure that those appointed to seniorlevel positions embody inclusive
19
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
leadership or demonstrate a genuine commitment to developing the capability for
inclusive leadership.
• Hold leaders to account for
noninclusive behaviors.
Rewards and recognition
• Reward leaders who role-model
inclusive behaviors.
• Showcase highly inclusive leaders across the
organization as well as the benefits derived
from their inclusive behavior.
Leadership development
• Formally assess inclusive leadership capabilities across senior leaders and people
managers. Identify individual and organizational developmental gaps and create
development plans.
• Encourage leaders to seek informal feedback from others on their capability for
inclusive leadership.
20
• Integrate development of the six signature
traits of inclusive leadership into leadership
development programs.
System integration
• Integrate inclusive leadership into the organization’s global mobility strategy in order
to help assess participant readiness and to
develop current and future leaders.
• Consider how inclusive leadership—as
well as the broader principles of diversity
and inclusion—fit within the organization’s innovation strategy and processes.
For example, in undertaking ideation or
problem-solving activities, ensure that leaders assemble teams that are diverse in their
thinking and that individual and group
biases are mitigated in group discussions.
Diversity—of markets, customers, ideas,
and talent—is an inescapable part of today’s
business environment. When leaders have
clarity about what it means to be highly inclusive—through the six signature traits and fifteen elements—they are positioned for success.
Thriving in a diverse new world
Appendix: Research
methodology
How was the model of inclusive
leadership identified?
The six-factor inclusive leadership model
described in this report was developed through
a comprehensive review of the literature and
refined on the basis of interviews.
Interviews
Seventeen interviewees were identified
across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New
Zealand, Singapore, and the United States
on the basis of one or more of the following
criteria: 1) the individual’s visible commitment to the creation of an inclusive workplace,
2) the individual’s demonstration of inclusive
behaviors, and 3) subject-matter expertise.
Interviewees were identified by either Deloitte
professionals or diversity and inclusion leaders
within their organizations.
Interviews were semi-structured and
covered a range of topics relating to diversity,
inclusion, and leadership style. Three researchers reviewed the transcripts and developed a
coding scheme to capture key themes. Any disagreements between researchers with respect
to coding were discussed and resolved.
Scale construction
A 180-degree measure of inclusive
leadership was constructed using Hinkin,
Tracey, and Enz’s (1997) seven-step scale
development process.46
• Step 1: We generated a pool of potential
items to assess inclusive leadership. Items
were generated deductively, beginning
with a theoretical view of the six signature
traits and the results of our senior leader
interviews. Care was taken to construct
items properly; for example, we avoided
double-barreled items and ensured that
each item was worded simply and directly.
Two versions of the survey were created:
one for leaders to be completed as a selfassessment, and the second to be completed
by their followers/peers.
• Step 2: We assessed the content-adequacy
of the items with a panel of experts. In
particular, this stage focused on ensuring
that the items developed for each of the
six signature traits captured the full definition of each trait. Following from this, we
administered a draft version of the items
to non-experts to check whether the items
under each trait appeared to be face valid.
• Step 3: We administered a refined version of the survey to a sample of 32 senior
leaders (“targets”) and their followers/peers
(“raters”) from multiple organizations.
Respondents were asked to provide their
ratings on a five-point Likert scale ranging
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
agree). A total of 120 items were included in
21
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
the survey. T-tests were conducted to check
for differences between self and other ratings. No significant differences were found.
• Step 4: The data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis using principal components analysis (PCA). Results indicated
that the items all loaded well (>.50) on a
single factor, which we labeled as inclusive
leadership. More detailed examination of
the data revealed fifteen elements across
six factors. At this stage, the total item pool
was reduced by half on the basis of factor
loadings and expert discussion. Duplicative
items were also removed.
22
• Step 5: The internal consistency of the
items was assessed using a scale reliability
assessment. An internal consistency score
was calculated both for the total score (all
60 items) and the 15 sub-elements. Internal
consistency was excellent for both the total
scale and the elements (α values ranged
from .82 to .93).
• Step 6: We re-engaged with our panel of
experts to ensure that the refined version
of the tool still aligned to the theoretical
definition of inclusive leadership. We also
ran a series of standard regressions to check
convergent validity.
Thriving in a diverse new world
Endnotes
1. Deloitte Australia, It’s (almost) all about
me: Workplace 2030, 2013, http://www2.
deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/
Documents/human-capital/deloitte-auhc-diversity-future-work-amp-2013.pdf.
11. Deloitte, The Deloitte consumer review:
The growing power of consumers, 2014,
p. 1, http://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/
pages/consumer-business/articles/thegrowing-power-of-consumers.html.
2. This report has been adapted from the
original publication Fast forward: Leading in
a brave new world of diversity, Deloitte, 2015,
commissioned by Chartered Accountants
Australia and New Zealand. It has been
adapted and republished with permission.
12. Deloitte, Telstra’s ambition to connect
everything to everyone: Transforming business through customer-centricity, 2015,
http://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/
human-capital/articles/telstras-ambitionconnect-everything-everyone-transformingbusiness-through-customer-centricity.html.
3. See the appendix for a description
of the research methodology.
4. International Monetary Fund, “World
economic outlook update: Slower growth
in emerging markets, a gradual pickup
in advanced economies,” 2015.
5. Homi Kharas, The emerging middle class in
developing countries, OECD Development
Centre, working paper no. 285, 2010, p. 27,
http://www.oecd.org/dev/44457738.pdf.
6. Deloitte Consulting LLP, Business
Trends 2014: Navigating the next wave
of globalization, 2014, p. 17.
7. Ibid.
8. Boston Consulting Group, The globalization
capability gap: Execution, not strategy, separates
leaders from laggards, June 10, 2015, https://
www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/
growth-globalization-capability-gap-executionnot-strategy-separates-leaders-laggards/.
9. University of Melbourne and Asialink
Taskforce for an Asia Capable Workforce,
Developing an Asia capable workforce:
A national strategy, 2012, p. 10, http://
hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/220730.
10. Unless otherwise stated, all quotes from
individuals in this report were obtained
through interviews conducted for this
research, as described in the appendix.
13. Keng-Mun Lee, “Even banks must ‘innovate or
die,’” Asset, October 2013, http://www.theasset.
com/article/25449.html#axzz2rpTg5dv5.
14. Boston Consulting Group, “The most innovative companies 2014: Breaking through is hard
to do,” 2014, p. 6, https://www.bcgperspectives.com/most_innovative_companies.
15. Ibid., p. 9.
16. Ibid., p. 11.
17. Juliet Bourke, Which Two Heads are
Better than One? How Diverse Teams
Create Breakthrough Ideas and Make
Robust Decisions (Australia: Australian
Institute of Company Directors, 2016).
18. World Economic Forum, “Global Agenda
Council on Ageing,” http://www.weforum.
org/communities/global-agenda-councilon-ageing, accessed March15, 2016.
19. Deloitte Australia, It’s (almost) all
about me: Workplace 2030, p. 9.
20. Deloitte Consulting LLP, Business Trends 2014, p. 56.
21. PwC, Millennials at work: Reshaping
the workplace, 2011, https://www.pwc.
com/m1/en/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf.
23
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
22. Deloitte, Women in the boardroom: A global
perspective, 2015, http://www2.deloitte.com/
global/en/pages/risk/articles/women-in-theboardroom-a-global-perspective.html.
23. Deloitte and Victorian Equal Opportunity and
Human Rights Commission, Waiter, is that
inclusion in my soup? A new recipe to improve
business performance, May 2013, http://
www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/
au/Documents/human-capital/deloitte-auhc-diversity-inclusion-soup-0513.pdf.
24. Catalyst, Engaging men in change initiatives: What change agents need to know,
May 4, 2009, p. 11, http://www.catalyst.
org/knowledge/engaging-men-genderinitiatives-what-change-agents-need-know.
25. Ibid.
26. John P. Cotter and Dan S. Cohen, The
Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of
How People Change Their Organizations
(Harvard Business Review Press, 2012).
27. Tom H. Davenport and Brook Manville,
Judgment Calls. Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams That Got Them Right
(Harvard Business Review Press, 2012).
28. Ibid., p. 62.
29. Ibid., p. 63.
30. Catalyst, Inclusive leadership: The view
from six countries, May 7, 2014, p. 7,
http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/
inclusive-leadership-view-six-countries.
31. Ibid., p. 7.
32. Deloitte Australia, Inclusive leadership: Will
a hug do?, March 2012, p. 2, http://www2.
deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/
Documents/human-capital/deloitte-au-hcdiversity-inclusive-leadership-hug-0312.pdf.
33. Jason A. Colquitt, Donald E. Conlon, Michael
J. Weeson, Christopher O. L. H. Porter, and
K. Yee Ng, “Justice at the millennium: A
meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research,” Journal of Applied
Psychology 86, no. 3 (2001): pp. 425–445.
34. Chief Executive Women and Male Champions
of Change, It starts with us: The leadership
shadow, 2014, p. 11, https://www.humanrights.
gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/MCC-LeadershipShadow_210314.pdf.
24
35. Warren Berger, “Why curious people
are destined for the C-suite,” Harvard
Business Review, September 11, 2015,
https://hbr.org/2015/09/why-curiouspeople-are-destined-for-the-c-suite.
36. Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman, A
Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015).
37. Ibid.
38. Inga J. Hoever, Daan van Knippenberg,
Wendy P. van Ginkel, and Harry G. Barkema,
“Fostering team creativity: Perspective
taking as a key to unlocking diversity’s
potential,” Journal of Applied Psychology 97, no. 5 (2012): pp. 982–996.
39. Adam D. Galinsky and Gordon B. Moskowitz,
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favouritism,” Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology 78, no. 4 (April 2000): pp. 708–724.
40. Gwyn Rogers (Kaisen Consulting), “Fish
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41. P. Christopher Earley and Soon Ang, Cultural
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Thomas Rockstuhl, Stefan Seiler, Soon Ang,
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effectiveness in a globalized world,” Journal of
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43. Bourke, Which Two Heads are Better than One?
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid.
46. Timothy R. Hinkin, J. Bruce Tracey, and
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Thriving in a diverse new world
Contacts
Authors
Bernadette Dillon (London-based)
Director Consulting
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Australia
+44 7502 099 480
bdillon@deloitte.com.au
Juliet Bourke (Australia-based)
Leader, Diversity and Inclusion
Co-leader, Leadership
Partner, Consulting
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Australia
+61 9322 7379
julietbourke@deloitte.com.au
United Kingdom
Tim Clayton-Ball
Partner, Consulting
Deloitte LLP
+44 7917 336 040
tclaytonball@deloitte.co.uk
Canada
Jackie Scales
Senior manager, Consulting
Deloitte Inc.
+1 416 602 7517
jscales@deloitte.ca
Country contacts
New Zealand
United States
Christie Smith, PhD
Regional managing director
Managing principal, Deloitte University
Leadership Center for Inclusion
Deloitte Consulting LLP
+1 646 785 6711
christiesmith@deloitte.com
Chris Boggs
Associate director, Consulting
Deloitte New Zealand
+64 2 142 7566
cboggs@deloitte.co.nz
25
The six signature traits of inclusive leadership
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kathryn Page, Artie Gindidis, Andrea Espedido, Caroline
Pyszko, and Olivia Dineen of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu for their valuable contributions to
this article.
26
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