The Value of Developing Inclusive Leadership

Friday, March 1, 2024 

Posted by: Rashida MacMurray-Abdullah

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Over the past 10 years, there has been a premise in the business world that inclusive leaders are better leaders. Why? They are high-performing and achieve excellent results for their organizations. Discussing leadership qualities and nurturing the next generation may sound idealistic or overly optimistic, but as lawyers and legal professionals, we aspire to create high-performing teams that incorporate the ingenuity of diverse perspectives. Ultimately, this approach translates to better results for our clients. So how does one become a more inclusive and engaged leader? The good news is that you may already be developing those traits.

What is an Inclusive Leader?

An inclusive leader is comfortable and authentic in their leadership style. They can create custom strategies and initiatives and figure out ways for their entire team to show up as their best selves. Some people are natural leaders – they walk into a room and draw everyone’s attention. Others have the potential to be strong leaders; they just need to learn a few new skills.

According to research conducted by the Harvard Business Review , inclusive leaders typically share six signature traits:

• A commitment to diversity and inclusion that aligns with their personal values. They believe that DEI is essential to a business’s success and that inclusion is everyone’s responsibility.

• The courage to challenge the status quo while being humble and aware of their strengths and weaknesses.

• Inclusive leaders are cognizant of bias and want to ensure fair play and equitable outcomes. They are mindful of their colleagues and the organization’s goals and take time to develop strategies.

• A curiosity about the world and an open mindset to new experiences. They are active listeners and want to understand those around them.

• They have a well-developed cultural intelligence that creates authentic and effective cross-cultural interactions.

• Their collaborative nature empowers their teams to create and leverage diverse thinking. By understanding and including different perspectives, these leaders ensure that there are no gaps in the application to solve tough business problems.

  
  

When developing inclusive leaders and leadership from a law firm context, you should consider at what stage the attorney is in his, her or their career. Did they just join the firm? Were they recently named partner? Is the attorney a lateral hire or perhaps from the government sector? Have they taken on a leadership role as part of their new management responsibilities? These data points are critical for determining what new tools are needed for their inclusion toolkit. An inclusive leader must consider how to navigate their current circumstances as well as how to best show up for their colleagues and clients. They should understand what traits are needed for a particular client or project and how to marry their skills with the dynamics of their team.

Developing a High-Performing Team

Within the realm of DEI, it is the “I” that can become critical to an organization trying to navigate team complexities and create an equitable and collaborative environment.

As an inclusive leader, you must recognize that you may not always have access to the same team member for every client matter. You may need to recruit new team members that will likely have different skills.

The inclusive leader will set the tone for the project by first focusing on getting everyone on the same page and leveraging everybody's strengths. Inclusive leaders take the additional time to give people the space to stretch, grow, and learn from failures. The growth lies in being uncomfortable and learning from mistakes.

People are collaborative by nature. They want to feel a sense of connection and know that their ideas, no matter the size, are being considered. Members of an inclusive team feel responsible for not only their own actions but also the performance of their colleagues.

When the team is operating together, and when members feel like they are empowered to be their best selves, an inclusive leader will achieve not only the level of quality results they want, but also further build a culture rooted in strong individual engagement.

One of the problems that the legal industry is facing right now is the complexity of issues. There are a lot of areas, such as artificial intelligence (AI) or privacy, where we are ahead of the law and legal precedent – and everyone is trying to figure out the best solutions.

This is an opportunity for firms to bring in inclusive leaders who will not be biased or try to incorporate institutional history into the mix. They will show up using innovation as their superpower, create a “no dumb questions” safety net, and be ready to explore every possible solution for these novel legal issues. The core foundation of this inclusion model is based on trust.

Inclusive leaders understand that this approach to maximize their team’s talents must be intentional but will lead to increased profits and overall greater patronage which benefits the entire firm.

In addition to these unprecedented problems, inclusive leaders often address other issues, such as competition, feelings of uncertainty, and mental health. It is important to note here that these are external factors, and when you have a really strong, talented, and inclusive leader, these external issues can be overcome as team members are given the tools to focus on their primary goals.

What Will Inclusive Leadership Look Like in the Future?

What is the value of discussing inclusive leadership and developing inclusive leaders? Partly, it is because of the risk organizations face when they do not have inclusive leaders. When a law firm does not have a person or a department dedicated to inclusivity, it runs the risk of employees feeling siloed or like they are not contributing. That isolation can lead to a lack of engagement or lawyers believing that they are unequipped to help solve the client’s problems.

The world changes every day, every minute. If you are not growing, you are stagnated – which means that the possibilities of what you can accomplish are very limited. Leaders who exclude their team’s talents and ideas and merely serve as decision makers may find themselves with more obstacles and stress down the line.

Most organizations want to thrive and have a legacy, but do they consider what their leaders need to look like five, 10, or 15 years from now? Inclusive leaders are not just maintaining the status quo and letting the default happen. They are proactive, taking ownership, and supporting the growth of their teams.

The reality is that it does not cost anything to be inclusive. Mostly, inclusivity involves leadership and the C-suite taking an extra step to genuinely consider both explicit and implicit parameters of whatever issue they are encountering. Inclusion can sometimes take more time or effort, but these efforts are critical to a business or a law firm’s success. When people feel included and valued, they show up and perform better.

Remember the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” With inclusion, a team can go further and accomplish more than they ever could as individuals. An inclusive leader is a gardener who is focused on ensuring that every flower blooms. It is the collaboration that really makes a difference in how we show up as leaders and how we come together in our organizations to make them stronger and more effective.

Rashida MacMurray-Abdullah is the Chief Diversity Officer at Wiley. The first to serve in this role, MacMurray-Abdullah is responsible for translating DEI strategies into pragmatic programming and initiatives to achieve the firm’s strategic goals. Based in Washington, D.C., she is also an engaged member of ALFDP.