Running head: INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP

Analysis of Inclusive Leadership

Tonya Harris
Grand Canyon University: LDR-804 Leading Across Cultures
May 20, 2015

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Analysis of Inclusive Leadership

The focus of this paper is to deliver an synopsis of inclusive leadership traits, analyze key
leadership skills, assess leadership characteristics, and discuss how inclusive leadership can be
applied to meet challenges and opportunities innate in a global environment. Inclusive leadership
can provide the leader with the tools they need to fortify the global organization. It is the
awareness of the diverse cultures, beliefs and values that makes the leader capable of success.
Traits of Inclusive Leadership
There is a need for inclusive leadership to be used in global organizations such as this one
that employs individuals from Greece, Singapore, Germany and Iran. An organization such as
this requires a leadership style that promotes inclusion and exemplifies certain traits. The leader
has to be determined and deliberate about using diversity in specific situations. They need to
support diversity and inclusion by developing employees. It is the responsibility of the leader to
work on creating an environment that is respectful, as well as to aim for integrity between the
organizations diversity policies and the practices of the employees. The most significant trait
that a leader can possess when implementing an inclusive leadership approach is to lead by
influence and not by authority.
The idea behind inclusive leadership is to do things with people, not to people. The leader
has to include the employees of this organization into decisions, as well as everyday tasks. It is
inclusive leadership that accounts for the needs and expectations of the employees, as well as
their discernment of the leaders actions, attitudes and intentions. The leader has to realize that
leadership is not all about them; it is a process that includes both the leader and the employees.

Key Leadership Skills

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There are several leadership skills that can be utilized to lead this global organization. In
order to create an inclusive environment the leader has to motivate the diverse employees in a
manner that incorporates an organization culture. They have to be able to characterize and
institute organizational diversity policies, as well as recognize and respect cultural differences
and embrace cultural similarities. They have to understand and acknowledge diversity within the
organization. To create an inclusive organizational culture the leader has to communicate
effectively, not only do they have to know how to talk, they have to know how to listen and
observe as well.
The leader of this global organization has to have the ability to understand when and how
to change leadership styles. There may come a time when a leader has to utilize the exclusive
leadership style; however the use may not always be appropriate for this modern global
environment. In an exclusive leadership the leader has all the power; they do not delegate any
responsibilities or share the organizational goals with the employees. The leader that utilizes this
style is more concerned with their own power instead of embracing the diversity of the
environment. They make all the decisions rather than obtain different ideas from the employees.
The employees of this organization may not respond to such leadership.
Leadership Characteristics
The inclusive leader creates an environment that allows the diverse employees to
effectively work together and perform to their full potential by giving everyone the opportunity
to contribute to organizational decisions (Pless & Maak, 2004). The environment is more relaxed
and free from distrust and fear, unlike the exclusive environment. Inclusive leaders obtain their
leadership skills through their personality and characteristics. Leadership characteristics

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incorporate social and people skills. The leader has to have the ability to motivate employees, as
well as support them no matter the cultural differences.
According to House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, and Gupta (2004), there are nine
cultural dimensions that are prominent in creating the organizational culture of this group
containing employees from Greece, Singapore, Germany and Iran. The first cultural dimension
or attribute is uncertainty avoidance, which is the extent to which leaders attempt to avoid doubt
by relying on well-known social norms, practices, and bureaucratic practices (House et al.,
2004). The next attribute is power distance, which is the level to which leaders agree that power
should be stratified and contemplated at higher levels of the organization (House et al., 2004).
The third attribute is institutional collectivism, which is the degree to which organizational
practices support and reward group allocation of resources and group action (House et al., 2004).
The fourth attribute is in group collectivism, which is the extent that leaders express pride,
loyalty and cohesiveness (House et al., 2004). The fifth cultural dimension is gender
egalitarianism, which is the extent to which an organization diminishes gender role differences
all while promoting gender equality (House et al., 2004). Assertiveness is the sixth cultural
dimension; it is the degree in which leaders are confident, challenging, and insistent in their
social relationships (House et al., 2004). The seventh attribute is future orientation, which deals
with how leaders participate in future-oriented behaviors, such as planning, investing, and
hindering employee and group satisfaction (House et al., 2004). Performance orientation is the
eighth attribute, it is the extent in which an organization supports performance improvements
(House et al., 2004). The final cultural dimension is humane orientation, which is the degree in
which leaders reward employees for behaviors that exemplifies generosity, fairness,
unselfishness and caring (House et al., 2004).

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Challenges and Opportunities

The inclusive leadership model describes the necessary elements of effective leadership
and how those elements create inclusive leaders and inclusive organizations. Organizational
effectiveness refers to how efficient an organization is in attaining the intended outcomes.
Organizational competitiveness refers to the organizations ability to offer services that meet the
standards of similar markets in a manner that is competitive. Organizational effectiveness and
competitiveness is essential to the success of the organization and its impact on the economy.
According to Hollander (2012), inclusive leadership respects antagonism and collaboration as
part of a participative process.
The leader of this organization will face challenges and opportunities intrinsic in a global
environment. It will be feasible if the leader applied the inclusive leadership approach to face
challenges and contend with opportunities as they arise. Based on the cultural dimensions that
were described in the leadership characteristics section the leader has to demonstrate respect for
diverse cultural preferences and beliefs. The diverse cultures within this organization have
different understandings and acceptance of the nine cultural dimensions, it is for that reason the
leader has to know and acknowledge the differences each culture brings to the organization. In
order for the leader to apply the inclusive leadership approach to this diverse group they will
have to bridge the gap on the cultural differences, while accepting the similarities. This will
promote global organizational success.
Conclusion
The organizational leader that seeks to employ the inclusive leadership style has to find a
balance between finding cultural similarities among the employees and embracing the cultural
differences. In order to unleash the potential of workforce diversity a culture that honors the

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differences, as well as the similarities of the leader and the employees needs to be established
(Pless & Maak, 2004). When the leader does not respect the diverse cultural beliefs and values of
their employees it can make the employee feel isolated and alienated.

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References

Hollander, E. P. (2012). Inclusive leadership: the essential leader-follower relationship.

Routledge.
House, R. J., Hanges, P. J., Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., & Gupta, V. (2004). Culture,leadership,
and organizations: the GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
Pless, N. M., & Maak, T. (2004). Building an inclusive diversity culture: Principles, processes
and practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 54(2), 129-147.