Inclusive Leadership: Realizing Positive Outcomes Through Belongingness and Being Valued for Uniqueness

Keywords

inclusion, diverse work groups, leadership

Abstract

We introduce a theoretically-grounded conceptualization of inclusive leadership and present a framework for understanding factors that contribute to and follow from inclusive leadership within work groups. We conceptualize inclusive leadership as a set of positive leader behaviors that facilitate group members perceiving belongingness in the work group while maintaining their uniqueness within the group as they fully contribute to group processes and outcomes. We propose that leader pro-diversity beliefs, humility, and cognitive complexity increase the propensity of inclusive leader behaviors. We identify five categories of inclusive leadership behaviors that facilitate group members' perceptions of inclusion, which in turn lead to member work group identification, psychological empowerment, and behavioral outcomes (creativity, job performance, and reduced turnover) in the pursuit of group goals. This framework provides theoretical grounding for the construct of inclusive leadership while advancing our understanding of how leaders can increase diverse work group effectiveness.

Original Publication Citation

"Inclusive leadership: Realizing positive outcomes through belongingness and being valued for uniqueness.", Human Resource Management Review, 2018.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

Human Resource Management Review

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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