The Importance Of LGBTQ+ Inclusivity And Belonging In the Workplace

Here’s why consciously inclusive leaders are good for organizations

We all know that June is Pride Month, a wonderful opportunity for us to focus our attention on our LGBTQ+ family, friends, and colleagues. Unfortunately, as a society, we have a pretty poor track record of standing up for marginalized and disadvantaged communities. We need to do much better at always treating everyone with dignity and respect and helping all to feel needed, wanted, and valued.
 

In previous articles, I have discussed the value of diversity in the workplace and the importance of creating a workplace culture of belonging, diversity and inclusivity. There is no question that more inclusive organizations attract and retain better talent, experience greater customer loyalty, have greater productivity, and are more innovative (among many other positive business outcomes). For these reasons alone (let alone the fact that it is the morally right thing to do), organizational leaders should all have a laser focus on promoting greater inclusivity and a sense of belonging within their organization, particularly for their often marginalized LGBTQ+ employees.

While creating organizational environments that are inclusive and promote a sense of belonging is so important, we need to proactively develop our consciously inclusive leadership skills in our workplace. 

So why are inclusive leaders good for organizations and how do we become a more consciously inclusive leader? 

A recent Harvard Business Review article explores this question and states: “Companies increasingly rely on diverse, multidisciplinary teams that combine the collective capabilities of women and men, people of different cultural heritage, and younger and older workers. But simply throwing a mix of people together doesn’t guarantee high performance; it requires inclusive leadership — leadership that assures that all team members feel they are treated respectfully and fairly, are valued and a sense that they belong, and are confident and inspired.”

The Challenge of Successful Unconscious Bias Training

Years ago, I was sitting in a leadership meeting when my boss announced we were going to have unconscious bias training. There were probably a couple dozen of us in the room and there were a lot of eye rolls, moans and groans, and other expressions of discomfort and annoyance. While I was excited about the training, it appeared that the vast majority of my colleagues weren’t. In fact, as the training progressed, I witnessed active resistance from many of my colleagues, who simply were not having any of this, didn’t want to hear about their privilege, their microaggressions, and their unconscious biases. A couple of individuals even vocally objected and said that they felt personally attacked by the presenter.

If their biases and prejudices were unconscious, there was nothing they could do about it anyway, so why even try?

Overall, this training was not effective and probably caused more harm than good. It aggravated and caused most of my colleagues to put up walls, and resulted in their re-entrenchment to outdated, harmful, and limiting perspectives. Of course, unconscious bias training done well can have better outcomes, but the point is that it is easier said than done.

If Not Unconscious Bias Training, then What?

While unconscious bias training is important in an organization’s efforts towards making a safe and inclusive workplace environment and belonging culture, it is not enough. Additionally, it carries with it a lot of social and cultural baggage, and many turn off as soon as they hear terms like unconscious bias, privilege, and microaggressions. 

Recently, I was interviewing Dr. Steve Yacovelli, “The Gay Leadership Dude”, author of Pride Leadership, and an expert in organizational inclusion and LGBTQ+ advocacy, for my consulting podcast. Among the many things we discussed, he introduced me to the concept of being a consciously inclusive leader. He uses this action-oriented framing because he has seen many respond to unconscious bias trainings in very passive and often unproductive ways. So he wants to flip the script, break down resistance, and help others to understand why inclusion is in their best interest. 

For Yacovelli, being a consciously inclusive leader requires us to not only work to uncover and understand our unconscious biases, but also to actively cultivate a culture and environment of organizational diversity, inclusion, and belonging, where “diversity is being invited to the dance and inclusion is being asked to dance. Belonging is feeling comfortable and being wanted at the dance.” He states the “… feeling of belonging is key to a more productive and content workplace.” He also suggests that the consciously inclusive leader needs to proactively “Think in, Speak Up, and Act Out.”

Similarly, in another recent article, From unconscious bias to conscious inclusion, the author argues, “The fact is, awareness of unconscious bias on its own is not enough. There needs to be a drive towards inclusive actions. Moving from a framework of avoiding unconscious bias to a mindset of cultivating conscious inclusion in leaders. Guiding leaders towards this mindset, which recognises that leadership is about the quality of relationships built with others, is more constructive than simply getting them to acknowledge their own self-limiting beliefs (without sufficient guidance on what to do differently).”

Conscious Leadership Is Inclusive Leadership

In the recent article, Conscious Leadership Is Inclusive Leadership, Rosalie Chamberlain, executive and leadership coach and organizational inclusion consultant, states, “If organizations want to be successful they have to foster an environment of inclusion,” which “… promote[s] engagement and motivation and, as a result, innovation.” Further more she defines conscious leaders as those “who are aware of themselves and others. They’re team players, very collaborative, very focused and very inclusive. They have character traits that we as individuals want to have as well. They naturally lead well, and people follow them. People are inspired and motivated by them.”

Additionally, in 7 Steps to Conscious Inclusion, the authors lay out seven practical considerations when trying to develop a workplace where conscious inclusion abounds:

1. Change Yourself First
2. Leadership has to Own It; Don’t Delegate It
3. Flip the Question – Ask “Why Not?”
4. Hire People Who Value People
5. Promote a Culture of Conscious Inclusion; Programs Alone Don’t Work
6. Be Explicit; When and Where
7. Be Accountable; Set Measurable and Achievable Outcomes

Conclusion

We all know that an organizational culture and environment of diversity, inclusion, and belonging are essential for the long-term sustainable success of any company. Not only do we need to develop systems and programs to develop, promote, and maintain a safe and inclusive workplace, we also need to help all organizational leaders become more consciously inclusive in their interactions with their people and in modeling an organization’s people-oriented values of dignity and respect for all.

A previous version of this article was published at Forbes.com

Dr. Jonathan H. Westover is Chair and Associate Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Woodbury School of Business (UVU), Academic Director of the UVU Center for Social Impact and the UVU SIMLab, and Faculty Fellow for Ethics in Public Life (previously the Associate Director) in the Center for the Study of Ethics. He is also an experienced OD/HR/Leadership consultant (Human Capital Innovations, LLC), with experience transforming organizations across the globe. Connect Jonathan H. Westover