Business coaching acknowledges that diversity and inclusivity are significant drivers of sustainable organizational success. To secure the benefits of diversity, however, leaders must make it an organizational priority and weave it into the fabric of their organizational cultures. Diversity-focused leaders implement inclusivity through their organizational structures and leadership behaviors.

“Companies that embrace diversity and inclusion in all aspects of their business statistically outperform their peers.” – Josh Bersin. 

Companies that observe diversity and inclusion as basic organizational values reap a plethora of benefits including:

• A deeper organizational talent pool
• Better creativity and innovation
• Better decision-making
• Improved employee satisfaction and retention
• Better ethical and legal compliance
• A superior brand image and reputation
• Improved understanding of clients and customers

Inclusivity and diversion contribute to long-term organizational success. 

Laws compel leaders to focus on diversity. However, leadership coaching professionals know intelligent leaders should go above and beyond legal compliance to reap the full benefits of diversity.

“What’s often ignored is that diversity is not only a pipeline or recruiting issue. It’s an issue of making the people who do make it through the pipeline want to stay at your company. ” – Andrea Barrica. 

How can leaders make inclusivity a part of their organization’s culture? How can leadership coaching help?

Turning Diversity into a Process 

Diversity is not a promotional issue or one of form over substance. It should be ingrained in the essence of teams and organizations as one of their building blocks. Diversity provides new dynamics teams need to constantly change and keep up with marketplace demands. As such, it must be baked into the fabric of the organization to do its magic as it should.

No organization can ever claim to be “diverse enough.” Diversity and inclusivity are processes that run in the background as the organization lives, breathes, and goes about its daily operations.

Baking Diversity into the Organizational Vision

Leaders are responsible for setting and tweaking their organizations’ visions. Executive coaching can help them formulate a meaningful vision that leads to achievable and worthy objectives and accomplishments.

Leaders must ensure their organizations don’t treat diversity as a requirement, but as a goal and priority.

Despite the benefits diversity and inclusion bring to the table, organizations tend to see them as chores or legal requirements they must fulfill. No organization can call itself truly diverse and inclusive until leaders make conscious efforts to prioritize these values.

Challenging and Eliminating Biases and Prejudices

Prejudice is the archenemy of inclusivity. Unfortunately, nature has programmed us to be biased and prejudiced to some degree. We have preferences, and we tend to feel less connected to those who think and look differently.

Executive coaching can help leaders overcome prejudices and take steps toward challenging prejudice in their organizations.

Self-awareness and emotional intelligence can help leaders assess and address prejudice. Executive coaching can help them develop these basic leadership competencies.

Executive coaching drives leaders inward, effecting change in their inner cores. The consequences of these inner-core changes radiate outward as altered behaviors and a different kind of influence over followers. Intelligent leaders lead by example. By changing their behaviors and updating their values, they have the power to change the cultures of their organizations.

The embracing of diversity requires practical, behavioral changes. 

Focusing on Behaviors Instead of Mere Structures 

The structural implementation of diversity and inclusivity in an organization is important. Leaders committed to genuine diversity and inclusivity must take integration a step further, however.

The structural aspect of diversity includes office policies that ensure diverse hiring and the fair treatment of all personnel regardless of ethnicity, religious beliefs, etc.

Behavioral changes that facilitate inclusivity consist of practical steps leaders and team members take to create a respectful and open organizational culture welcoming to all.

Behavioral aspects of diversity also include tweaks to the interpersonal relationship-building skills of team members that ensure equal treatment and open communication with everyone.

Good leadership skills don’t automatically translate to inclusivity. Inclusivity is a skill that requires honing and practice. Business coaching can help in this respect. Coaches understand the power of inclusivity and how it can help ensure the sustainable success of organizations.

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