The Conscious Leader and Inclusion
The Conscious Leader and Creating Inclusion
When you have Conscious Leaders in your organisation and your teams, you will have Leaders who use their emotional intelligence (EQ) to ensure that people feel included and safe in their working environment.
“Before any team can work well, the people in it have to feel psychologically safe with one another to cooperate. This is achieved by establishing an environment where they are committed to understanding each other and know each person is valued” (Roche Martin).
It is a Leader’s responsibility to create and maintain this environment.
Creating that environment can feel like a huge responsibility, be a bit overwhelming, and Leaders worry about getting it wrong – which can ironically mean that they end up doing nothing, and this is when problems occur.
I recently spoke to a former coachee who has left her prior organisation and moved to a new one; the lack of feeling supported and included and not feeling safe to speak up led to her leaving. She had realised that the environment was affecting her personally, in terms of her well-being and happiness, and professionally in terms of her ability to be her true self and perform.
The good news is that in her new organisation and role, she feels valued, included, and listened to; you could hear the happiness in her voice, and she was bubbling with energy and positivity. All of which will rub off on those around her. It is only now that she is out of her former organisation and into something different that she truly realises how difficult her former situation had been and its impact on her and others.
So, how can a Conscious Leader help create the right environment and support their team?
Firstly, a Conscious Leader is self-aware and aware of their potential impact on others. Equally, they recognise that people have different needs and need support differently, and Conscious Leaders can adapt their approach to meet these needs.
Creating and maintaining this environment can be a significant responsibility for leaders, and it can feel overwhelming. However, Conscious Leaders understand their potential impact on others and are self-aware, allowing them to adapt their approach to meet the needs of their team members. They engage people in discussions, encourage everyone to contribute, and draw in those who may be stepping back or not speaking up.
A Conscious Leader creates key discussions
These are all key discussions that can be coaching in approach and help others be more self-aware but also give them the ability to step out of their shoes and think about the possible impact on others and the benefit for all of the alternative approaches. Also, being clear and consistent on acceptable behaviours and why is also very important.
In turn, this can create trust, an environment where people feel able to bring and be their whole selves and with the ability to have open discussions about what could enhance team dynamics and performance.
This requires Leadership + Emotional Intelligence = Conscious Leader
If you want to build your personal ability as a Conscious Leader and/or enhance the level of Emotional intelligence within your organisation and your Leadership population, please get in touch.