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By Eleanor Hecks, Editor-in-Chief of Designerly Magazine

Your employees need support and compassion to thrive in their roles. Fostering a culture of inclusive leadership is the best way to achieve those goals. By ensuring everyone receives the assistance and resources they need to succeed, you can strengthen your team and company.

What does inclusive leadership look like in practice?

An inclusive workplace supports people from different backgrounds, races and religions. It empowers those who have been historically or systematically marginalised based on race, sexuality, gender or disability status to contribute equally. Hiring and promotion decisions are based on merit rather than on biased opinions. 

In a perfect world, every workplace would be inclusive. However, that isn’t the case. On one of my old teams, I thought my colleagues and I were seen as equals. That is, until I sat in an important meeting where they shut down my ideas, only to turn around and take credit for them. 

I realised they didn’t see me as a fellow strategist, but as someone who’d keep things running smoothly for everyone else. Our degrees and professional backgrounds were similar. The only notable difference was that I was the only woman in the room. That day, I found out that even tight-knit teams are prone to unconscious bias. 

With the rise of remote work, dispersed teams and an “always-on” culture, more people are bringing their whole, authentic selves to work. The reality is that ignoring what makes them unique to fit into the mould can alienate them. 

Are your good intentions actually creating exclusion?

The experts at Harvard Business Review believe management must take charge. They say leaders who model inclusivity can improve employee retention and create opportunities for recognition. As a leader, your role has always been to support your team. As their expectations around work change, it’s important to adapt. 

Many organisations struggle with this gap between intention and action. While 70% of employees report that their companies announce ambitious diversity and inclusion goals, only 40% say their organisations have built the systems needed to achieve them. This disconnect reveals a hard truth — aspirational statements without actual structural support create the illusion of progress while leaving systemic barriers intact.

The first step is to evaluate your contributions. How inclusive is your leadership, really? Do you think your workplace embraces everyone, or do you know it does? Sometimes, well-intentioned strategies may have the opposite effect. 

If the CEO had called on me in that meeting where I felt like I had no voice, I would’ve gladly contributed. However, if they had asked me to share my perspective as the only woman present, I would’ve felt taken aback. Putting me on the spot to speak for my entire demographic would’ve reduced me to my gender rather than a professional valued for her expertise. 

You’d think my experiences would keep me from making similar mistakes, but even the best leaders are only human. When I became a team lead, I thought I was running a unified unit. It wasn’t until someone pulled me aside that I realised something was wrong. They knew I wanted input from everyone, but couldn’t get a word in edgewise and had started giving up trying. 

Everyone always had thoughtful responses, so I assumed we were communicating effectively. However, looking back, I realised they could not give feedback because the same people dominated the conversation. By not structuring meetings so everyone could contribute, I effectively silenced them. 

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How to identify and interrupt your unconscious bias

While navigating conversations about inclusion can be tricky, the effort is worthwhile. These deliberate acts of leadership create environments where employees feel genuinely valued and supported. By taking initiative, you can transform your company into a better place for workers, vendors and customers alike.

Before you can foster inclusive leadership, you must look inward. Even if you’ve been on the receiving end of interruptions or discrimination, you don’t know what inclusion feels like for everyone. Identifying and addressing your own unconscious bias will help immensely. 

Once you understand your blind spots, you can begin implementing practices that actively counter them. Here are three areas where inclusive leadership makes the most tangible difference.

Give feedback that empowers all your employees

Say you want to avoid giving negative feedback to a frazzled employee who just returned from maternity leave. This may feel like an act of kindness, but it’s deeply patronizing. Rather than assuming her limits, talk to her directly. Ask her if she is prepared to address input.

Apply the same line of thinking to the entire company. To create an environment where everyone feels heard and psychologically safe, you need to create a system of feedback and support. Some may want one-on-one meetings, while others prefer written evaluations. Practice inclusivity by aligning your communication methods with people’s preferences. 

Consider how your strategies may backfire

When developing inclusive leadership skills, consider how your strategies might backfire. Say you were to give a high-stakes project to a “proven” player to save others from the stress of failure. You would indeed lighten their workloads and make the client happy, but you’d also hoard job opportunities and inadvertently signal a lack of trust to your team.

Amplify the quiet voices within your organisation 

Many companies don’t uplift marginalized voices. According to the 2025 Women in the Workplace report, just 50% of businesses prioritize women’s career advancement. When women receive the same support as men, they’re equally as interested in being promoted. However, they usually receive less, especially if they’re in entry or senior-level roles. 

If you have faced interruptions, condescension, idea hijacking or discrimination at work, you’ll understand this struggle all too well. Thankfully, your position gives you the power to do something about it. Sponsor or mentor marginalized groups to ensure they have the same career opportunities as their counterparts. 

Creating a lasting legacy with inclusive leadership

By democratising meeting contributions, championing mentorships and considering the optics of potential strategies, you can ensure everyone feels seen and heard. Your help could be the last push someone needs to feel truly confident and happy with their colleagues and careers. Over time, inclusive leadership will influence the entire organisation, driving lasting change.

Eleanor Hecks, Editor-in-Chief of Designerly Magazine

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