Article Highlights
- The Power of Leadership on Inclusion: Research from Harvard Business Review shows that up to 70% of whether employees feel included depends on what their leaders say and do. This shapes collaboration, discretionary effort, and performance outcomes.
- Psychological Safety Drives High-Performing Teams: Google’s Project Aristotle found psychological safety to be the top trait of high-performing teams. Inclusive leadership directly contributes to creating this kind of workplace culture.
- Inclusion Boosts Retention and Engagement: Employees who feel heard and respected are more likely to stay and do their best work. Inclusive leadership helps build this connection and lowers turnover.
- Inclusive Leadership Supports Innovation: When leaders create space for all voices, employees feel safe offering new ideas. This leads to experimentation, learning, and stronger business performance over time.
How Inclusive Leadership Shapes Strong Workplace Cultures
In today’s evolving workplace, organizational culture plays a central role in how people perform, connect, and grow. It influences employee experience, engagement, and the overall health of a business. One of the most effective ways to build a strong and inclusive culture is through leadership that prioritizes equity, respect, and psychological safety. Inclusive leadership is not an optional trait. It’s an approach that values input from all levels of an organization and makes people feel seen, respected, and part of something meaningful. This article looks at five ways inclusive leadership shapes workplace culture in practical and measurable ways.
What Is Inclusive Leadership and Why Does It Matter?
Inclusive leadership is a leadership style focused on making sure all voices are heard, respected, and included in everyday decisions. It goes beyond good intentions and is grounded in real behaviors and practices that help build fairness and trust across teams. Inclusive leaders recognize the importance of listening to diverse perspectives and actively work to build environments where people feel comfortable contributing. These leaders are mindful of bias, open to feedback, and lead with empathy.
According to Deloitte, inclusive leaders share six common traits: commitment, courage, awareness of bias, curiosity, cultural intelligence, and collaboration. These qualities support the development of team environments where trust and creativity can take root. More than simply valuing diversity, these traits actively shape how leaders think and behave in a world increasingly defined by diverse markets, customers, ideas, and talent. Inclusive leaders recognize both the ethical and commercial value of inclusion — and intentionally integrate it into their everyday actions and decisions.
Inclusive Leadership in Action: 5 Ways It Strengthens Workplace Culture
The following five sections explore how inclusive leadership directly supports a culture where people feel they belong and have the chance to thrive.
1. Inclusive Leadership Builds a Culture of Psychological Safety
A strong culture depends on how safe employees feel when sharing feedback or taking creative risks. Inclusive leaders contribute to psychological safety by encouraging open conversations and making it clear that input is welcome—no matter someone’s title or background.
Google’s Project Aristotle research identified psychological safety as the top characteristic of high-performing teams. When this kind of safety is present, employees are more likely to share ideas and solve problems together.
2. Inclusive Leadership Strengthens Engagement and Retention
Employees who feel heard and respected are more likely to stay and do their best work. Inclusive leadership helps build this connection by making sure employees know their opinions matter.
Research published by Harvard Business Review found that what leaders say and do accounts for up to 70% of whether an individual feels included. This sense of inclusion is directly linked to greater collaboration, discretionary effort, and willingness to speak up—all behaviors that influence team and organizational performance (HBR, 2020).
3. Inclusive Leadership Encourages Innovation
Innovation is easier when people feel comfortable speaking up and offering different ideas. Inclusive leaders create space for this by welcoming input from all levels and encouraging people to challenge assumptions. By removing fear of judgment or retaliation, these leaders help ensure that unconventional ideas and perspectives are explored, not silenced. Over time, this creates a cycle where experimentation is encouraged and employees feel confident taking initiative.
4. Inclusive Leadership Encourages Innovation
Trust is central to a healthy workplace. Inclusive leaders build trust by being transparent, fair, and consistent. They follow through on commitments, listen to feedback, and take accountability seriously. This builds credibility with teams and reduces the kind of ambiguity that can lead to disengagement or conflict. They also make it clear how decisions are made, how people are recognized, and how opportunities are shared.
When fairness is the standard, people are more likely to engage fully and stay committed to the organization. This also reduces barriers that can prevent employees from reaching their full potential.
5. Inclusive Leadership Sets the Tone for Continuous Improvement
Inclusive leadership isn't a fixed trait—it's a skill that can be developed over time. Leaders who continue to grow in this area contribute to cultures that learn and adapt with them. This commitment to learning signals to teams that change is welcomed, feedback matters, and everyone has a role in making the organization better.
According to research from Great Place To Work®, only 52% of employees in a typical Canadian workplace feel that management genuinely seeks and responds to suggestions and ideas. In contrast, 87% of employees at leading Great Place To Work-Certified™ organizations agree with this statement. This striking difference shows how inclusive leadership—where feedback is welcomed and acted upon—can directly shape a culture of trust, improvement, and engagement.
Inclusive leaders play a vital role in shaping company culture by modeling behaviors that promote transparency, openness, and continuous learning. When leaders prioritize inclusion, it sets the tone for a workplace where employees feel empowered to contribute and motivated to grow.
Organizations can support this through:
- Offering training that focuses on awareness, listening, and inclusion in everyday decision-making
- Encouraging feedback from across the organization
- Integrating inclusive practices into leadership development and evaluation
When inclusive leadership is treated as a continuous journey, it sends a clear message: improvement is always possible, and everyone contributes to shaping the culture.
A Path Forward
Company culture is shaped by everyday decisions, and inclusive leadership makes a noticeable difference. It encourages respect, builds trust, and helps employees bring their best to work.
As more organizations look to build workplaces that support everyone—not just a few—leadership that values fairness and belonging becomes more important. Inclusive leadership helps organizations meet today’s challenges while creating stronger cultures for the future.
At Great Place To Work® Canada, we help organizations understand what employees need most. Through our employee survey and leadership insights, we provide the data and support leaders need to strengthen workplace culture in meaningful ways. Because when leadership is inclusive, culture becomes stronger—for everyone.
FAQs
- What is inclusive leadership, and how is it different from general leadership?
Inclusive leadership is about creating a workplace where every voice is heard and respected. It involves active listening, awareness of bias, and consistent, fair decision-making that promotes trust and belonging. - How does inclusive leadership influence workplace culture?
Inclusive leadership shapes culture through transparency, psychological safety, and accountability. When leaders act inclusively, they set the tone for respectful communication, team collaboration, and continuous improvement. - Can inclusive leadership be learned, or is it a natural trait?
It can absolutely be learned. Organizations can offer training, build inclusive practices into leadership development, and use feedback tools like our employee survey to help leaders grow. - What’s the link between inclusive leadership and innovation?
When employees feel safe and respected, they're more likely to contribute ideas. This leads to more experimentation and better business outcomes—especially in inclusive environments where feedback is welcomed. - Where can organizations start to build more inclusive leadership?
Start with insights. Great Place To Work® Canada offers tools like leadership assessments and culture audits to help organizations understand what’s working—and where to improve.
Tools & Resources
- Leadership and Development: Effective leadership is at the core of inclusive workplace culture. Great Place To Work® offers leadership development tools that help assess and strengthen leader behaviors that build trust, support team alignment, and foster continuous growth.
- Diversity and Inclusion: Inclusive leadership begins with understanding and addressing workplace inequities. Our Diversity & Inclusion tools help organizations assess gaps, design inclusive strategies, and measure how well diverse voices are supported and valued at work.
- Employee Survey – Trust Index™: The Trust Index™ is a research-backed employee survey that helps you measure psychological safety, fairness, and engagement—all critical to inclusive leadership. Use it to gather feedback and benchmark against top workplaces.
- Culture Consulting: For organizations seeking a data-informed approach to cultural improvement, GPTW Canada’s culture consulting services guide you through assessing leadership impact, identifying opportunities, and embedding inclusive behaviors into everyday practices.
Feedback
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