Leading with Intention: Developing a Consciously Inclusive Mindset
We are living in a time of deep division, rapid change, and growing uncertainty, and the impact of what is happening in our society shows up every day in our workplaces. Employees are navigating tension and stress while carrying a deep desire to be seen, valued, and to belong. In times like these, inclusive leadership is not optional or a “nice to have”; it is essential.
Organizational leaders have an incredible opportunity to make a difference in this moment. By developing a consciously inclusive mindset, we can create workplaces where people feel respected, connected, and empowered to do their best work. It means being intentional about how we see others, how we show up in moments of tension or uncertainty, and how we use our power to expand access and belonging.
Over my two decades of teaching, training, and coaching leaders across industries, I have learned this truth: inclusion does not just happen. It is a practice that requires intention, courage, and commitment, and it begins with the conscious choice to adopt an inclusive mindset. Below, I outline what I believe are the key ingredients to developing this mindset, shared in the hope that more of us will be intentional about fostering inclusion in our workplaces and communities.
1. Look in the Mirror
One of the most important ingredients of inclusive leadership is mirror work.
This means finding the courage to take a long hard look at ourselves. To examine and reflect on our blind spots, our assumptions, our biases, and the intersections of identity and privilege not from a place of shame or defensiveness, but from a place of growth and responsibility. If we are unable or unwilling to look in the mirror and engage in self-reflection, our workplace relationships will remain transactional rather than be transformative.
Mirror work is challenging because it requires us to sit with questions we would rather avoid. Leaders committed to inclusion understand that personal growth is inseparable from organizational growth and are willing to examine not only what we are doing well, but also where we still have work to do.
2. Find Your Shakti
If your inclusion work never makes you uncomfortable, you are probably not doing it deeply enough
Leadership practices like looking in the mirror will likely cause us feelings of discomfort. As humans, our tendency is to push this discomfort away, and some of us will even run from it. But, anyone who strives to be a catalyst of inclusion, should work to find their shakti (which means strength and courage in my native language of Malayalam) to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. This means that rather than run from the feelings of discomfort, you welcome it, explore it, and learn from it.
When leaders find the shakti to sit with discomfort rather than push it away, the rewards can be profound. Embracing and learning from our discomfort results in a deepened self awareness and personal growth, allowing relationships to become stronger, more trusting, and transformative. Leaders who are comfortable with being uncomfortable are better positioned to help ensure that the inclusion conversation drive transformational culture change.
Audre Lorde reminds us that change means growth, and growth can be painful. So, keep in mind that on the other side of that discomfort or pain is expanded capacity for connection, leadership, and impact.
3. Context Matters
We are leading in a world shaped by profound and accelerating change. Demographic shifts, climate anxiety, political polarization, global instability, and collective grief are impacting how people show up at work. The stress, fear, and grief of all that is unfolding in our society and world follows people into meetings, decisions, and relationships.
As leaders, it’s important to realize that what happens out there impact what happens in our teams and organizations. People are carrying the heaviness and stress of social, cultural, and political tensions. It shows up in disengagement, conflict, burnout, silence, and withdrawal and it impacts our mental health and productivity.
A consciously inclusive mindset recognizes the importance of checking in, showing empathy, giving space, and working to create psychological safety in unprecedented times like this.
4. See People, Not Categories
An essential component of an inclusive mindset is understanding that identity groups are heterogeneous and dynamic, not homogeneous. There is no single story of women in the workplace, nor a singular experience of race, gender, disability, or any other identity. Within every identity group exist vast individual differences shaped by intersecting identities, lived experiences, values, access, and opportunity. When leaders assume sameness within groups, they risk oversimplifying complexity and unintentionally reinforcing societal stereotypes that limit rather than liberate.
When we collectivize people instead of individualizing them, we make assumptions, miss critical context, misinterpret needs, and unintentionally cause harm. As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reminds us, “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” No identity group is a monolith. As humans, we are complex and multifaceted, shaped by intersecting identities. When leaders see people as individuals rather than representatives of a group and honor their uniqueness, they create environments where people feel seen, valued, and able to belong.
5. Reject the Oppression Olympics
One of the most damaging patterns in inclusion work is what is commonly referred to by Inclusion practitioners as the “oppression Olympics”. This is the tendency to compare pain, rank suffering, or respond to one group’s experience with whataboutisms.
Inclusion requires the ability to hold space and give space without competition. When one group has the microphone or the spotlight, it does not invalidate another group’s struggles. A consciously inclusive leader understands that our struggles are interconnected and our liberation is bound. None of us experience the world through a single identity, and none of our struggles exist in isolation. Systems of oppression intersect and overlap, and so do our pathways toward healing, inclusion, and liberation. Inclusive leadership is about fostering community, solidarity, and shared responsibility.
6. Inclusion is Pro Human, Not Political
Inclusion is not political, but it has been deeply politicized.
The truth is, there is nothing political about working to create spaces and cultures in which everyone feels a sense of belonging and has the opportunity to reach their highest potential. Building workplaces where all people, regardless of social or cultural identities, can show up authentically, contribute fully, and feel a strong sense of belonging is not radical. It is pro-human, and it is what effective leadership looks like. And it will help increase retention, positively impact productivity, and drive organizational success.
7. Know Your Inclusion WHY
If you are committed to inclusion, it’s imperative to know what your inclusion WHY is. That’s because leading cultures of inclusion and belonging isn’t easy work. It is challenging and stressful, especially in environments where difference, resistance, and misunderstandings exist.
No matter how well intentioned we are, how hard we work, or how committed we are to being inclusive, we will inevitably make mistakes. We will say the wrong things when we thought they were the right things to say, and we will unintentionally offend others. And regardless of how hard we work to demonstrate our commitment to inclusion, we will be criticized at some point on our inclusion journey. I personally have experienced how devastating this can be, and I have also watched the most dedicated leaders quickly become disempowered, disengaged, and burned out—eventually distancing themselves from the work of inclusion.
I strongly believe that the work of inclusion is everyone’s responsibility. It is not a side project that one committee oversees, or an initiative that lives in one department, it must be embedded into the DNA of an organization to be sustained. So it’s not just important for leaders, but for all of us, to know what our inclusion WHY is. When times get tough, our inclusion WHY becomes our north star, helping us navigate the chaos, challenges, and criticism we will inevitably face as people dedicated to building inclusive and pro-human workplaces and communities.
So start reflecting on your inclusion WHY and revisit it often, because your WHY will evolve. As life unfolds and you are shaped by new experiences, perspectives, and the lived realities of others, your purpose may deepen or shift. Returning to your WHY helps anchor your commitment to inclusive leadership in clarity, intention, and purpose.
Inclusion is about seeing the humanity in one another. It is pro-human work, and it belongs to all of us. When we commit to this journey, both individually and collectively, we create workplaces and communities where people do not just survive, but truly belong and thrive.