Key Takeaways:
- Only 78.1% of employees agree management involves them in decisions that affect their work — the lowest-scoring statement on the list, and the clearest sign inclusion strategy and manager behaviour don't always align.
- 82.3% agree managers avoid playing favorites, and 80.2% agree promotions go to those who best deserve them — both areas individual managers control directly.
- Fair-treatment scores are strong overall: 97.2% regardless of sexual orientation, 95.7% regardless of race, 95.3% regardless of gender.
- 94.8% feel made to feel welcome and 90.6% say they can be themselves at work — belonging and inclusive leadership reinforce each other.
- Inclusive leadership is coachable: training, expectations, coaching, measurement, and recognition are the five levers that close the manager-behaviour gap.
In 2026, an inclusive workplace isn’t optional – it’s the baseline. The organizations on the Best Workplaces™ for Inclusion list show what happens when diversity in the workplace and everyday equity practices work together: better decisions, more innovation, and people who are able to reach their full potential.
Most companies have already invested time and resources into building diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. From employee resource groups to tracking representation data, the systems that support inclusion are often in place. What can get overlooked, though, is the relationship between inclusion strategy and inclusive leadership: are the everyday actions of your people managers actually reflecting your organization’s inclusion values?
Employees don’t experience inclusive leadership simply because a corporate value statement extols the importance of inclusion. They experience it when their manager embraces those values and leads in an authentically inclusive way – when people feel heard in meetings, when development opportunities are fairly distributed, and when they feel comfortable bringing concerns to their manager. These day-to-day moments are what shape how employees experience inclusion at work, and why inclusive leadership matters as much as inclusion strategy itself.
The Gap Between Inclusion Strategy and Inclusive Leadership
The Best Workplaces™ for Inclusion are focused on both, and their survey results reveal a telling gap between strategic, organization-wide fairness and the daily behaviours of individual managers.
| Manager Behaviour | What Employees Told Us | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Involvement in decisions | Management involves people in decisions that affect their work | 78.1% |
| Avoiding favoritism | Managers avoid playing favorites | 82.3% |
| Fair promotions | Promotions go to those who best deserve them | 80.2% |
| Fair appeals | I would get a fair shake if I appealed a decision | 84.8% |
Compare that to how strong fair-treatment scores are overall: 97.2% agree they’re treated fairly regardless of sexual orientation, 95.7% regardless of race, 95.3% regardless of gender, and 93.8% regardless of age. Belonging signals are just as strong – 94.8% feel made to feel welcome, 90.6% say “I can be myself here,” and 91.6% feel treated as a full member of the team regardless of position. These are clearly highly inclusive organizations. But the contrast between institutional fairness and the daily behaviours that individual managers control is real, and it’s where the next gains in inclusion will come from.
To build a more inclusive culture, organizations can’t rely on top-down initiatives alone. They also need to equip managers with the skills, confidence, and accountability to lead inclusively.
What Is Inclusive Leadership?
Inclusive leadership is evident when every team member feels respected, valued, free to do their best work, and able to reach their full potential. It goes beyond good intentions and is grounded in behaviour that supports fairness and builds trust across teams. And it’s important to remember that inclusive leadership doesn’t mean treating everyone the same – the objective is to provide the individual care and support that each employee needs to be able to do their best work and succeed.
How Inclusive Leaders Show Up Every Day
An inclusive leader is empathic. They notice who speaks in meetings and who needs more encouragement to do so. They listen more and interrupt less, and they make sure good ideas are given the credit they deserve.
An inclusive leader is fair. When assigning projects, they think about who has already received high-visibility opportunities and try not to rely on the same trusted employees every time they have stretch tasks to assign.
An inclusive leader is supportive. During one-on-ones, they ask employees how they prefer to communicate, what support they need, and whether they feel comfortable sharing concerns – and then they follow through on what’s discussed.
Over time, these everyday moments determine whether employees feel like they belong and are valued. None of these actions require a large budget or a new policy. They simply require intention, which is something senior leaders can coach and support.
Why Is Inclusive Leadership Important?
Our research consistently shows that employees who feel included are more engaged, more innovative, and more likely to stay with their organization.
- 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.
- Innovation. Innovation is easier when people feel comfortable speaking up and offering different ideas. By removing fear of judgment or retaliation, inclusive leaders help ensure that unconventional ideas and perspectives are explored, creating a cycle where experimentation is encouraged and employees feel confident taking initiative.
- Trust. Inclusive leaders build trust by being transparent, fair, and consistent. They follow through on commitments, listen to feedback, and take accountability seriously, and they make it clear how decisions are made, how people are recognized, and how opportunities are shared.
- Growth. Inclusive leadership is all about promoting growth, learning from one another, providing feedback, and continually improving. When leaders prioritize inclusion, it sets the tone for a workplace where employees feel empowered to contribute and motivated to grow.
Inclusive Leadership Builds a Culture of Psychological Safety
Feeling confident about sharing feedback or taking risks without fearing reprisal is a sign of a psychologically safe work environment. Inclusive leadership contributes to this psychological safety by encouraging open conversations, making it clear that input is welcome from everyone, and supporting people to try new things and make suggestions. As a result, employees are more likely to ask questions, admit mistakes, challenge the status quo, and contribute innovative solutions.
How to Build Psychological Safety at Work
To build psychological safety at work, encourage managers to:
- Check in regularly with their people and ask them how they are doing. Make time to build trust and connections with individual team members.
- Respond positively when an employee raises a concern and try to avoid defensiveness. Have an open mind and try to see the issue from their perspective.
- Actively seek information and ideas from those team members who are typically quieter. This signals that you really do value input from everyone.
- Admit mistakes and acknowledge they don’t always have all the answers. Model vulnerability and an openness to improving.
- Answer questions openly and honestly, and thank employees for feedback even when it is difficult to hear.
Building More Inclusive Leaders Across the Organization
Just as organizations invest in developing financial, operational, or strategic leadership skills, they should also invest in developing inclusive leadership capabilities.
- Provide practical manager training. Focus on concrete tools managers can apply immediately, including inclusive communication, active listening, bias awareness, equitable decision-making, and building psychological safety.
- Establish inclusion expectations. Discuss inclusive leadership as a regular part of leadership conversations and performance reviews. Include inclusive behaviours in leadership competency benchmarks and manager evaluations.
- Coach for inclusion. Inclusion is a skill that improves with practice. Use peer discussions, 360-degree review sessions, and reflections on real workplace situations to help your managers hone their skills.
- Measure employee experience. Employee surveys can provide valuable insights into whether team members feel respected, heard, and psychologically safe. Sharing their team’s feedback helps managers understand where they can improve.
- Recognize and reward inclusive leadership. Celebrate leaders who consistently create collaborative, respectful, and psychologically safe teams. Recognition reinforces that inclusion is a core leadership capability.
- Model inclusive leadership at all levels. Senior leaders should demonstrate the same behaviours they expect from their managers – listening openly, inviting diverse perspectives, and creating space for healthy debate from the executive suite to the shop floor.
Inclusive leadership is an investment – in your people and your long-term success. It starts with a strong inclusion strategy and is supported by managers committed to their own inclusive leadership development. The Best Workplaces™ for Inclusion understand this two-pronged approach, and they understand that inclusion is the responsibility of every manager throughout the organization. Every meeting, every conversation, every work assignment is an opportunity to practice inclusive leadership – and that’s why investing in it may be one of the most effective ways to create lasting cultural change.
Tools & Resources
- Employee Survey: Find out whether your people actually feel heard, or whether the manager-behaviour gaps in this data are showing up on your own team.
- Culture Consulting: Work with our culture consultants to turn inclusive leadership from a value statement into training, expectations, and coaching that managers can act on.
- Employee Engagement: Explore practical resources for building the trust and psychological safety that inclusive leadership depends on.
- Best Workplaces™ for Inclusion: See which organizations are already closing the gap between inclusion strategy and manager behaviour, and find out how yours can join the list.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
What is inclusive leadership?
Inclusive leadership is a leadership style where every team member feels respected, valued, free to do their best work, and supported in reaching their full potential. It's grounded in fair, consistent behaviour rather than good intentions alone, and it doesn't mean treating everyone the same — it means giving each employee the individual support they need to succeed.
Why is inclusive leadership important?
Employees who feel included are more engaged, more innovative, and more likely to stay with their organization. Inclusive leadership also builds the trust and psychological safety that let people speak up, take risks, and do their best work.
What does inclusive leadership look like?
In practice, inclusive leaders make sure people feel heard in meetings, distribute development opportunities fairly, and make it safe for employees to raise concerns. It shows up in everyday moments like one-on-ones, project assignments, and how feedback is handled — not in a single policy or program.
What is an inclusive leadership style?
An inclusive leadership style combines empathy, fairness, and support: noticing who isn't speaking up and inviting them in, spreading high-visibility opportunities across the team rather than the same few people, and following through on what employees say they need to do their best work.
How can leaders build psychological safety at work?
Leaders build psychological safety by checking in regularly with their people, responding to concerns without defensiveness, actively seeking input from quieter team members, admitting their own mistakes, and answering questions honestly — even when it's uncomfortable.
How do you create psychological safety in the workplace?
Organizationally, psychological safety comes from equipping managers with training in inclusive communication, active listening, and bias awareness, then holding them accountable through coaching and performance conversations. The Best Workplaces™ for Inclusion pair that manager development with regular employee surveys to track whether people actually feel safe speaking up.
