By Marissa Ellis, Founder and CEO Diversily
Forward thinking organisations are waking up to the importance of workplace diversity and inclusion. They see it, not as a compliance box ticking exercise, but as an embedded cultural shift that drives performance.
My personal mission is to change mindsets, by helping leaders develop, what I call, ‘inclusive intelligence’ and embed this into the way they think, operate and make decisions. We all have the opportunity to be inclusive leaders by inspiring and supporting those around us by the action we take.
In this 6-part series of articles on inclusive leadership I will explore some important questions. I won’t be going into detail on the basics of what diversity and inclusion is, and why it is good for business. There is a lot of research that backs a solid business case and show numerous benefits such as financial performance, innovation, customer success, and staff engagement and productivity. Instead I’ll be diving a bit deeper to explore topics that can really help leaders to raise their game and make a personal difference. I’ll cover:
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- Part 1: Why knowing yourself is the first step to becoming an inclusive leader
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- Part 3: How to create diversity and inclusion allies and advocates
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- Part 4: How ‘Inclusive Thinking’ Can Help You Gets Better Results
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- Part 5: Why being an inclusive leader is so hard
- Part 6: How to drive inclusive action using the ‘Diversily Inclusive Lenses’
I will be featuring quotes from a range of inspiring inclusive leaders throughout the articles. A special thanks to the wonderful inclusive leaders who have contributed; Lana Tahirly Abdullayyeva, Ivan Teage, Susan Falola and Priya Guliani.
You can find out more about Diversily Inclusive Leadership development here. You’ll also be able to download the free Inclusive Leadership Change Canvas, which is an excellent discovery tool for self-reflection. Join our growing community of leaders by using The Change Canvas to release potential.
You can also view a few snippets from some of our online inclusive leadership sessions here.
Please help me to share so that together we can create a better, more inclusive future for everyone.
About Marissa Ellis
Marissa is a strategist, advisor, speaker and best selling author. She is the founder of www.diversily.com and a thought leader in ‘inclusive intelligence’. Her work centres on shifting mindsets and embedding inclusion into products, people and practices. From well-known names such as Reuters, Barclays, SWIFT, lastminute.com to high growth start-ups and accelerators, Marissa has led teams, launched market leading products and delivered complex programmes. Drawing on over 20 years of experience, Marissa challenges the status quo, by sharing her personal experiences and providing actionable insights and frameworks to help others drive inclusive change.
About Diversily
Diversily helps innovative organisations to embed diversity and inclusion into their core, to drive up performance and impact. We support them to unlock the collective brilliance of their people, embed inclusive practices and create inclusive customer and user experiences.
We change mindsets and accelerate inclusive action through bespoke consultancy, tailored workshops, training and talks. Key areas of focus include inclusive leadership and culture, psychological safety, strategy development and inclusive innovation. We are known for our visual frameworks and inclusive innovation playbook, which are used by hundreds of people around the world.
