As managers focus on inclusive leadership, they will find meaningful ways to support the women on their teams. Inclusive leaders create environments where all employees can thrive. When managers lead inclusively, employees can show up fully, do their best work, and experience empowering working relationships. In these environments, women are mentored, coached and sponsored to maximize their potential. When leaders support women in this way, everyone wins with increased innovation, enhanced morale and performance that is optimized.
The research documents the many benefits of inclusive environments. As leaders support women, a Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues. Likewise, a 2019 McKinsey study found that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
So, how can managers best support the women on their teams? Watch this short video from my LinkedIn course for insights:
Creating equitable workplaces for working moms from Nano Tips for Creating Equitable Workplaces for Working Mothers with Desiree Coleman-Fry by Desiree Coleman-Fry
During this time of the year, leading inclusively also includes mitigating bias in performance management. Recently, I had the opportunity to add my voice to a Fast Company article. It’s entitled, “9 practical tips for overcoming bias in performance reviews: Dive in to discover all nine expert-backed strategies and transform your review process into a bias-free zone.” Read the full story here for more tips on supporting women.
Managers can also support women by ensuring they feel included. This reduces the need to self-edit and it lessens the likelihood that women feel stifled in an environment. Here are three more tips to support women:
- Be proactive in creating inclusive cultures where women are able to be their authentic self. This includes speaking up when you notice someone’s voice being diminished and finding ways to amplify women’s voice.
- Ask your employees how they feel to understand sentiment. Knowing what employees need can create the conditions for everyone to prosper.
- Create a culture of radical listening. Assume a posture of learning by creating formal and informal feedback loops for ongoing dialogue.
