Signature Traits of an Inclusive Leader

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SEASON 2 EPISODE 2: SIGNATURE TRAITS OF AN INCLUSIVE LEADER

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SIX TRAITS OF INCLUSIVE LEADERS

• Commitment – Staying on the path to change can be challenging. Your commitment to diversity and inclusion goes beyond believing in the business case. Your personal values align with the objectives and goals to build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace.
• Courage – Change comes from speaking up and challenging the status quo. As an inclusive leader, it takes courage to have critical conversations and act humble (when appropriate) about your strengths and weaknesses. It’s okay not to have the answers as long as you’re open and honest and seek progress.
• Cognizance – You have to start somewhere, and the easiest way is to understand how you are perceived and be mindful of your personal and organizational blind spots.
• Curiosity – Lean into the curiosity you have for others. Rather than listening to respond, start listening to understand. Honor an open mindset with a desire to learn how others view and experience the world and leverage those diverse perspectives to drive your team forward.
• Culture Intelligence – Start with understanding that everyone sees the world through their unique cultural lens. Become confident and effective in cross-cultural intelligence to leverage the opportunity to see, perceive and treat those understandings to optimize your business.
• Welcome Collaboration – Empower the individuals on your team and build a shared vision and shared experience. Create an environment that encourages diverse creativity and thinking to build a shared goal. Collaboration is more than teamwork because your team is working together, building on each other’s ideas and solving complex problems rather than dividing the workload.

Take a moment to consider your signature traits as a leader. These signature traits start with you and shifting your mindset to build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace for your team and organization.

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EXPLORE RESOURCES

Interested in learning more about inclusive leadership? Explore Deloitte’s six signature traits of inclusive leadership report referenced in today’s lesson.Learn more about Binnu Palta Hill Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion Wisconsin School of Business

Binnu Palta Hill is the assistant dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Wisconsin School of Business (WSB). Prior to joining WSB in 2006, she spent over ten years in the University of Wisconsin (UW) system teaching, consulting and designing programming that enhances inclusion by leveraging strategic leadership and organizational cultural dexterity. A distinguishing factor in her approach is the combination of academic research and lived experience to dissect core issues related to identity differences. This approach is apparent in the Diversity Lunch and Learn Series she founded in 2010. These discussion forums on topics such as race, gender and politics have grown significantly over the last nine years and average a monthly attendance of 175 participants. Ms. Hill also teaches inclusive leadership in the Wisconsin MBA programs.

In May 2015, Ms. Hill represented WSB at the White House as Wisconsin became one of the first business schools to commit to best practices for increasing opportunities in business for women and preparing a culturally competent 21st century workforce. She has also served on a number of advisory boards such as the WI Governor’s Youth Summit, Information Technology Academy and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. In recognition for her contributions to UW-Madison and the Madison community, she was awarded the UW-Madison Outstanding Woman of Color award in spring 2017. In fall 2017, Ms. Hill was selected to participate in UW-Madison’s Kauffman Seminar for Leadership Development and received the WSB Innovation Award. Most recently, the far-reaching impact of Ms. Hill’s work was recognized with the 2018 Wisconsin Alumni Association Leadership Award.

Ms. Hill has been a guest speaker at over 70 conferences throughout the United States and in Europe, including the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), Women and Leadership Symposium, AACSB International Diversity Forum, Changing Demographics and All-State’s The Power of Diversity Conference. She has served as a consultant for culture and inclusion for over two dozen corporations including American Family Insurance, All State, Cooper Robertson, Forward Service Corporation, Grant Thornton, M3 Insurance and the QTI Group. Her engagements range from one-hour keynotes to recurrent hands-on workshops on topics such as the impact of diverse identities on workplace interactions, conflict resolution, negotiation, employee engagement, innovation and consciously cultivating inclusion through inclusive leadership. Her work on “Building Inclusive Business Cultures” has been featured in The Capital Times, Biz Education and NBC15 News. Ms. Hill holds a Masters of Business Administration degree as well a Certification in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership and is a certified administrator of Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

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