A Diversity Mindset Perspective on Inclusive Leadership

Abstract

Team diversity research has established that diversity has the potential to stimulate synergetic performance outcomes through information integration processes, but also has the potential to invite interpersonal tensions that disrupt the very information integration process that can give more diverse teams an advantage over more homogeneous teams. A focus on the role of team leadership in stimulating information integration processes and preempting interpersonal tensions is obvious and important, but surprisingly underdeveloped conceptually and empirically. In this article, we integrate insights from two complementary perspectives on leadership and diversity—inclusive leadership and leadership for diversity mindsets—to advance a more integrative perspective on how team leadership can stimulate both inclusion and synergy from diversity.

Fostering Team Creativity Through Team-Focused Inclusion: The Role of Leader Harvesting the Benefits of Diversity and Cultivating Value-In-Diversity Beliefs

“…These results resonate with other conceptualizations of leadership in the service of bringing out diversity’s benefit for teams (Homan et al, 2020) or achieving inclusion through leader actions. Most importantly, two of van Knippenberg and van Ginkel’s (2021) three leadership elements deserve mentioning here as they underscore similar behaviors as those highlighted in our dual leader behaviors. Specifically, cultivating value-in-diversity beliefs aligns with the element of advocacy of diversity mindset in highlighting the promotive potential of differences, and harvesting the benefits of diversity behaviors aligns with stimulating elaboration in the form of making sure diverse input is brought into and leveraged in the team.…”

“…Informed by these studies, we considered both dimensions as relevant leadership behaviors for initiating team-derived inclusion. We do not claim, however, that this is an exhaustive conceptualization of possible leader behaviors that may stimulate inclusion (see, for instance, Randel et al, 2018; van Knippenberg & van Ginkel, 2021, this volume). Future research may cross-validate our findings in other settings and contexts and deduct potential additional behaviors conducive to experiencing inclusion.…”

“…Second, leaders can "cultivate value-in-diversity beliefs" by actively promoting positive conceptions of diversity in their team to motivate team members to engage across difference (Homan, van Knippenberg, Van Kleef, & De Dreu, 2007; van Knippenberg, Haslam, & Platow, 2007). This means that leaders aid in building the shared perception that differences in members' strengths, knowledge, values, and input provide opportunities for the team as a whole to create added value (Janssen & Huang, 2008; van Dick, van Knippenberg, Hägele, Guillaume, & Brodbeck, 2008; van Knippenberg, van Ginkel, & Homan, 2013).…”

What Leaders Say versus What They Do: Inclusive Leadership, Policy-Practice Decoupling, and the Anomaly of Climate for Inclusion

“…It also involves providing opportunities for employees of diverse backgrounds to establish personalized ties and to integrate ideas across boundaries in joint problem-solving (Nishii, 2013). A key element here is that inclusive leaders focus on bringing together input from team members of different perspectives to generate synergetic performance outcomes such as higher-quality decision and greater creativity and innovation—or more broadly stated, higher-quality knowledge work performance (van Knippenberg & van Ginkel, 2021).…”

Inclusive Leadership and Subordinates’ Pro-Social Rule Breaking in the Workplace: Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Moderating Role of Employee Relations Climate

“…31 Therefore, inclusive leadership may also have a significant impact on PSRB. 32 Based on the above arguments, this study speculates that inclusive leadership has a significant impact on PSRM. Consequently, based on the literature findings, the following hypothesis is proposed:…”