Inclusive Leadership – Is the workplace an equal playing field?

Based on these questions and on the subject of Inclusive Leadership, the British Chamber of Commerce, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and the University of St.Gallen organised an interesting panel. It took place on 30 January 2019 at the FIFA Museum in Zurich.

Professor Winfried Ruigrok, Director at the Research Institute for International Management at the University of St.Gallen opened the event with an interesting keynote speech in front of over 90 executives from a wide variety of industries. According to Professor Ruigrok, inclusion is a contemporary challenge. On the one hand, it is about putting together teams, i.e. selecting resources. On the other hand, it is about team processes, i.e. the formation of skills.

In the panel that followed, Kate Hughes, responsible for Diversity & Wellbeing at Zurich Insurance, Estefania Tapias, CEO of WeSpace and Leon Pieters, partner at Deloitte, discussed the importance of inclusion and how the economy supports and implements the topic. A few findings stood out in the discussion:

1. “Team Fit” is often the better decision when hiring new people than “Best Competence”
2. it needs people who create bridges to advance inclusion.
3. as a manager you have to be authentic to be successful
4. Older managers are often more sensitive and therefore more successful in the Diversity & Inclusion process.

Diversity & Inclusion are important drivers for innovation and can no longer be neglected by executives in the future, as organizations become more agile, teams more heterogeneous and work models more flexible.

Inclusive leadership: Inclusive leadership refers to the inclusion of different groups in an organisation with the aim of finding better solutions through diversity. Mostly, inclusive cultures are driven by people who are aware of their own prejudices and have the skills for honest and respectful conversations. Inclusive leadership has the potential to try out different approaches and thus advance the organization.

*OUTstanding refers to LGBTQ+ leaders.

For all those interested in D&I:

On 28th August 2019, the 3rd St. Gallen D&I Conference of the University of St.Gallen will take place with a focus on LGBTQ+ and the publication of the results of the Advance & HSG Gender Intelligence Report.