Leaders recognise that to be successful, their organisations must adapt to diverse customers, markets, ideas and talent. As a result, across the globe, organisations, irrespective of their size, sector and business focus, have begun to pledging commitments to greater diversity. However, to achieve more complete involvement of diverse individuals in the workplace and to provide the opportunity for all organisational members to reach their full potential, a focus on diversity alone is not sufficient. We must look at inclusion (employees perceiving that they are esteemed members of a work group or organisation as a result of treatment that satisfies belongingness and uniqueness needs) as a route to accomplishing these goals.
Research suggests that such experiences of inclusion are dependent in part on effective leadership (among other things such as an organisation’s mission, policies, and practices, as well as co-worker behaviours) (Cottrill, Lopez, & Hoffman, 2014). Inclusive leaders ensure that all team members are treated equitably, feel a sense of belonging and value, and have the resources and support they need to achieve their full potential. Since belonging and being valued for uniqueness are fundamental human needs, inclusive leadership has the potential to be beneficial to both diverse and more homogeneous work groups (Shore et al., 2011). Inclusive leadership is defined as a set of leader behaviours that are focused on facilitating group members feeling part of the group (belongingness) and retaining their sense of individuality (uniqueness) while contributing to group processes and outcomes (Randel et al. 2018, p.190). While prior research has shown that managers and other formal leaders can behave in ways that are more or less inclusive (e.g., Prime and Salib, 2014), much work remains to be done to advance theory related to our understanding of inclusive leadership. More specifically, we are yet to fully understand how middle managers – those who occupy a central position in organisational hierarchies, where they are responsible for implementing senior management plans by ensuring junior staff fulfil their roles (Harding, Lee, & Ford, 2014) promote inclusivity in workplaces. This study addresses this gap.
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