Are You an Inclusive Leader? How to Reshape Your Workplace Culture
Written by Janet Vantriet, Certified Organisational Ombudsman, Conflict & Culture Strategist & Founder
Janet Vantriet is a Certified Organisational Ombudsman and conflict resolution specialist. She supports leaders, human resources teams, and boards in navigating workplace conflict, culture, and conduct risk with independence, confidentiality, and clarity.
Take a close look at your team. Is anyone having their ideas brushed off or ignored? Always the butt of the office joke? Sitting alone in a room full of colleagues? In today’s world, an inclusive workplace culture isn’t just a ‘nice to have’, it’s a necessity. If you’re not intentionally practising inclusive leadership, you’re going to be left behind. Learn how to shape up before you’re shipped out.
Not so long ago, workplace culture wasn’t much of a discussion point. It wasn’t even considered. Jokes were inappropriate, minority groups were often targeted, and bullying or what we would see as toxic behaviour today was often dismissed as ‘just part of the job’, and few were brave enough to speak up.
Fortunately, a lot has changed. Leaders now realise that culture within a workplace is the foundation upon which everything else in your business can grow. Ill-treated and excluded employees are unlikely to produce the best results.
In fact, a positive workplace culture typically leads to happier, healthier, and more productive employees. They’re also less likely to quit, and the companies? Well, they enjoy higher average annual returns.
What drives workplace culture?
In the real world, culture arises out of the collective behaviours that are repeated and reinforced over time. But in the workplace, leadership behaviour drives culture. You can hang as many positive affirmations on the office wall as you like, but that’s not going to change a thing until your actions lead the way.
We’ve all heard the headlines about corporations that espoused one set of values but reinforced another. The TV hosts who donned a mask for their audience but operated an oppressive work culture behind the scenes. The managers who touted brand values but enabled harassment and silencing.
These types of culture didn’t happen overnight. They were reinforced repeatedly by leaders in positions of power through hundreds of small moments, until one day that negative work culture became systemic.
The same applies to organisations that embody a positive work culture. The actions of their leaders have driven and shaped it. How they responded when the pressure was high. How they listened in meetings, and who they listened to. What behaviours were rewarded or ignored. How they handled conflict and whether people felt safe to speak honestly.
The way leaders interact with their teams, behind closed doors, in meetings, in moments of tension or conflict, gradually builds a sense of the company’s values.
What does inclusive leadership look like?
This impact is why inclusive leadership matters. Inclusive leadership is about making every single employee feel like they belong, and because of that, it builds a positive, supportive work culture.
I’ll give you a hot take: an inclusive leader isn’t usually the loudest or most self-righteous leader in the company. It’s the one who knows how to genuinely listen. They care about their team and take the time to understand them, their goals, their ideas, and their concerns. They lead quietly, but they lead boldly.
Inclusive leadership places psychological safety front and centre. Employees are heard, they feel safe enough to speak up, and conflict is seen as an opportunity to gain clarity.
You can get a wonderful sense of a company’s culture by watching how a leader interacts with their team when nobody is watching. Or what is whispered between employees in the office kitchen at break time. Do they end their workday feeling supported and seen, or overlooked and devalued?
Most importantly, inclusion and understanding are at the heart of effective leadership and a strong work culture, so as a leader, you need to be embracing these elements as well.
How can you build more inclusion into your workplace culture?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) isn’t just about compliance. It isn’t just a trendy buzzword. DEI goes far beyond that to touch everything that happens within a company.
Inclusion within a workplace can either undermine the culture or enhance it. When it’s working well, it leaves people wanting to work harder for the greater good of the team. They feel like their leader has their back, and they’re supported to reach their personal and organisational goals.
So how can you build more of the good stuff into your workplace culture?
Start small: How do you treat your employees when they come to you with a concern, if they even do at all? If someone has a wildly ridiculous idea in a meeting, do you shut it down with a side serving of ridicule? Do you hold your team members accountable when they breach expectations around inclusion and respect?
Build your own emotional intelligence and cultural awareness: It’s essential that you bring emotional intelligence and cultural awareness to every interaction with your team. Reflect on your own behaviours and the policies and procedures within the company. Explore these through the lens of unconscious bias and microaggressions versus allyship and effective communication. Getting painfully honest about your blind spots is the only way to find opportunities for improvement.
Develop your communication skills: Going forward, use communication as a way to build more trust. Use conflict as a way to gain information. See diversity as a source of strength.
Ready to move beyond people as resources?
I know this may go against everything the traditional system has taught you, everything you saw your mentors do. But the times are certainly changing.
If you put inclusion first and make it a pillar of your leadership practice, the benefits will create a ripple effect throughout your entire team. People thrive when they feel valued.
Let’s move beyond a system where human beings are seen as resources, and nothing matters more than the company’s bottom line. Let’s redefine how organisations see and shape workplace culture.
Good intentions don’t build a positive work culture. Intentional, and in this case, inclusive, actions do. Are you ready?
If you need support reshaping your workplace’s culture, reach out to Janet at EquipMe Coaching and Consulting.
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Read more from Janet Vantriet
Janet Vantriet, Certified Organisational Ombudsman, Conflict & Culture Strategist & Founder
Janet Vantriet is one of Australia’s few Certified Organisational Ombuds, supporting human resources (HR) leaders, chief executive officers (CEOs) and boards with workplace conflict, culture and conduct risk. With more than two decades in people and culture roles, she founded EquipMe Coaching & Consulting to address issues traditional HR cannot resolve early enough. She is an accredited mediator, certified coach, and senior HR professional whose work is grounded in neutrality, independence, confidentiality, and informality. Janet brings an advocacy‑led and multicultural perspective to helping leaders navigate difficult conversations with clarity and fairness.
