Anyone can be a strong, people-centered leader in good times. Truly inclusive leaders stand the test of time, of change, of competitive threats and economic downturns. You’ll need to commit, to hold your position, and, in the words of my late mother, Kaleel Jamison, a pioneer in organizational change, “you’ll need to eat your Wheaties.”

Is there a difference between Inclusion and Engagement?

Engagement is easier; it’s the “cop out” version of the more complex, challenging, and messy issues raised when we are courageous enough to really wrangle with Inclusion as human beings, teams, and organizations. Engagement reflects the degree to which I am connected to, interested in, and “busy with” the cultural and mechanistic workings of my organization. Engagement is important. People being “into their work” makes for better results and higher productivity.

In our quest to understand engagement, we’ve lost sight of the fact that lack of engagement is a leadership problem- not a ‘people’ or ‘culture’ problem. There is a profound difference between leaders who primarily manage process—how work gets done—and those who are true leaders of people-- of real, live human beings. Leaders who put people first lead with people at the center of all they do.