Inclusivity In Decision-Making

Leadership isn't just about being a good person; it's about building good systems. Even well-intentioned leaders can fall into the trap of corruption if their power is unchecked. Research shows that increased power often leads to biased and flawed decision-making. Early in my career as a CEO, I thought good intentions would shield my company from discrimination and harassment. However, I quickly realized that systems determine whether power is used responsibly. Ian McEwan's "Enduring Love" highlighted the dangers of unchecked authority, prompting me to design systems that prevent abuses of power and promote fairness. To create a just workplace, leaders must implement checks and balances, create bias disruptors, establish clear boundaries, and implement consequences for bullying. Reframing "power" as "agency" helps us see it as an unlimited well of potential within each of us. As leaders, it's our responsibility to create environments where everyone can thrive by promoting fairness, transparency, and accountability. By focusing on systems rather than individuals, we can address power imbalances and create workplaces where everyone can do their best work. To read more and for more tips on Radical Respect, subscribe to my newsletter: https://bit.ly/4d4aCr7 #Leadership #RadicalCandor #RadicalRespect #WorkplaceCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #PowerDynamics #Fairness #Accountability #Bias #ManagementTips #Empowerment #WorkplaceEquality

Recommended reading! From London. While urban planners strive to create inclusive environments for all citizens, truly inclusive cities require acknowledging that our spaces do not serve everyone equally. Cities historically designed primarily by and for men need deliberate recalibration to address the needs of women and other overlooked groups. This requires policymakers and designers to specifically examine how urban environments function for diverse populations with different lived experiences. The 2024 Handbook: Gender-Informed Urban Design & Planning LLDC (London Legacy Development Corporation) and Arup have released a usefull handbook addressing a critical gap in urban planning: gender-informed design approaches. The publication features beautiful illustrations by Shanice Abbey. Key findings: • Urban environments, traditionally viewed as gender-neutral, often contain embedded biases that compound gender inequalities • Over half of UK girls aged 13-18 report unwanted sexual comments in public spaces • Women's movement patterns are significantly impacted by caregiving responsibilities • Research identified specific "hotspot" areas perceived as unsafe within the LLDC boundary Practical recommendations for implementation: • For local authorities: Establish gender-informed corporate strategies, implement gender budgeting, adopt targeted planning policies, and utilize planning obligations • For developers: Embed gender-informed principles throughout project lifecycle, conduct participatory engagement, and prepare Gender-Informed Design Statements • Deploy specific design interventions including strategic lighting, carefully placed public realm furniture, and thoughtful land use planning This handbook offers evidence-based insights and practical tools for integrating gender-informed principles into existing planning frameworks, emphasizing intersectionality and meaningful community involvement. The guidance extends beyond theoretical concepts, suggesting concrete design solutions such as layered lighting for human scale, social seating configurations, and interim uses for vacant sites. A valuable resource for all urban professionals committed to creating truly inclusive cities. #UrbanPlanning #GenderEquality #InclusiveDesign #PublicSpace #UrbanSafety #SpatialPlanning #DesignInnovation #CommunityEngagement

Efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss in the Amazon and beyond increasingly recognize the crucial role Indigenous peoples play. Their territories experience significantly lower deforestation rates compared to non-Indigenous areas, often outperforming even protected zones. However, despite the clear benefits of involving Indigenous communities in environmental protection, their participation in decision-making processes remains limited, often tokenistic. Emil Sirén Gualinga recently published a briefing (https://lnkd.in/gV6T2pU5) that outlines the path from symbolic gestures to full and effective inclusion of Indigenous peoples in biodiversity policy, particularly under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). The framework, adopted in 2022, aims to stop biodiversity loss by 2030, emphasizing the need for all stakeholders—including Indigenous groups—to be involved in planning and execution. Indigenous rights, such as those detailed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), affirm their entitlement to participation and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). However, there are challenges: 🤝 Complex decision-making processes: Indigenous governance structures are varied, ranging from local to national institutions. External actors must engage appropriately with these diverse entities, respecting the decision-making bodies’ mandates and avoiding the exclusion of key representatives. 🌳 Indigenous priorities overlooked: Often, projects intended to benefit Indigenous communities are designed without their input. This can lead to conflicts with their "Life Plans"—locally developed frameworks outlining social, cultural, and territorial priorities. 🚧 Barriers to inclusion: Women and youth, though integral to many Indigenous decision-making systems, are frequently left out of formal processes. Addressing this requires logistical support, such as overcoming language and technological barriers. 💲 Underfunding: Efforts to involve Indigenous communities meaningfully are further hampered by underfunding. Less than 1% of biodiversity and climate financing reaches Indigenous peoples, and when it does, it rarely involves them in decision-making. The note emphasizes that all actors—governments, NGOs, and the private sector—should shift from seeing Indigenous communities as stakeholders to recognizing them as rights holders. Their participation is not merely a formal requirement but essential for achieving biodiversity conservation goals. In short, meaningful, informed, and inclusive Indigenous participation is vital to the success of global biodiversity efforts, requiring more than token representation, aruges Gualinga. 👉 From Tokenism to Full and Effective Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Decision-Making to Halt and Reverse Biodiversity Loss (PDF): https://mongabay.cc/4UkbBj 📹 Javier Gualinga of the Sani Isla Kichwa community, Ecuador

If our front line workers are not influencing up, we have a continuous improvement problem. The best ideas and insights come from those who are on the front lines of the business therefore their valuable perspectives MUST be heard. Most companies still have a hierarchal structure which means that front-line workers are tasked with influencing up! Simply put, this means communicating effectively with their managers to gain their support or persuade them to see things from their perspective. In a rigid hierarchical structure, this can be difficult as front line workers can have limited direct access to senior leaders and may have to pass their ideas or concerns through multiple layers of management before they reach the top. All this 'red tape' and associated delays can frustrate people to the point that they just stop trying. We also see (unfortunately) that hierarchies can create power differentials between managers and their direct reports. Managers with unchecked power and ego can create a work environment where employees feel intimidated and fearful. If any of this resonates with you, you may be interested in knowing that there are numerous ways to turn this around. Lean thinking helps a lot here! 💡 If restricted communication is the problem- simply make it a priority to spend more time with people (by going to the Gemba, facilitating daily huddles, holding Kaizen events, organizing regular town hall meetings or hosting Q&A sessions with senior leaders, where employees at all levels can directly voice their ideas and concerns. 💡 If power dynamics is an issues, why not try something like reverse mentoring: Pair senior leaders with junior staff in mentoring relationships where the junior employees share insights and feedback. This can help flatten perceived power imbalances and promote mutual respect. Leadership training is also vital in reducing these issues. 💡 If there are cultural barriers, work on promoting a culture of openness: Actively foster a workplace culture that encourages questioning and exploring ideas. Visual boards can collect people's ideas for further exploration. 💡 If psychological safety seems low, train and coach all leaders to develop psychological safety in their teams. Create team agreements between leaders and teams that clearly conveys behaviours that are out and behaviours that are in (like raising concerns and suggest improvements). 💡 If slow decision-making is an issues, streamline approval processes: simplify the decision-making process by reducing unnecessary steps and empowering more employees to make decisions at their level. Keep trying until you find ways to hear front-line workers voices loud and clear to the point that they are informing continuous change and improvements every day for better decisions and a more inclusive workplace. #lean #leanthinking #continuousimprovement #employeeengagement #inclusion #frontlineworkers #leadership

Mastering Organizational Savviness: Navigating office politics means winning the game of influence without direct clashes. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼: ↳ Avoiding Engagement: Office politics are inevitable. Embrace them wisely to navigate your career. ↳ Misreading Power Dynamics: Understand who influences decisions. Align your strategies accordingly. ↳ Ignoring Allies: Build relationships across the board. Allies in all corners strengthen your position. ↳ Overplaying Your Hand: Subtlety is key. Balance assertiveness with diplomacy. ↳ Neglecting Feedback: Adapt based on observations. Learn from every interaction to refine your approach. ↳ Ignoring Organizational Culture: Don't overlook the unwritten rules. Adapt your strategies to fit the cultural context. ↳ Failing to Communicate Clearly: Ambiguity can breed conflict. Be direct and transparent in your interactions. ↳ Forgetting Long-Term Goals: Short-term wins are tempting. Focus on strategies that benefit your long-term career. ↳ Underestimating Emotions: Office politics isn't just strategic; it's emotional. Recognize and respect the emotional dynamics at play. Be the leader who excels in organizational savviness. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀: •  You navigate challenges with insight •  Your influence grows within the organization •  Relationships become strategic assets •  You foresee shifts and adapt quickly •  Your career trajectory accelerates You are more than a participant in office politics. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: 1. Are you aware of the real motives behind office politics? 2. Can you align them with your values and goals? 3. Got a strategy for managing conflict in office politics? 4. Does it strengthen or weaken your position? 5. Are you reacting, or actively influencing? 6. How are you improving your political intelligence? 7. Learning from each encounter? 8. How do you balance integrity with political maneuvers? 9. Are your actions true to your leadership style? You are a strategist shaping your path. Act accordingly.

If you’re a manager, founder, or emerging leader trying to make sense of the hidden forces shaping your organization, this one’s for you. We've been lying to ourselves about power in leadership. We talk endlessly about vision, culture, values - all the comfortable, sanitized words that make us feel noble. But we whisper about the one thing that actually shapes everything: power. Power shows up in three forms we rarely acknowledge: The power of access - Who gets invited to the real conversations? Who's on that other WhatsApp group you don't know about? Proximity matters more than titles. The power of influence - Who do people actually listen to? Sometimes it's authority, sometimes expertise, sometimes pure charisma. But influence travels through trust, not titles. The power of narrative - Who controls what we're talking about? Who frames the questions? The real story is often told at water coolers, not in boardrooms. These forces create an invisible organization within your visible one. And while you're perfecting org charts, this shadow structure is determining your success or failure. The solution isn't to eliminate power - it's to see it clearly. Map it. Name it without shaming it. Work with it rather than pretend it doesn't exist. Try silent brainstorming before group discussions. Rotate leadership opportunities. Create anonymous input channels. Debrief not just what happened, but who influenced what happened. Because when we're naive about power, we create cultures of manipulation rather than collaboration. The most dangerous power is the kind we refuse to acknowledge. And the most effective leaders aren't the ones who avoid power games. They're the ones who play them with intention, not to control, but to create. #LeadershipTips #PowerDynamics #RobertGreene #WorkCulture #TeamManagement #LeadershipSkills #OrganizationalPsychology

My clients share two characteristics that, in combination, create an intriguing challenge: 1. They hold positions of significant influence 2. They don't see themselves as "powerful people" These are exceptional humans who make wonderful leaders precisely because they view themselves as equals rather than superiors. Yet this admirable quality can become their blind spot. Being unconscious of power dynamics leads to misreading crucial situations: ・You leave a discussion believing it went well because there was agreement. But was there agreement on the merits, or agreement because you're the boss? ・You think there is ultimate trust in your relationships. Yet you hold influence over livelihoods. The fact you disagree with this statement is, precisely, your challenge. ・You believe your open-door policy ensures honest feedback. However, your position inherently shapes what others feel safe to express. The insight that transforms leadership effectiveness: Being naive about your power doesn't diminish its impact. It simply makes you vulnerable to its unintended consequences. Consider: • When you're unconscious of power dynamics, you miss subtle signs of intimidation • What you perceive as trust might be carefully managed compliance • Your 'casual' comments likely carry more weight than you realise The solution isn't to embrace hierarchical authority. Rather, it's to become more conscious of how your position influences: • The information you receive • The responses you elicit • The dynamics you unconsciously create The most effective leaders maintain their humility while acknowledging their impact. They understand that being conscious of power doesn't make you power-hungry—it makes you power-wise. ・ Supporting thoughtful leaders in navigating the complexities of influence and impact. #LeadershipDevelopment #HighPerformanceCoach #ExecutiveLeadership #HumanBehaviourSpecialist

One thing stood out to me when engaging with World Health Organization's recent process proposal for global health reforms: lived experience was notably missing at the starting point, as an identified stakeholder group, and as a source of data. Clearly, many within WHO and global health are not convinced of yet: People with lived or living experience of illness, including navigating the maze of health systems and life outside hospitals and clinics to manage their health, are not peripheral to the global health architecture. We, especially those of us with chronic conditions, sometimes more than one chronic condition and more than one hat as patient, caregiver, peer advocate & academic researcher, are “repeat customers.” We understand fragmentation not as a concept or a line in a report, but as a daily reality. We can serve as connectors across systems and sectors. Building on advocacy from the WHO's own Symposium on meaningful engagement of people living with NCDs, mental health and neurological conditions, here are some critical calls to action for the global health architecture reform process and end-goals. 🔹 Recognise lived experience as expertise People living with health conditions must be formally included as decision-makers, not just in their own care but also across the spectrum of global health work: co-design, co-implementation, and co-evaluation. 🔹 Create enabling conditions for engagement and leadership Inclusion requires more than invitations. It means accessible formats, multilingual processes, financial and logistical support, and safe spaces, especially for underrepresented and marginalised communities. 🔹 Name lived experience explicitly and embed in governance structures Communities cannot be assumed under “CSOs” or “NGOs.” They must be recognised as a distinct and essential stakeholder group, with the ability to influence and shape decisions. Representation in steering committees and reference groups is essential, not symbolically or tokenistically, but influentially. We submitted these inputs to WHO as an informal network of global NCD lived experience advocates and look forward to the next steps and discussions. Lived experience must move from the margins and the facade of the buildings to the centre of this architecture- the steel pillars that shape buildings, the grids that power the operations within these buildings. If we get this right, this will be a shift toward co-created global health systems that reflect the people they are meant to serve. Johanna Ralston Prisca Githuka Chikhulupiliro Ng'ombe Nupur Lalvani Dr. Ratna Devi Mohammed Seyam Lucía Feito Allonca

How can large organizations foster empowerment in a way that maintains organizational coherence and strategic alignment? #Organizationalagility refers to an organization’s ability to rapidly adapt to environmental changes in both innovative and cost-effective ways. More than just the ability to respond quickly, it also encompasses capabilities such as #proactiveness and #adaptiveness. Large organizations can move as fast as startups if leaders empower employees to act autonomously via well-defined constraints. 1. Put purpose into action - Decision-making in an organization reflects the company’s future aspirations, value propositions, and core values, which it has articulated in statements of purpose and/or mission. Ingraining this purpose in planning and decision-making processes by frequently reflecting on whether choices are aligned with it serves as both a rallying cry and a compass. It motivates teams by infusing their work with meaning yet also serves as a beacon that guides their efforts toward a shared ambition. 2. Democratize data - To foster more efficient decision-making at the team level, organizations need to provide teams with regulated access to more and better data in a timely manner and at its intended level of use. Emphasizing user centricity and encouraging a collaborative environment for data analysis transforms data into a strategic asset that drives efficiency and innovation. 3. Establish minimum viable policies - To achieve minimum viable policy is to follow the “comply or explain” method: Rather than imposing rigid, one-size-fits-all solutions, provide teams with strong recommendations that are balanced with the flexibility to deviate when necessary. It’s about establishing foundational, high-level principles that can clearly guide decision-making, especially when teams are faced with trade-offs. 4. Provide the required resources - it’s about creating a responsive, dynamic resource allocation framework that supports and adapts to the evolving needs of empowered teams. Keep these four questions in mind while assessing current organizational practices while ensuring alignment with strategic goals. - Are you and your teams considering purpose in every decision to ensure that it is aligned with shared strategic objectives? - Are you enabling rapid access to the well-managed data that’s required to make informed and timely decisions? - Are you streamlining policies and reusing standard components to speed decisions and development? - Are you regularly adjusting resources based on evolving team needs?

Stop beating a dead intranet. If you’re leading employee communications, your job is NOT to shout carefully vetted messages from the ivory tower. Megaphones are for marching bands, not modern workplaces. The age of decreeing messages from the higher-ups with the expectation of silent compliance is over. We're in the era of dialogue, baby. The role of internal comms leaders is to create spaces where conversation flourishes—less shouting into the void and more stimulating discussion and debate. But organizations are still preaching from the corporate pulpit, expecting rapt attention from the masses. We're hoarding communication channels at the top while the rest of the organization starves for a voice. So why aren't companies democratizing communication? 1. Fear of relinquishing power: There's this stodgy notion that open communication equals chaos. In other words, fear rules the land, with lords worried about losing control if the serfs start having a say. 2. The illusion of open-door policies: Slapping an "open-door" label on a fundamentally closed communication system doesn't magically make it inclusive. 3. Hierarchical hangovers: The corporate ladder is still a thing, and it's casting long shadows over who gets to speak and who gets to listen. 4. Lack of tools (or will) to change: Either organizations are stuck with tools from the digital Stone Age, or there's resistance to adopting new platforms that foster open dialogue. But they should reconsider because… ⚡ Great ideas can come from anywhere, not just the C-suite. Open communication channels are where innovation thrives. ⚡ Employees who feel heard are employees who stick around.  ⚡A vibrant, open communication culture is the best kind of strategy an organization can hope to have. ⚡ When communication flows freely, trust follows. And in today's world, trust is the currency of choice. So, how can you get started democratizing your internal comms? 1. Adopt the right tools: Invest in platforms that are designed for the modern workplace, where dialogue, not monologue, is the default setting. Hint: your emailed internal newsletter and your creaky intranet site aren’t it. 2. Flatten the communication hierarchy: Encourage leaders to mingle in the digital town square, sharing, commenting and—most importantly—listening. 3. Train, don't just tell: Equip everyone with the skills to communicate effectively in an open environment. 4. Celebrate the voices: Recognize and reward those who contribute to the conversation. Make it known that every voice matters—and mean it.  #internalcommunications #employeecommunications #ThatAshleyAmber