Five Signs Your Workplace Isn't Inclusive... ...And What to Do About It

You may be investing in diversity, but if these warning signs show up in your culture, you're not reaping the benefits. Self-leadership, shared power, and sustainable systems turn inclusion from an aspiration into everyday reality.

When Raj first invited me into his business, the pressure was palpable. Forget profits and projections - cancelled contracts and budget cuts had turned every coffee break into a stress test. Raj was doing it all: decision-making, problem-solving, even low-level admin. He believed it was pragmatic, but his team felt excluded. They were capable and willing - yet never trusted.

Too often, diversity in a workplace doesn't translate into genuine inclusion. It's like filling a pool with water but enclosing the best part behind a glass wall - everyone can see it, but not everyone can reach it. Here are five unmistakable signs your workplace isn't as inclusive as you think - and steps to change it.

1. Decisions Happen for People, Without Them
Policies, benefits, or systems are often built "for" employees - yet without their input. It sends the message: "Your perspective is optional."
What to do:

• Co-design solutions - bring impacted groups in from the start.
• Establish feedback loops - run listening sessions or anonymous surveys, and act on what you hear.
• Model curiosity - say, "We don't have all the answers - help us get this right."

2. The Same Voices Always Dominate
If you can name who'll speak before a meeting even starts, quieter voices are going unheard. This breeds decision-making echo chambers and stifles innovation.

What to do:

• Track airtime - actively invite less-heard voices.
• Rotate roles - share facilitation, presenting, and note-taking.
• Balance your archetypes - in Let Go Leadership, I outline nine leadership archetypes. If your team is stacked with "commanders" and "problem solvers," you might be missing the spark "innovators" bring.

3. Feedback Only Flows Downstream
When feedback stops with leaders, blind spots grow. Teams won't challenge decisions if they don't feel safe, and trust erodes.

What to do:

• Seek it often - the "S" in my SHARE Leadership model stands for Seek Feedback. Offer both anonymous and face-to-face channels.
• Act on it - visible change builds trust and credibility.
• Equip for courage - train everyone to give and receive constructive feedback.

4. Career Progression Is a Closed Circuit
If advancement depends on insider knowledge or informal networks, inclusion suffers. Talented people leave - often permanently.

What to do:

• Clarify pathways - publish criteria and share varied success stories.
• Pair sponsorship with mentorship - sponsors open doors; mentors advise. Many underrepresented employees only get the latter.
• Measure and publish - track promotions, pay, and retention across demographics.

5. "Culture Fit" Over "Culture Add"
Hiring for "fit" can filter out difference, creating sameness that limits growth.

What to do:

• Hire for difference - seek out perspectives, skills, and experiences you don't yet have.
• Diversify panels - more perspectives mean less bias.
• Onboard for belonging - inclusion starts before day one and continues beyond the first week.

Inclusive Leadership Begins with You
I often talk about the "threatened leader" - someone who clings to control out of fear of looking replaceable. It's rarely deliberate, but it suffocates trust, stifles innovation, and drives talent away. The cure? Courageous self-leadership - recognising when you're holding on too tightly, choosing to let go, and deliberately building a legacy that will outlast you. Without Self-leadership to address blind spots and Sustain leadership to embed change into systems and culture, even the best intentions fade. Together, they complete the picture:

• Self-leadership readies you to share power.
• SHARE leadership helps you practise it daily.
• Sustain leadership ensures legacy that lasts beyond you.

From Awareness to Action
If these signs sound familiar, resist the urge to roll out a quick-fix training or tick a DEI box. Inclusion isn't an initiative - it's a sustained leadership practice. Start with three commitments:

1. Listen deeply - without defensiveness.
2. Co-create solutions - with those most affected.
3. Embed accountability - so inclusion is everyone's job, every day.

True inclusion means people don't have to change who they are to belong. And when that happens, your workplace won't just look diverse - it will thrive because it is inclusive.