Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams

by Stefanie K. Johnson

Overview

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

In this groundbreaking guide, a management expert outlines the transformative leadership skill of tomorrow—one that can make it possible to build truly diverse and inclusive teams which value employees’ need to belong while being themselves.  

Humans have two basic desires: to stand out and to fit in. Companies respond by creating groups that tend to the extreme—where everyone fits in and no one stands out, or where everyone stands out and no one fits in. How do we find that happy medium where workers can demonstrate their individuality while also feeling they belong?

The answer, according to Stefanie Johnson, is to Inclusify. In this essential handbook, she explains what it means to Inclusify and how it can be used to strengthen any business. Inclusifying—unlike “diversifying” or “including”— implies a continuous, sustained effort towards helping diverse teams feel engaged, empowered, accepted, and valued. It’s no use having diversity if everyone feels like an outsider, she contends.

In her research, Johnson found common problems leaders exhibit which frustrate their attempts to create diverse and cohesive teams. Leaders that underestimated the importance of group coherence and dynamics often have employees who do not feel like they belong; leaders that ignore the benefits of listening to different perspectives leave some people feeling like they cannot be their authentic selves.

By contrast, leaders who Inclusify can forge strong relationships with their teams, inspire greater productivity from all of their workers, and create a more positive environment for everyone. Having a true range of different voices is good for the bottom line—it allows for the development of the best, most innovative, and creative solutions that are essential to success. 

Inclusify reveals the unexpected ways that well-intentioned leaders undermine their teams, explains how to recognize the myths and misperceptions that drive these behaviors, and provides practical strategies to become an Inclusifyer. By learning why uniqueness and belonging are so imperative, leaders can better understand what makes their employees tick and find ways to encourage them to be themselves while ensuring they feel like they are fully part of the group. The result is a fully engaged team filled with diverse perspectives—the key to creating innovative and imaginative ideas that drive value.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062947277
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	172,368
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Stefanie Johnson is an Associate Professor of Management at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. Johnson has received several million dollars in federal and other grant funding to study leadership and create leadership development programs. Her work has been featured in The Economist, Newsweek, Time, and CNN. Stefanie lives in the Boulder Bubble in Colorado with her family.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging 1

Chapter 2 The ABCs of Breaking Bias 15

Chapter 3 Three Lessons to Put You on the Path to Inclusifying 29

Chapter 4 Meritocracy Manager: How Can Merit Be Bad? 45

Chapter 5 Leadership Strategies for Meritocracy Managers 59

Chapter 6 Culture Crusader: The Curse of Crusading While Homogeneous 71

Chapter 7 Leadership Strategies for Culture Crusaders 85

Chapter 8 Team Player: Taking the "Me" Out of "Team" 99

Chapter 9 Leadership Strategies for Team Players 113

Chapter 10 White Knight: When He Doesn't Save the Day 129

Chapter 11 Leadership Strategies for White Knights 141

Chapter 12 Shepherd: Being Transparent with Your Flock 153

Chapter 13 Leadership Strategies for Shepherds 165

Chapter 14 Optimist: Positivity Without Action Does Not Get Results 177

Chapter 15 Leadership Strategies for Optimists 191

Chapter 16 My Inclusify Journey 205

Acknowledgments 217

Notes 219

Index 243

Editorial Reviews

03/09/2020

Most companies that think they’re encouraging diverse and inclusive practices are actually not, according to this disappointing treatise from Johnson, an associate management professor at the Leeds School of Business. She sees business leaders as still largely in thrall to the meritocracy myth, and as failing to take diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skills into account when hiring. To address this, Johnson urges organizations to focus on helping employees feel that they belong—the power of this feeling, she argues, is universal, and key to success. She also helps readers learn how to break their own biases, starting with a shift from unconscious to conscious thinking, and how to develop and build solid teams. These efforts need to be incorporated into every single day, she says, and from this conviction comes the term “inclusifying,” a “continuous, sustained effort toward helping diverse teams feel engaged, empowered, accepted, and valued.” (Why this familiar idea requires a neologism worthy of Michael Scott is not explained.) Johnson’s well-intentioned offering doesn’t provide much new to employers wondering why their supposedly merit-based team is, once again, all white men. Agent: Michael Palgon, Palgon Company. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Stefanie K. Johnson’s book provides a new lens through which to examine diversity and inclusion that is both practical and insightful. Inclusify provides so much intriguing data to feed your mind but also shares great stories that engage your heart.

Verna Myers

In Inclusify, Stefanie K. Johnson takes the conversation beyond diversity, moving us closer to real inclusion and equality. Her positive spin on what we can achieve by working together will change the workplace.

Billie Jean King

Many leaders are talking about building more diverse, inclusive workplaces, but few are making real progress. Stefanie K. Johnson is here to do something about that. In addition to her work as a leading researcher, Johnson has extensive experience consulting and advising; her book is full of rigorous evidence and practical ideas for making sure that people who stand out are able to fit in as well.

Adam Grant

Inclusify is a practical, action-oriented guide to being a better leader for all of your stakeholders. This book will be a game changer for creating more innovative, engaged, and productive teams. Through her academic research and interviews with top CEOs, Stefanie Johnson has compiled remarkable data and insights that have the power to change the world.

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

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