The third and last ingredient of inclusive leadership is often misunderstood, but it is no less critical. While curious and humble leaders will be better equipped to create a culture of inclusivity, they will also need courage to pursue this goal.
Leadership is always about driving change — nobody is a leader to keep things as they are. If you are not a change agent, you are not really a leader. But driving change is often uncomfortable. Most notably, it is rarely convenient to disrupt the status quo, especially when you are part of it. It is always easier to manage up than down. If the people at the top of the pyramid feel that their privileges and entitlements are under threat, and you are being perceived as a central part of that threat, you will surely lose a lot of friends and make a lot of enemies. But unless we have courageous leaders who are genuinely committed to fighting for change, leadership will just remain a political activity where the concentration of power remains static.
If organizations are serious about their diversity and inclusion agenda, they should start by upgrading the quality of their leaders, making sure people with higher levels of curiosity, humility, and courage are not overlooked.