Co-creating inclusivity for effective leadership with Sile Walsh

Join me, Susan Ireland, for my mind-shifting discussion with Sile Walsh about helping leaders enhance their inclusion practices in the workplace. Sile throws away the blame game when it comes to inclusivity and instead encourages a model of thinking that inclusivity helps everyone do their jobs better. She roots her practical advice in real-world solutions, challenging us to pursue the best thing we can do with our reality versus chasing golden solutions. She brings a new approach to inclusivity in leadership and the workplace that will change how you approach your own leadership. 

Show Notes
(2:52) Sile shares, from her years of experience working with leaders, that the main challenges leaders face come down to core things including learning to be inclusive or engaging in inclusivity. The simple idea she promotes is if you include people in the solution, the solution will be more effective.

(6:00) The inclusivity gap, Sile asserts exists when leaders question, “what does inclusivity have to do with my job?” We talk about how to help people see that inclusivity helps you be a better leader and accomplish your job more effectively.

(9:39) Sile breaks down some of the 13 practices and principles for effective leadership, arguing that if a leader is not effective, it is because they are not following or practicing one of these practices or principles. She advocates for finding solutions rooted in reality – what is the best thing we can do with this reality versus chasing golden solutions.

(13:40) Inclusion is an invitation to co-create your workplace reality. Sile shares examples of how people from different experiences also have different expectations and how we most co-create spaces for everyone to feel safe to participate. 

(19:38) Sile shares inspiring advice on how to shift your mindset from “people are hard to reach” to “needing to get better at having conversations that result in inclusion.” If we think about inclusion as a leadership practice, we can then work to close the gap. 

(23:55) What parts of you do you reject? Sile talks through a thought exercise all leaders should face before working on inclusion – identifying what needs of their own do they first reject? 

(29:07) What’s in it for me? We discuss how to motivate leaders to seek inclusion because it is good for their work (and how blame and shame don’t work to motivate this needed change). 

About Sile: Sile Walsh specializes in inclusive Leadership. She is a lecturer, facilitator, coach and consultant and has worked internationally with over 22k leaders and organizations for over a decade. Sile is a PhD candidate studying inclusive leadership in the school of psychology and has a professional background in coaching psychology and organizational development.

 Resources:
Website: silewalsh.com

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