Individual Leadership: Inclusion as a Leadership Skill

We hear a lot about inclusion as an important area of leadership competence. However, the concept of inclusion is often clouded in vagueness or considered politically charged, which unfortunately can hinder leaders in building high-performing teams. From a purely behavioral perspective, the ability to leverage the individual talents of each member of your team and incorporate points of view from those who may be more hesitant to contribute is a powerful skill. Here are five behaviors and actionable strategies for becoming an inclusive leader and making the most of the diverse strengths within your organization:

·     Encourage and model candor

·     Invite dissenting opinions

·     Demonstrate understanding by clarifying and confirming

·     Focus on common ground with shared objectives and goals

·     Bring your empathy

For more, you can watch my LinkedIn Live event that focused in depth on these skills: The Pragmatics of Inclusive Leadership

Organizational Leadership: Do You Have a Referral Strategy?



Nothing builds new business faster or more reliably than referrals. Opportunities advance faster, have healthier margins and less contentious negotiations, and frequently result in more satisfied clients. The halo effect of a peer-to-peer referral makes everything in closing business easier. But I’ve observed that in most organizations, referrals are left to chance or hope. Every leader would likely agree that they are great for the business. Very few leaders have a strategy to pursue and manage referrals proactively.

I spoke with Inc.’s editor-in-chief, Mike Hoffman about this topic last month for his article, Don’t Overlook This Sales-Growth Superpower.

And if you want more on this topic, my HBR article, What an Effective Client-Referral Strategy Looks Like, details a process and approach to drive referrals in your organization. 

As you look for strategies to help your business grow in 2025, referrals may be your most under-leveraged opportunity.

New Podcast: Top CEOs Use This Growth Strategy

Last month I was a guest on the Inside Personal Growth with Greg Voisen podcast, where we discussed how CEOs and other executives can develop and deploy their sales organization more strategically to drive growth.

Here is a link to listen wherever you get your podcasts, or you can watch it on YouTube.

Greg also produced a short (6 minute) video summary of some of the key concepts in the book.

LinkedIn Live: Leading Growth With Strategic Referrals