How can servant leaders eliminate systemic barriers to inclusion?

Of course we need to acknowledge that barriers exist but this is something organizations have been doing for decades. Meanwhile, most never get to the next step which is to do something about them! We all know or at least sense that the barriers between people, functions, and levels do enormous damage by blocking contribution, undermining morale, and preventing the collaboration to manage complexity in getting work done. For more than twenty years we've helped highly complex, large scale organizations empower employees with coach-leadership training and peer mentoring systems that enable people to work across levels and functions.

Whoever wrote this statement is loved and forever appreciated by this servant leader. Servant leadership doesn’t need to change or acknowledge anything. Because servant leadership at its core is the solution to all that the issues the author, and our culture asserts above. True servant leadership has no biases - Yes that’s what I said … no biases. It obliterates by its very nature systemic barriers and therefore doesn’t need to educate itself about anything. The biases described above and true servant leaders are not in the same universe. True servant leadership is the solution. So let’s focus on it.

With all due respect, and in the context of my previous answer, the premise or presupposition of the author on this question is inaccurate. True servant leadership (and there are thousands of us servant leaders out there) don’t need to be changed. Servant leadership eliminates the need for “…data, feedback, and dialogue to identify where and how these barriers affect the access, participation, representation, and outcomes of different groups. Servant leaders don’t “need to measure and monitor the effects of these barriers on the performance, engagement, satisfaction, and well-being of their followers and stakeholders” because true servant leadership does all of this, already.

The key to eliminating gaps and systemic barriers in organizations is to enable people to create supportive webs of allies commmitted to mutual success. For more than twenty years we've helped highly complex, large-scale organizations empower employees with coach-leadership training and peer mentoring systems that enable people to work across levels and functions. The result is a sense of belonging, commitment and inspiration that yields extraordinary performance and measurable results.

I respectfully believe the author of these questions is mistaken. They don’t understand what true servant leadership is or they may be threatened by it. Servant leadership has no problem with “diverse perspectives, communicating effectively, collaborating across differences, and giving and receiving feedback.” It, by its very nature “foster[s] a sense of belonging, which means making everyone feel welcome, appreciated, and connected to the organization's vision, mission, and values.” True Servant leaders already “celebrate and leverage the diversity of their followers and stakeholders, and recognize and reward their contributions and achievements.” True servant leadership is the answer; it’s what the author of the question longs for.

I also believe deeply in being a voice and an advocate for the things in which we believe. We need to speak up to enact change. We need to have conversations and get comfortable with those uncomfortable conversations. It is in those moments of active listening that we are able to learn from each other and make change happen.

Be the change I want to see. Advocate for inclusion and share awareness about what inclusion looks and feels like. We all have our personal biases about it's meaning. Establish common ground so that barriers can be removed as a team and not make it a servant leader's project. Alone a servant leader won't make it. By walking the talk and demonstrating the values, others will see why there is a call to act in that regard. This is my passion. With or without support, a journey of a thousand miles...