What Is the Cost of Not Being Inclusive?

Inclusion, leadership and the questions we should be asking.

This week, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Global HR Master’s students at the University of Roehampton.

We spoke about employee voice, inclusion, ethical employment relations and the challenges of leading people across different cultures.

It was a lovely opportunity to share my experiences, but also to reflect on some of the questions we should be asking ourselves as leaders.

One question in particular stayed with me:

What is the cost of not being inclusive?

And I’m not just talking about money.

I’m talking about the talented employee who leaves because they never felt valued.

The person who stops sharing ideas because nobody listens.

The colleague who doesn’t apply for a leadership opportunity because they don’t believe there’s a place for them.

Or the employee who spends so much energy trying to fit in that they never really get the opportunity to show what they’re capable of.

These are costs we don’t always see on a spreadsheet. But organisations feel them, and people certainly do.

Inclusion Is More Than a Policy

We can have excellent policies, deliver training and speak proudly about our organisational values.

But how do we know whether people actually experience those values?

Are employees comfortable challenging decisions? Do they have fair opportunities to develop? Are we listening to different perspectives, or only to the voices we’re used to hearing?

One of the things I discussed with the students was the importance of cultural competence in leadership.

We cannot assume everyone feels comfortable speaking up, particularly when cultural expectations, experiences or power differences influence how people communicate.

Sometimes silence isn’t agreement. Sometimes people simply don’t feel safe enough to disagree.

And that’s something leaders need to recognise.

Inclusion and Performance Go Hand in Hand

I sometimes hear inclusion discussed as though it’s separate from organisational performance.

But think about what happens when people feel excluded.

We lose talent, experience, ideas and trust. Recruitment costs increase, morale can suffer, and the pressure often falls on those who remain.

Inclusion doesn’t mean lowering expectations or avoiding accountability.

It means creating fair opportunities, recognising individual needs and supporting people to do their best work.

And that requires managers who are supported to develop their own cultural awareness, confidence and leadership skills.

We cannot expect people to lead inclusively without investing in their development.

A Question for Leaders

I left the interview feeling encouraged by the questions the students were asking and the conversations we were having.

It reminded me how important it is to create opportunities for future leaders to question established practices, think critically and understand the human impact of organisational decisions.

So, the next time we question the cost of inclusion, reasonable adjustments or leadership development, perhaps we should ask something else first:

What is the cost of doing nothing?

Because inclusion shouldn’t only matter when it’s convenient, when budgets allow or when someone raises a complaint.

It should be reflected in the decisions we make and the way we treat people every day.

And sometimes, meaningful change begins with a question we’re not entirely comfortable answering.