I’m sure we’ve all encountered managers who love to hog the limelight and take any credit for collective efforts. Research from Harvard Business School demonstrates how powerful it can be when leaders do the opposite and share the spotlight with their teams.

The study found that not only are such managers more likely to retain key talent but are also twice as likely to be promoted to CEO than average. What’s more, when they reach that position, they’re more likely to produce strong returns for their employer.

Sadly, despite these benefits, the researchers found that sharing the spotlight is something managers rarely do. Indeed, across the managers studied, the average manager averaged less than one such incident per year.

“Inclusive leaders are becoming really important as companies get bigger and more complex,” the authors explain. “Managers need to know how to create an inclusive culture for employees so that they have the psychological safety to be motivated to contribute to the company.”

Inclusive leadership

The researchers trawled through transcribes of earnings conference calls conducted by companies from the S&P 1500. They were looking specifically for instances whereby managers turn to a colleague for their input.

In total, the researchers analyzed calls featuring over 10,600 managers from 2,316 firms between 2010 and 2019. The analysis explored whether there was anything specific about managers who included others, and how their behavior shaped both their own career and the performance of their immediate and wider teams.

The results reveal that managers who called on team members during the calls were nearly 5% more likely to be promoted than peers who didn’t. What’s more, the more managers did this, the more likely they were to be promoted.

“We found that if a manager is more inclusive, that person is more likely to be promoted to CEO within the next year, and twice as likely to be promoted than the average manager in our sample,” the researchers explain.

Adopting an inclusive approach also boosted retention, with employees supported by their boss significantly less likely to leave the organization in that year. What’s more, it also seems to pay off in terms of the company’s share price. Such an approach can even bolster the public image of the firm.

Showing inclusive leadership

The researchers conclude with a number of tips to help leaders adopt a more inclusive leadership style:

• Focus on small wins. “During day-to-day communication, ask for more feedback and be more interactive with colleagues,” they say. “During decision-making, appreciate opinions from colleagues and lower-level employees.”
• Encourage impromptu meetups, not just scheduled meetings. “Have more informal lunches and conversation,” they explain. The more opportunity there is to share and exchange opinions, the more included employees are likely to feel.
• Hire with an eye toward inclusiveness. When firms appoint a CEO who shares their success with others, the researchers found, inclusiveness of the entire executive team increases the following year.

“In the long run, trying to think about what kind of people you want to hire is also very important,” the authors conclude. “Companies need to focus on creating a culture that actively welcomes input from all employees, not just those at the top.”