December provides opportunity for inclusivity
Image from Freepik
There are four components that turn a good leader into a great and trusted leader, they are:
active listening;
regular communication;
facilitation; and
inclusivity.
Throughout most of the year exhibiting these high level leadership traits require a decent amount of intentionality and opportunity seeking, until they become second nature. However, there are few times in the year which are naturally ripe for leaders to show off their high level skill set and December is one of those months.
Regardless of where you work and what country; chances are you lead others whom have different customs, beliefs and feelings than you do. Really for anyone, and leaders in particular, the days of assumption about people should be very much a thing of the past. As another year on the Gregorian calendar comes to a close, those with Judaeo Christian beliefs will celebrate Christmas along side those whom may be atheist or agnostic. Due to other religious beliefs, team members may celebrate Posadas Navidenas; St. Nicholas Day; Hanukkah; Kwanzaa; Saturnalia; Rohatsu; and Solstice to name a few. Still others whom may be in more attune to nature may simply celebrate the winter solstice and yule. To make it seemingly more complex (although it is not) team members may celebrate more than one of the mentioned traditions this month. A lesser leader would be inclined to believe this is a “religious” mine field and should be avoided at all costs. The great leader sees December as a prime opportunity.
There are plenty of team leaders and organizations whom will tell you, you cannot provide paid time off for all of these holiday celebrations. The question is “Why now?” There is nothing more inclusive than acknowledging your employees deep held beliefs. Organizations that actively accommodate religious practices have higher employee retention rates and job satisfaction. What organization would not want that? Quite often the expense of paid time off, is used to deter any expansion of it. As an example, I was once in a meeting for over 2 hours with executive leadership to decided whether Juneteenth should an annual holiday for all our employees. No determination was made at that meeting, but a myriad of anger and hurt feelings left the meeting with its participants. “Yes.” There is a cost to paid time off. But offering flexible time to employees whom celebrate something other than the majority can be a viable alternative.
While many organizations and leaders will not admit to it, they secretly don’t trust their employees. They believe that if holiday time were made available for alternative traditions, there would be some advantage taken. If that is the belief, the organization has much larger and deeper trust issues that probably travel both ways. However, this is where individual leaders can shine. If you run a small department, you can take the opportunity to provide paid time off to those employees whom don’t celebrate with the majority. It’s not ideal. But it is an indicator of trust. I once had a boss whom did this for her department. Seeing her example I carried it forward when I had the opportunity to make the same decision.
If none of the above seems possible, maybe this is the time to advocate for an inclusive change. Your team members will not be able to help but think, that you’re on their side. This would also highlight another high level leader trait, facilitation.
If you want practical guidance on how to grow and exhibit high level leadership traits to take you from being a good leader to a great leader…