Managing Diversity with Intention: How Inclusive Leadership Transforms Organisations
- Event Datetime
- 26.11.2025, 14:00 - 15:30
In the myAbility Business Forum, member companies regularly exchange ideas on how they can drive inclusion in the economy. As part of a webinar on Inclusive Leadership, Jason Netos (Global DE&I Business Partner Oncology and Corporate Functions, Takeda), Prof. Nora Bilz (Head of German Office, myAbility) and Detlev Blenk (Country Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, IKEA Germany) joined Katharina Thill (DisAbility Inclusion Learning Expert, myAbility) to discuss how diversity can be consciously managed through inclusive leadership.
The key takeaway: inclusive leadership is not an add-on, but a core element of good, modern leadership. It determines whether organisations are truly able to leverage the full potential of diversity.
Inclusive Leadership Is a Mindset, Not Expert Knowledge
Inclusive leadership does not mean that managers have to be experts in inclusion. What matters most is their mindset: being willing to listen, to ask questions, to pay attention and to see the person behind a topic. It is also about knowing how to translate this mindset into concrete behaviours and structures.
This is exactly where the myAbility Leadership Model comes in. It supports organisations in implementing inclusive leadership in a holistic and systemic way. The model directs attention to the different levels on which leadership is experienced and highlights that inclusive leadership begins with self-leadership. From there, this mindset is passed on to employees, shapes the way teams work together and is ultimately reflected in organisational structures and processes.
When individual behaviour, team culture and organisational design reinforce one another, an inclusive environment can emerge, in which different perspectives are a natural part of everyday work.
Insights: Inclusive leadership at Takeda, IKEA Germany and myAbility
In the webinar, Jason Netos (Takeda), Prof. Nora Bilz (myAbility) and Detlev Blenk (IKEA Germany) shared very concrete insights into their day-to-day leadership practice. From their experiences, practical starting points for inclusive leadership can be derived.
Role Models
Detlev Blenk emphasised the importance of visible role models who show that different starting points are not a barrier to success.
For such role models to become visible, people need to feel able to disclose their disability or chronic condition, and they need an environment that supports them in doing so. Disclosure in the workplace can be supported at a structural level. For example, IKEA Germany offers additional days of annual leave to employees with a degree of disability of 30 or 40. Detlev also highlighted how important real-life contact and interaction are, to counteract lack of knowledge and unconscious bias.
Encouraging Curiosity and Dialogue
Jason Netos made it clear that it is often the small steps in everyday leadership that make a big difference. This includes prioritising the team and consciously creating time and space for people to connect and show up as themselves. Genuine curiosity is, for him, the basis for building trust within the team. At the same time, he stressed that mistakes are unavoidable on the way to more inclusion:
This culture of learning lowers the threshold for taking action and for creating new points of contact.
Reliable Leadership Behaviour and Transparency
Prof. Nora Bilz highlighted that reliability in leadership is crucial. This includes openness, keeping commitments, being approachable and communicating clearly. Trust grows when employees know where they stand with their manager. It is also important to give employees control over what they share by asking clear, resource-oriented questions.
She also shares experiences from her own leadership role, including critical ones, to support mutual learning and to build confidence within the team.
From Individual Leadership to Organisational Change
All three panellists endorsed the core idea of the myAbility Leadership Model: inclusive leadership does not end with the mindset and actions of individual managers. It needs to be anchored in team collaboration as well as in company structures and processes.
Step by step, this creates a framework in which inclusive leadership does not depend on a few individuals, but becomes part of the organisational culture.
Turning Intention into Action
The speakers agreed that there is no single lever that instantly turns an organisation into an inclusive one. What really matters is to get started and to use the scope for action that already exists, instead of waiting for perfect conditions.
Possible Starting Points for Organisations
For organisations that want to take first or further steps towards inclusive leadership, the webinar highlighted, among others, the following approaches:
- DisAbility Awareness trainings to create touchpoints and build knowledge.
- Inclusive Leadership trainings in which managers reflect on their own leadership and develop concrete approaches for their day-to-day work.
- Exchange with other organisations to learn from their experiences, challenges and successes.
Many of these measures can be well integrated into existing working routines. They help managers take safe first steps without having to change everything at once.
We are happy to support you in planning and implementing suitable measures.
Feel free to contact us under: forum@myAbility.org
Further Resources
- Would you like to join forces with other organisations to advance inclusion in the economy and benefit from exclusive exchange? Discover the myAbility Business Forum.
