Inclusive leadership in the health professions and health professions education

What is inclusion and inclusive leadership? In this article, based on the literature and my own experiences, I try to shed light on the concepts of inclusion and inclusive leadership, as well as what leaders need to do in order to be inclusive. Inclusion means the act of including or being included in a group, which creates a sense of belonging as well as empowers individuals to contribute in an authentic and meaningful manner. Inclusive leadership is important in the health professions and health professions education so that health professionals and faculty in health professions education are able to contribute to their work in ways that they find meaningful. What do leaders need to do to be inclusive? To be inclusive leaders need to to do the following: truly believe in inclusion, define the boundaries of acceptable behaviours, make difficult diversity conversations possible, build authentic diverse relationships, develop shared leadership, drive and role model inclusive practices in the organisation, and find the right balance between individual and institutional EDI initiatives. Driving inclusion in a health professions (education) organisation demands changes in the concept of leadership, as well as the organisational policy and culture. while maintaining the age-old metrics and quality frameworks for promotion in place. This is in stark contrast to the evidence presented in the literature, which suggests that employing institution-based initiatives to change the organisational structures and culture is more effective in garnering shifts in EDI in contrast to individual-based initiatives. ³ An example of such organisational change could be embedding inclusive hiring practices in the culture of the organisation. What is inclusion? While inclusion has been defined or described in different ways in the literature and different fields of study, for me, inclusion refers to being included in a group which creates a sense of belonging as well as empowers individuals to contribute in an authentic and meaningful manner. ^{1 4} I feel a sense of belonging to my work organisation as I was promoted to professor while retaining my core Indian values and identity. I have the empowerment to contribute meaningfully through the membership of the Steering Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.