Our respondents have expressed considerable frustration over losing their capability to take control over the situation and navigating through changes in the workplace. For instance, some CEOs argue that hiring in skill sets is more effective than developing people, without knowing that a phase change followed by a long period of stability is necessary for it to work.

There are two key missed assumptions that will most often be violated by this line of thinking. The first incorrect assumption, institutional knowledge and team cohesion are not drivers of productivity and do not take time to build. The second: there is an readily-available pool of future qualified talent. 

The survey results, therefore, indicate that developing leaders to support a growth leadership framework is key to developing a strong organization committed to learning and development, which is inextricably also linked to inclusivity. A Growth Leadership Framework (GLF) and mindset require organizations to be curious, open-minded and open to new thinking. Authentic and effective growth requires inclusive leadership that fully capitalizes on diversity.

Leveraging the strengths of a diverse and growth-oriented workforce demands inclusive leadership behaviors and mindsets that encourage learning, and acknowledgement of differing points of view and explorations. This drives innovation, creativity, and better decision-making that make employees feel valued and included. They are more likely to be engaged and fulfilled, thus improving the ability to attract and retain diverse talent (Collings, 2014).

Furthermore, the survey results confirm the value of inclusive leaders, which is essential to growth leadership. We found that organizations whose leaders drive inclusion are likely to produce healthy, productive conflict, which is key to improved problem solving and more effective innovation, . It is not at all surprising that this is also correlated to the item measuring the degree of an enterprise's level of innovation.

Interestingly, in organizations where self-development is fully enabled, we discovered the presence of a more inclusive and learning environment. As many organizations struggle with diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs and training, we conclude that creating a learning mindset supports an inclusive culture. When mistakes are treated as learning opportunities, and people are free to speak their minds, the organization is much more capable of promoting diversity as confirmed by multiple research studies (Sürücü et al., 2023; Randel et al., 2017).

This produces a triple win: learning, inclusion, and an organization that is nimble and able to change. Doing what is seen as the right thing to do is not an expense but an enabler to the organization’s ability to navigate transformational changes. It is an investment for the future. The reality, however, is that many organizations have a strong inclination towards focusing only on short term performance improvements,

“Change cannot transpire unless they begin with their leaders improving their mindsets (Javed et al., 2017; Choi et al., 2015) which leads to high performing cultures and greater performance improvements.”

Finally, organizations whose leaders dedicate time to developing others are more innovative and promote spaces where new ideas are valued and appreciated. The correlations reveal that innovative environments with a growth mindset are populated by leaders who invest a significant percentage of time developing others. By getting leaders on board with dedicating time to their learning and the learning of others, diversity and innovation become embedded in the culture.

Companies that reconcile the key dualities of investing in their workforce learning while also focused on short term effectiveness are the ones who will succeed as we move through the 2020's.