3 Critical Conversations for Executives to Ensure Inclusion and Equality

We call this phenomenon “Otherness”:

“The subtle experience of feeling excluded because you don’t fit the unwritten template of what a leader “should” look or sound like.”

Picture this: a woman in leadership hesitates to share insights because previous contributions were subtly sidelined.

Or an executive with a regional accent withholds solutions, feeling their voice marks them as “not belonging.”

In our Insight guide ‘Embracing Difference‘, Praesta executive coaches Toy Odiakosa and Jane Upton explore Otherness in depth, and the benefits of leadership inclusion.

1: The Business Impact of Leadership Inclusion

Research shows that culture accounts for up to 30% of companies’ market value. 

When Otherness infiltrates executive teams, costs remain invisible on balance sheets but directly impact performance: 

• Strategic pivots stall unnecessarily
• Innovative solutions wither unshared
• Critical risk assessments vanish completely

Each instance represents value left on the table.

2: The Neuroscience of Exclusion

Social exclusion activates the same brain regions as physical pain.

This cognitive tax diverts mental bandwidth from strategic thinking.

It forces talented people to split attention between contribution and self-protection.

3: The Leadership Inclusion Blindspot

Many well-intentioned executives believe they’re inclusive because they don’t actively discriminate. 

But Othering behaviours often operate unconsciously:

• Ignoring contributions from those who differ
• Making generalisations based on social categories
• Using humour to reinforce in-group/out-group dynamics

These behaviours create a self-reinforcing cycle.

Those being Othered stop contributing.

Then, their silence “confirms” the unconscious biases of the majority group.

4: Breaking the Pattern

Our “Coaching-Through-Otherness” framework transforms organisational through 3 critical conversations:

1. Exploration: Uncovering the beliefs driving Othering behaviours and responses

2. Separation: Identifying which values to keep versus discard

3. Transition: Building new, inclusive interaction patterns

Start by observing your next meeting:

• Who speaks first?

• Who gets interrupted?

• Whose ideas get built upon?

5: The Competitive Edge

Boston Consulting Group research shows teams addressing diversity and inclusion see a 19% increase in innovation revenue.

Is your leadership team leaving value on the table due to unaddressed Otherness?

Praesta’s executive coaches specialise in identifying and dismantling patterns of Otherness across industries.

The most effective leaders we’ve worked with don’t just tolerate difference.

They actively use it as their competitive advantage.

They recognise that embracing difference isn’t just the right thing to do.

It’s the smart thing to do.

In our Insight guide ‘Embracing Difference‘, Praesta executive coaches Toy Odiakosa GMBPsS and Jane Upton explore Otherness in depth.