The Role of Inclusion in Responsible Global Leadership

In this chapter, the authors seek to highlight the critical role of cosmopolitan leaders in promoting cultural inclusion in global organizations through mediating and reconciling the tensions between various cultural influences and between the individual and the group. Thus, our focus is on the role of cosmopolitan leaders in creating a work climate that fosters a sense of belonging among culturally diverse employees while concomitantly promoting their sense of individual uniqueness and mediating the apparent contradictions between various cultural influences and between group membership and self-identity. The authors discuss the concepts of inclusion and inclusive leadership. We then explore the role of cosmopolitan leaders in fostering inclusion in global organizations. Finally, the authors discuss the implications for practice and offer brief conclusions. The growing recognition of the significance of inclusion has led to the proliferation of different and conflicting definitions and perspectives in the literature.