{
  "id": 1919941,
  "title": "The Five Inclusive Behaviors Board Chairs Overlook",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/19/the-five-inclusive-behaviors-board-chairs-overlook",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-19T11:00:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MIT Sloan",
    "slug": "mit-sloan",
    "url": "https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-five-inclusive-behaviors-board-chairs-overlook/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the corporate world, many organizations have made significant strides in increasing the representation of underrepresented groups on their board of directors, such as women and people of color. However, despite this higher proportion of diversity, many boards are still lacking in inclusivity. This refers to ensuring that diverse voices are heard and that all board members can actively contribute to decision-making processes.\n\nIn a survey of over 25 board and committee chairs and 20 nonchair board members, it was found that chairpersons often believed their boards were inclusive, while the majority of board members disagreed. This discrepancy mirrors a recent global survey conducted by Egon Zehnder, which found that while most chairpersons believed they fostered inclusive boardrooms, only half of the board members agreed that their boards were truly inclusive.\n\nThe disconnect between chairpersons' perceptions and board members' perceptions is crucial. A diverse board, consisting of individuals with various perspectives, backgrounds, and demographic profiles, does not automatically translate to an inclusive board. Without intentional efforts from the chair to promote inclusivity, a diverse board may actually experience reduced effectiveness due to breakdowns in communication, the formation of factions, and slowed decision-making processes.\n\nResearch on groups and teams has shown that when a wider range of perspectives enters a discussion without the proper enabling conditions, communication can break down, factions can form, and decision-making can slow down. Boards today face complex strategic challenges, such as geopolitical uncertainty, climate risk, disruptive technologies, stakeholder activism, and shifts in consumer value systems. To benefit from the cognitive diversity brought by different lived experiences, disciplines, and backgrounds, chairpersons must create environments where all directors feel comfortable speaking up, even when their perspectives challenge prevailing views.\n\nIn their interviews, the board members described an inclusive board as one where every member feels respected, valued, and empowered to contribute, regardless of their background, identity, or expertise. An inclusive board fosters a culture where diverse perspectives are actively sought and thoughtfully considered, ensuring that all voices are heard. However, it's important to note that an inclusive board does not mean that everyone's input has equal weight in decision-making. Instead, it ensures that decisions are enriched by the breadth of input and made transparently, with clear explanations of how and why certain viewpoints shape certain outcomes.\n\nDespite the chairs' intention to create inclusive boardrooms, the researchers discovered that many unintentionally overlooked certain behaviors that significantly impact the inclusivity of their boardrooms. These overlooked behaviors are not overt actions, such as \"ensuring everyone speaks once\" or \"asking good questions.\" Instead, they are less visible, more structural, and more consequential behaviors that consistently shaped the inclusion of board members. These behaviors span across the pre-meeting, during-meeting, and post-meeting phases.\n\nThe five overlooked behaviors that chairpersons can implement to foster a more inclusive board are as follows:\n\n1. Use pre-meeting calls to understand perspectives, not to control them. Pre-meeting calls with individual directors are common among chairpersons. However, the purpose and format of these calls vary widely and greatly impact inclusivity. Pre-calls that aim to align with certain members' views, express the chair's opinions on specific positions, or discourage dissent can detract from inclusivity. On the other hand, pre-calls that focus on reviewing the upcoming agenda, mapping the landscape of opinions, and encouraging reticent voices to speak up during the actual meeting can promote inclusivity.\n\n2. Actively solicit diverse viewpoints during meetings. Once the board members are in the meeting room, chairpersons must ensure that all perspectives are actively solicited and considered. This includes creating an environment where all directors feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, even if they challenge prevailing views. Chairs should encourage and facilitate open discussions, ask probing questions, and ensure that each member has an equal opportunity to contribute.\n\n3. Provide training and support for board members. Inclusivity is not just the responsibility of the chair; it is a collective effort. Chairpersons should provide training and support to help board members develop the skills and confidence needed to contribute effectively. This may include workshops on communication techniques, active listening, and navigating difficult conversations. By empowering board members with the necessary tools, chairs can create a more inclusive and collaborative board environment.\n\n4. Address conflicts and dissent constructively. Conflicts and dissent are inevitable in any board setting. What matters is how these disagreements are managed. Chairpersons should actively seek out and address conflicts constructively, ensuring that all voices are heard and that disagreements are resolved in a fair and transparent manner. By fostering open dialogue and finding common ground, chairs can prevent conflicts from derailing discussions and maintain a productive and inclusive boardroom atmosphere.\n\n5. Regularly assess and adapt inclusion practices. Board inclusivity is an ongoing process that requires continuous assessment and adaptation. Chairpersons should regularly gather feedback from board members to gauge the effectiveness of their inclusivity efforts. This feedback can be collected through surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one discussions. Based on this feedback, chairs should be willing to adapt and adjust their practices to better promote inclusivity. This may involve revisiting meeting formats, revising communication strategies, or implementing new policies and procedures.\n\nBy intentionally implementing these five overlooked behaviors, chairpersons can shift their boards from simply being diverse to harnessing the full potential of that diversity in discussions and decision-making. Inclusivity is not determined by the chair's personality, leadership style, or cultural context. Instead, it is determined by the actions taken by the chair to create an inclusive environment where all voices are heard and valued.\n\nIn conclusion, while many companies have made progress in adding diverse board members, the challenge remains in ensuring that these boards are truly inclusive. Board chairpersons play a crucial role in fostering inclusivity by implementing intentional behaviors and practices. By using pre-meeting calls to understand perspectives, actively soliciting diverse viewpoints, providing training and support, addressing conflicts constructively, and regularly assessing and adapting inclusion practices, chairpersons can create boardrooms where all directors feel respected, valued, and empowered to contribute. This not only enhances the effectiveness of the board but also enables boards to navigate complex strategic challenges with the cognitive diversity that diverse perspectives bring.",
  "summary": "Curt Merlo/theispot.com Many companies around the world have made significant progress in adding a higher proportion of board directors from traditionally underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color. But despite the increased diversity, many boards lag on inclusivity — that is, ensuring that diverse voices are actually heard and that all board members […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}