Inclusive leadership and ethnic diversity: Enhancing team performance and reducing work delays

Abstract

Orientation: Delays in completing work hinder operational effectiveness. Workforce diversity also presents challenges in selecting a leadership style that fosters participation and collaboration.

Research purpose: This study examines how inclusive leadership and ethnic diversity influence team performance, by also considering the roles of inclusive climate, team coordination and knowledge sharing.

Motivation for the study: Despite growing interest in inclusive leadership and ethnic diversity, limited research explores its role in improving team performance within diverse settings. Understanding these relationships can offer insights for better team collaboration and effectiveness.

Research approach/design and method: A quantitative survey was conducted with 221 team members across 54 teams in a private university in West Java province, Indonesia. Purposive sampling targeted teams from marketing, administration, student affairs, finance and services. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling based on partial least squares (SEM-PLS).

Main findings: Inclusive leadership significantly enhances inclusive climate and team coordination, while ethnic diversity positively affects team coordination and knowledge sharing. In addition, inclusive climate, team coordination and knowledge sharing improve team performance, with knowledge sharing having the strongest impact. These findings highlight the importance of an inclusive environment where leadership and diversity foster collaboration and knowledge exchange to enhance performance.

Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should adopt inclusive leadership practices and leverage ethnic diversity to create an inclusive climate, encourage knowledge sharing and enhance team coordination for better team performance.

Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to inclusive leadership literature by demonstrating its impact on team effectiveness, offering empirical insights into optimising team collaboration and outcomes.