Managing Inclusiveness and Diversity in Teams: How Leader Inclusiveness Affects Performance Through Status and Team Identity

Author(s)
Mitchell, Rebecca
Boyle, Brendan
Parker, Vicki T
Giles, Michelle
Chiang, Vico
Joyce, Pauline
Publication Date
2015
Abstract
While there is increasing pressure to work collaboratively in interprofessional teams, health professionals often continue to operate in uni-professional silos. Leader inclusiveness is directed toward encouraging and valuing the different viewpoints of diverse members within team interactions, and has significant potential to overcome barriers to interprofessional team performance. In order to better understand the influence of leader inclusiveness, we develop and investigate a model of its effect incorporating two mediated pathways. We predict that leader inclusiveness enhances interprofessional team performance through an increase in shared team identity and a reduction in perceived status differences, and we argue that the latter pathway is contingent on professional diversity. Data from 346 members of 75 teams support our model, with team identity and perceived status differences mediating a significant effect of leader inclusiveness on performance. In addition, we found support for the moderating role of professional diversity. The results reinforce the critical role of leader inclusiveness in diverse teams, particularly interprofessional teams, and suggest that social identity and perceived status differences are critical factors mediating its impact on performance.
Citation
Human Resource Managment, 54(2), p. 217-239
ISSN
1748-8583
0954-5395
Link
Language
en
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Title
Managing Inclusiveness and Diversity in Teams: How Leader Inclusiveness Affects Performance Through Status and Team Identity
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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