Leadership Development in DEI

The purpose of leadership development in diversity and inclusion is to build leaders’ awareness and enhance their ability to act on that awareness. Several studies indicate that a leader’s behavior can influence up to 70% of whether teams and individuals feel included.

Our leadership development programs can be tailored to your organization and will equip leaders with knowledge, perspectives, and tools that promote inclusive practices. These programs are based on the UN’s competency framework for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

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Why should you as a leader initiate - and actively participate in — a development program?

There are many good reasons to build leaders’ understanding of diversity and inclusion: avoiding discrimination and fraud, improving teamwork, increasing innovation, and creating a more sustainable working life and society. The challenge is knowing how. The fear of saying the wrong thing or making a misstep often overshadows opportunities for action. At LEAD, we develop leadership programs that support leaders in how they can take meaningful action.

Common triggers for launching a development program include:

Unconscious bias:

This can lead to biased decisions in hiring and promotions, hindering diversity and inclusion at work.

Lack of representation:

This makes it difficult to attract and retain employees. Leaders must break the self-reinforcing cycle of underrepresentation so DEI goals become reality.

Resistance to change:

New policies or initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion may face resistance. It’s important to recognize that lack of leadership support creates a barrier to overcoming this resistance.

LEAD’s Approach to Leadership Development in DEI

We work with leaders at multiple levels:

Individual Leadership Development

This is about seeing oneself as a role model. Leaders get the opportunity to address personal barriers and establish their own purpose—focusing on inspiring a leadership practice that creates belonging, where employees feel recognized regardless of background.

Team Leadership Development

This focuses on how leaders facilitate inclusive meetings and create courageous spaces for team dialogue. Diversity management involves understanding minority/majority dynamics—and building team capabilities to leverage diverse perspectives. Without this understanding, everyday operations can be overshadowed by disagreements.

Organizational leadership

This involves working with both informal and formal structures—such as creating more inclusive recruitment/promotion processes and attracting employees from different backgrounds.

How we can help you

We offer training programs, presentations, and workshops designed to strengthen leadership competencies in implementing your organization’s strategic DEI initiatives. Examples include:

Presentations

Inspirational research-based presentations on DEI for all levels in your organization.

Training

DEI training for leaders at all organizational levels—from top executives to middle managers.

Networks & Workshops

Facilitation of networks and active workshops focused on sparring and competence development.

Meet the consulting team

Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen

Managing Director & Partner

Betina Hansen

Chief Consultant

Kirstine Føge Hansen

Chief Consultant

Marianne Viftrup Hedegaard

Chief Consultant

References

OK_Logo

The goal of OK’s DEI leadership program was to use practice-based training for 100 leaders—raising awareness of how they could foster an inclusive culture and ensure a safe, attractive workplace for all.

To ensure the content/format met leaders’ needs, we ran three pilot workshops for executive management, AMO organization, and HR—using their input to tailor the final format. Especially executive feedback helped anchor the program strategically.

The training consisted of two workshops spaced six–seven weeks apart—to support knowledge transfer and allow time for practical experiments between sessions. Buddy agreements ensured leaders followed through on commitments between workshops.

“I started the program with my arms crossed, but I really feel things have changed since the first workshop. We can talk about things I didn’t think we could at OK. It’s great—a big step forward for us.”

Leader at OK

LEAD teaches on a DEI development program for executives, managers, study directors, institute heads, and other leaders at CBS.

The program aims to train inclusive leadership skills as part of CBS’s Gender Equality Plan implementation. In collaboration with CBS’s D&I Office, various themes were selected—ensuring leaders developed a common language through fruitful dialogue in learning groups between modules.

Other topics: addressing workplace discrimination, diversity management, microaggressions & norms.

If you have questions or want personal guidance - just let me know!

Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen

Managing Director & Partner

Master of Law

Mobile: +45 22 42 18 11
Email: aba@lead.eu