Inclusion as the Engine of Innovation

Innovation doesn’t happen in echo chambers. Yet too many organizations still fall into the trap of groupthink—where the same voices dominate and new ideas get stifled.

The modern leader knows that the opposite of inclusion is stagnation. When we surround ourselves only with people who think like us, we miss out on the breakthroughs that come from diverse perspectives.

I saw this firsthand when I worked as an expert witness defending California’s board diversity laws. At the time, nearly 30% of companies in the state had zero women on their boards. To me, that wasn’t just a fairness issue—it was a competitiveness issue. Without different perspectives in the boardroom, companies were handicapping themselves. Inclusion fuels innovation. It brings more angles to problem-solving, more creativity to strategy, and better decision-making overall.

Modern leadership requires us to ask: Who is not at the table? What perspectives are missing? What can they add? Because innovation isn’t about one person’s brilliance—it’s about unlocking collective genius.