The Journey to Inclusive Leadership: Exploring the Five Stages for Hockey Coaches
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and investing in yourself as a leader. As a hockey coach, you are already a leadersin your community, and by reading this post, you are taking the first step towards becoming a more confident and polished inclusive leader.
Inclusive leadership should not be elusive, so I havve outlined five steps that every leader should take to achieve personal and professional development in this area. As a Filipino-American, I have experienced these five stages myself, and I now reside in the Endurance stage. However, in other areas, such as disabilities, I may find myself in the second stage, Emergence.
The main premise is that as an inclusive leader, you are willing to admit that growth can always take place, and the needle can always move further in multiple areas of your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. Here are the five stages of inclusive leadership growth:
Stage 1: Entrance
This stage signifies the entrance into a new world and a set of eyes that may not have existed before. It is important to realize that the playing field is not always equal, and some individuals may face marginalization.
Stage 2: Emergence
In this stage, you begin to realize that something is wrong and unbalanced, and you start to study and ask questions. Your level of empathy begins to grow, but you may not yet be adequately equipped with knowledge or resources to create significant change.
Stage 3: Expansion
Disruption has arrived. You surround yourself with like-hearted individuals who share the same mission and vision of helping others feel like they belong. In this stage, you take action by practicing inclusive leadership skills, joining or leading an Employee Resource Group (ERG) inside or outside your organization, or volunteering with a cause important to you.
Stage 4: Evangelism
In this stage, you are no longer just talking about inclusive leadership ideals but living them out with others through your management and leadership style. You are also creating and using your own platform to make a radical impact locally, regionally, nationally, and even globally.
Stage 5: Endurance
This is the stage where you have fully embraced DEI work as a long-term mission with your hockey club, putting in the work day after day, constantly refining your inclusive leadership skills. You have accepted there is no finish line, and you will continue to show up even when the road is long with no end in sight.
Parting Advice
Your desire to level up your inclusive leadership skills demonstrates your passion to grow personally and professionally. As a hockey coach, you have the opportunity to make a difference in your community by helping the marginalized, oppressed, and providing a voice to those who do not possess one. Keep fighting the good fight, and use these five stages of inclusive leadership growth to build your self-awareness and fuel the fire for change.
