Abstract
As workplaces grow more diverse, inclusive leadership is seen as key to fostering inclusion and leveraging diversity. However, emerging research highlights overlooked paradoxical effects. A critical but underexplored risk is that inclusive leaders may not make all employees feel equally included. This fellowship examines how unintended variability in inclusion perceptions serves as a harmful mediator of the impact of inclusive leadership on citizenship behaviors—essential for leveraging diversity. It examines three levels: (1) At the individual level, inclusive leadership affects employees differently based on their leader relationship. While high inclusion can promote citizenship behaviors, it may also lead to compulsory citizenship when employees feel pressured to reciprocate. (2) At the within-group level, employees compare their inclusion to peers; feeling less included may cause disengagement, while feeling more included can drive extra effort or obligation. (3) At the team level, wide disparities in inclusion may weaken collaboration and reduce collective contributions. As inclusive leadership's effects unfold across levels and interact, a multilevel approach is crucial. Overall, this project reveals that when leaders fail to ensure consistent inclusion, inclusive behavior may paradoxically do more harm than good. It challenges the predominantly positive view of inclusive leadership and provides insights for managing inclusion more effectively in diverse workplaces.
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