The Contemporary Leader E-Book

Riza Kadilar

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 341

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Strategies and tools to become a better leader by developing an inclusive perspective at work

Instead of seeing inclusiveness as a “trendy concept,” The Contemporary Leader: The Value of Inclusion in Successful Leadership shows its audience on how inclusion is an emotion that is achieved only through effective practice abilities. This book delves into what inclusiveness promises us, discusses the relationship between inclusiveness, productivity, and diversity, evaluates concepts that are useful for us to increase our capacity for inclusion and looks at the obstacles that stand in the way of inclusion (such as unconscious prejudices) to help teach readers understand how to change and become an inclusive leader.

Written by Dr. Riza Kadilar, President of European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC Global), this book explores topics including:

• How inclusion is effected when people feel respected, valued, trusted and safe, have a sense of belonging and are able to be their best self
• Why diversity in aspects like age, appearance, culture and education can be turned into a benefit for any organisation
• Why leaders must regard the differences, and not be regardless of the differences, of their team members

The Contemporary Leader earns a well deserved spot on the bookshelves of all coaches and mentors, business leaders, HR professionals and managers who seek to reinvent their perspective surrounding timely interpersonal topics and achieve greater organisational cohesiveness and success as a result.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Why a Book on This Topic and Why Now?

1 Why Inclusion and Why Now?

What Do We Mean by Inclusion?

To What Change Does Inclusion Owe Its Current Importance?

Notes

2 The Relationship Between the Concepts of Inclusion, Productivity, and Diversity

Performance and Productivity, and Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion

Psychological Diversity

Diversity Fuelled by Our Backdrop Stories

Note

3 Leadership and Inclusion

Leadership Paradigms

1

The Place of the Concept of Leadership in My Life

Note

4 Factors Affecting Our Capacity for Inclusion

Making Our Emotions Functional

Empathy

Power and How We Use Our Own

Trusting and Feeling Safe

Unconscious Biases

Project Implicit: Unconscious Associations

Cognitive Dissonance

Our Privileges

What We Exclude

Belonging and Independence

Invisibility and Being Excluded

Notes

5 Inclusion in the Personal Development Journey

A Memory

Growth Mindset

Developing a Growth Mindset

Learned Optimism

6 Inclusion Development Model in the Institutional Context

Institutional Inclusion Barometer

Development Strategy for Institutional Inclusion Capacity

7 Final Words

So How Shall We Design Our Futures in Light of These Developments?

If We Were to Give Advice to Ourselves from the Future

8 Sources for Inspiration

From Japanese Culture

The Athena Doctrine

Resilience

Change Management, Gestalt, and Coaching

Mentoring

Situational Leadership

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Advice for a Data Scientist

Notes

Index

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Begin Reading

Index

End User License Agreement

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The Contemporary Leader

The Value of Inclusion in Successful Leadership

Riza Kadilar

This edition first published 2025

Riza Kadilar ©2025

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The right of Riza Kadilar to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

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ISBN 978-1-394-27637-0 (Hardback)ISBN 978-1-394-27639-4 (ePDF)ISBN 978-1-394-27638-7 (ePUB)

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Dedicated to

My family,My late father, mother, brother,My lovely wife and my beloved daughter,

For making me who I’m today and for the life you’ve given me.

Foreword

From Unknown to Our Own, From Nothing to One

Accepting the other, the foreign, the different, and those not of your own just as they are;

Forming an ideal union with those who are not from your circle, uniting;

Reaching out wholeheartedly to what seems unreachable, distant, difficult, or unbelievable;

Expanding, growing, flourishing, incorporating the external into the internal;

Internalizing and together creating a value, granting existence;

Understanding the excluded, noticing the barriers to exclusion;

Welcoming the invitation, finding delight in it, feeling it as our own;

Knowing you are seen and heard, being in a respectful and safe environment;

Including and being included.

To realize all these, knowingly, willingly, consciously, aware of the costs and rewards, actively holding the reins of our lives in our hands…

Adorning such an approach, the purpose of this book is

to accompany you on this journey,

to support you in aligning your inner world with changing external conditions,

and, all throughout this process, to help you better understand yourself, enhance the quality of your internal dialogue, and enable you to live in greater welfare and peace in a changing world.

Acknowledgements

There are so many people who have contributed to my encounter and confrontation with the concepts discussed in this book. Some have inspired me with their inclusive approaches, others with their exclusions. Ultimately, this book emerged from a lifetime of accumulated experiences.

Of course, the person most deserving of thanks is dear Günnur Kabasakal, who has brought together the very scattered pieces of this book and, with a meticulous editor’s approach, shaped them into its current form. Günnur’s effort is immense in assembling my hundreds of fragmented writings on these topics, transcribing hours of various speeches, summarizing them, and blending all these with additional resources to create this work. Special thanks goes as well to Tuğba Atamtürk, for her dedicated support for the final edit, and to Alperen Tekin for his diligent work on the English translation of the book.

I would also like to extend my thanks to dear Abide Tekelioğlu, Buse Gamze Leblebiciler, Gül Üstün, Hülya Paşaoğulları, Murat Özpehlivan, and Şeyda Bodur for their support during the final reading and review phase.

Linbert Spencer, who has introduced me to the concept of inclusion on an academic level, and dear Peter Hawkins and David Clutterbuck, who have enriched me intellectually through our lengthy discussions, also played a very significant role. Their wisdom inspired me since the very first day I met them.

I owe a lot to my family, Pelin and Kardelen, who have beautifully reflected and mirrored my personal relationship with the concept of inclusion and occasionally enhanced my awareness with their merciless comments. Their help in making me realize my own contradictions while advocating for truths in such a matter was an invaluable contribution to both me and this book you are holding in your hands.

And of course, I can never thank my late father and my dear mother enough, who have enriched my transforming personality during the childhood years with the paradigms, teachings, values, and love they have never withheld.

Taking on various roles in multicultural environments, especially being the president at EMCC Global; sometimes felling a part of a minority alongside other cultures; having lived in different countries; adorning my life with third cultures; and always being curious about multiple perspectives rather than just one were probably the other factors that have supported me on this journey.

I extend endless thanks to those in both my family and the educational world including all my elders, friends, and the young people who had an impact on me and those on whom I had the chance to create one.

Introduction

This book suggests that if a seed you have sown does not sprout as expected, the seed itself may not be at fault. Getting angry at the seed will not help. For a seed to grow, sprout, and bear fruit, it certainly requires certain inherent qualities, but perhaps more crucial is that it is placed in an environment conducive to its growth.

Every person, and indeed every human group, is akin to a seed. To develop and realize their potential, they need not only inherent qualities but also an environment that supports their growth.

This is what we mean by inclusion. The question we tackle is: How can we cultivate a living environment where diverse seeds, each with unique traits and distinctly different from one another, can sprout together and flourish sustainably?

This idea mirrors the natural cycle of our world where various life forms have evolved to coexist. Those unable to adapt have perished with time, while others have modified their traits to survive. Nature operates in cycles: the output of one process becomes the input for another until human intervention disrupted these cycles.

For example, mono-culture agriculture began with humans, extending over time not just as an agricultural method but also with its essence permeating social spheres. As Harari points out, the real strength which enabled Homo sapiens to become the rulers of this world lies in their ability to cooperate and organize collectively to tackle challenges and threats. Historically, societies that had excelled in this organization and cooperation achieved greater prosperity and dominance. They formed mono-culture communities, unified by similar belief systems, rituals, educational philosophies, and social and individual values, which enabled them to dominate not only other societies but also the geographies they inhabited. Concurrently, this homogeneity is why some of the greatest wars and destructions have unfolded throughout human history.

Today, however, this pattern need not persist. As this book meticulously details, societies composed of diverse individuals stand to gain significantly if they can foster a spirit of cooperation. This is due to a number of reasons, some of which range from the advancements in technology to demographic shifts, and the widespread sharing of diverse worldviews, especially from Asia. Such a scenario offers more than just benefits; as without fostering diversity and inclusion, we will also be facing some considerable risks. Artificial intelligence, for example, operates on learning algorithms (called machine learning) that evolve based on the data we feed them. Whatever we input into the system, that is, whatever we teach the algorithms, it further develops the applications in that direction. If we teach artificial intelligence that the mono-culture approach is the most effective solution available, we may end up leaving a terrible future for our children and grandchildren.

Inclusion, therefore, transcends being merely a fashionable term; it is a fundamentally vital, existential concept. Yet each concept inherently has its counter as well, and globally, particularly in political arenas, we observe a surge in divisive rhetoric. The outcome will depend on which approach we choose to nurture, and time is of the essence.

The recent pandemic serves as a prime example. A threat potent enough to potentially end humanity was swiftly mitigated with minimal damage, thanks to global scientific cooperation and the support of many. It underscored the remarkable and effective outcomes achievable when unified by a common goal. While the immediate threat has subsided, the experience has illuminated the beauty of living in a diverse society. The proverbial genie is out of the bottle, and it is now our responsibility to leverage these gains to develop even more effective solutions, although some may attempt to reverse this progress.

This book seeks to elucidate the promises of inclusion.

The first chapter explores the nature of inclusion and its recent emergence.

The second chapter discusses the link between inclusion, productivity (performance), and diversity, emphasizing not just diversity of perspectives but also psychological diversity and the diversity stemming from the stories of our varied backgrounds.

In the third chapter, we delve into leadership. Beginning with the current paradigms, we explore leadership qualities that embody the era and the concept of inclusion. This chapter also offers insights into my own personal approach to the aforementioned concepts in light of my experiences.

Subsequent chapters scrutinize concepts that enhance our capacity for inclusion or act as barriers to it:

We start with primary emotions. You must have heard the saying which asserts that “Humans are rational beings”. While it is true that humans are rational, we are also predominantly emotional beings who occasionally engage in thought. The important thing is to notice and recognize our emotions and to make them functional. So this is where we start.

Next, we focus on the critical concept of empathy.

We then analyse the concept of trust and trust in the psychological sense.

As for the barriers:

We first examine unconscious biases, associations, and cognitive dissonances.

Next, we assess how our privileges can hinder the processes of inclusion.

We then scrutinize our exclusions.

The concepts of invisibility and being excluded are discussed subsequently.

Finally, we address the concept of belonging.

After considering environmental factors, just as with the need for seeds to possess certain qualities to grow as we have discussed in the beginning, we proceed to discuss individual development processes and the significance of a growth mindset. Growth encompasses embracing new experiences and insights previously unincorporated. In this sense, inclusion plays a crucial role in these individual development processes.

Of course, development is important not only at the individual level but also at the institutional level. For institutional development to be achieved, again, our inclusion capacity needs to grow. In the following section, we first suggest a measurement tool for our institutions, followed by a recommended strategic development model for institutional inclusion.

In the eighth chapter of the book, we explore key areas that can inspire us or find practical application within the realm of inclusion.

First of all, we delve into topics inspired by Japanese culture.

We then address the issue of women’s employment, a significant topic in our country, through the lens of the Athena Doctrine.

We discuss the concept of resilience, the Gestalt approach to change management, the applications in coaching, the mentoring approach, along with the theory of situational leadership, and the concept of the “Four Horsemen” which perhaps encapsulates the most significant barriers to functional cooperation and teamwork. And finally, recognizing the growing significance of data science, we include a set of recommendations from the perspective of a data scientist, intended to be passed on to future generations.

Of course, the book does not truly end there. Each topic briefly touched upon here will be discussed more thoroughly through the RK Academy portals which will also include additional resources. We envision this book as the start of a new journey in furthering your personal development.

Why a Book on This Topic and Why Now?

Humanity is at a pivotal juncture. We face a choice: learn to live and produce together with those who differ from us, building a new tomorrow, or allow the current process of polarization to usher us into an era rife with some of the greatest disasters in human history. By “different”, I refer not only to communities with distinct beliefs, preferences, perspectives, and life cycles but also to abstract concepts unfamiliar to us. New discourses which contradict those we assume to be true, new perspectives that make us question the paradigms we classify as good and new ways and manners to live – all these fall within the scope of this concept.

Saying “Let’s be inclusive”, unfortunately, is not enough. I observe so often that almost everyone uses the term “inclusion” as if merely stating it would make it a reality. It does not. Because the anthropological, sociological, community genetics, and psychological reflexes and habits we have developed over history prevent this. Human communities have historically suffered greatly from differences. Wars, invasions, revolutions, and social turmoil have all stemmed from them. Not only different lifestyles, belief systems, and economic needs but also the emergence of new and different concepts have put people under social stress. Sometimes blood has been shed within families. Human history is replete with such dramas. Consequently, a deep-seated aversion to, exclusion of, and self-protection from the dissimilar have been ingrained in the human brain – situated centrally, powerfully, and close to our survival instincts.

However, we now recognize that this must change due to technological, demographic, and sociological reasons. This book has been written for this purpose. A common motivation among those who speak and convey any topic is perhaps to heal. Whether it is to solve a problem, invent tools, discover methods, or alleviate pain, to be more successful … Whatever the issue, we share the solutions we find with our loved ones with the intention of healing. As such, this work was born from my desire to share recent developments and the solutions I have discovered regarding inclusion and inclusive leadership.

Inclusion is easy to proclaim but challenging to internalize and practice.

Discussing inclusion in a homogeneous society, all similar in shape and colour, is not meaningful because if we have built a fortress composed of “the same” and are content there, isolated and disconnected from the outside, then discussing inclusion serves no purpose. Inclusion is an emotional state which only truly emerges when the fortress walls are torn down; when very different people, perspectives and beliefs come together; and when different lifestyles permeate every aspect of our lives.

Inclusion stands as one of the most important answers of our time, capable of addressing the most critical of questions. It also serves as a tool to rectify the problems embedded within these questions. Of course, this does not mean it can solve all life’s problems. Inclusion is merely one of the keys to success, happiness, health, and peace in our world. I believe that the new methods and approaches facilitated by this mindset will lead us to a far more prosperous place. So keep in mind that the perspectives shared throughout this work should be considered from this viewpoint.

I still experience exclusion daily or rediscover aspects of life which I exclude. There are areas in life where I feel no need to include, yet I recognize the cost of such exclusions. And that is, essentially, what I wish to convey: to recognize the cost.

Reflecting on my past, I can assert that I was a diligent student. I could anticipate the questions that might be asked and how to answer them; my understanding of patterns has helped me navigate both educational and professional environments more effectively. Throughout this work, maintaining the diligence from my school years, I share useful methods and experiences that I have developed in response to life’s challenges. Rather than accepting these as given, I encourage you to consider how they might be integrated into your life.

Only you can truly understand where the methods and the philosophy of inclusion I advocate can address or mitigate the deficiencies in our lives. You should focus on areas that will minimize your costs and facilitate overcoming challenges. Reflect on your truths and your lives; consider which aspects of the work you can incorporate that could be of use to you. No one else can know the emotions you experience, but within the pages of this book, you may end up finding something supportive.

So am I inclusive enough? Frankly, I must confess that while working on this book, I have realized that the thought patterns, emotional ties, conscious and unconscious biases, and especially the privileges I have strived to attain in life made me quite an excluding individual. And as it turns out, many of the difficulties I have faced in leadership roles had stemmed from these unknowingly developed approaches. Yet, was becoming aware of this sufficient? Of course not. It is a crucial step to recognize. But next, one needs to accept that this is a problem. I have completed this step as well. But the real challenge begins only afterwards. The process of achieving this change must be approached very consciously and consistently. In this process, many of the tools mentioned in the book have proved invaluable for me too. Change does not happen overnight. I embarked on this journey consciously, willingly, and persistently, and I have already seen significant benefits. In fact, even before this book was published, it seems to have provided the greatest benefit to its own author …

I would like to provide some fundamental questions to consider on the course of this journey:

What do I choose to exclude, and what is the cost of these exclusions for me?

How do I manage its burden?

What aspects of this bring me happiness?

Can I continue with the truths I have established so far?

Who am I as a leader?

What does this leadership role mean to me?

What aspects of leadership appeal to me?

Where do I come from, and where am I heading?

What is the meaning of life to me?

To reiterate, inclusion is an easy-to-articulate but challenging-to-practice philosophy. In many ways, it challenges our established truths and the lives we lead.

• • •

We are in an era of unprecedented technological change and development. We are at the forefront of algorithms, processes, and methods that could build spaceships as large as planets, previously depicted only in science fiction films. There are incredibly innovative learning opportunities like machine learning, deep learning, and fast learning.

If we transmit flawed truths into learning systems such as these, we will see the errors proliferate very fast. “Garbage in, garbage out”, as they say. If we input our biases, exclusions, stereotypes, or divisions into the system as they are, we may witness all of these multiplying and potentially creating an uninhabitable world.

The message here is clear. We must move away from the truths that have brought us here and discover new paradigms; only then can we input useful and inclusive truths into machines that learn quickly.

When future generations find the studies on inclusion and inclusive leadership which we are currently conducting, it might, I imagine, bring a smile to their faces in remembrance of us.

We do not yet know where all this is going. I am merely striving to formulate a response with the reflex of a student who knows how to give the right answer.

It is my hope that upon finishing this book, you will not hesitate to revisit this topic.

1Why Inclusion and Why Now?

What Do We Mean by Inclusion?

In today’s world, diversity and inclusion have become two of the most important concepts for the business world on a global scale. You might wonder, “With all the challenges, threats, and difficulties we face, why is such a humane issue so prominent on the agenda?” In this section, I aim to explain that inclusion is indeed an antidote to many of today’s challenges. This means that if humanity is to surmount the obstacles it currently faces, it will only be through the actions of inclusive leaders and the culture of inclusion they are to promote. We begin with this bold assertion.

Throughout human history, societies that organized most efficiently and implemented the most effective cooperation among their individuals have proven to be stronger and more successful against natural elements and other human communities. This advantage has consistently been facilitated more easily through social norms. Yet we recognize that homogeneous structures are significantly more vulnerable to changing conditions. For instance, genetic diversity strengthens human communities against biological and ecological threats. Likewise, diversity in gender, culture, age, geography, and academic disciplines, when synergistically integrated, enhances the resilience of institutions against economic threats. Factors like the rapid pace of change, along with ecological, technological, and geopolitical threats, and digitalization, underscore the benefits of greater diversity within institutions and human communities. In this context, diversity efforts are becoming increasingly vital. However, if individuals with differing characteristics cannot coexist harmoniously, the resulting diversity might cause more destruction rather than success. The answer lies in fostering inclusion and practicing inclusive leadership. Inclusion is defined as a social and psychological state where each individual feels valued, acknowledged, safe, and trusted; experiences a sense of belonging; and can perform at their best – it is a state of feeling which sets it apart from action-oriented concepts like equality and diversity.

Inclusion is defined as a social and psychological state where each individual feels valued, acknowledged, safe, and trusted; experiences a sense of belonging; and can perform at their best.

An inclusive environment fosters warm, trust-based human relationships and encourages sharing, curiosity, contribution, transparency, and the impulse to excel. It also thrives on justice, equity, mutual respect, responsibility, appreciation and being appreciated, collaboration, and the shared experience of success.

To What Change Does Inclusion Owe Its Current Importance?

There’s a saying I find quite resonant: “Partnerships are not made by partners but through common goals”. This adage underscores that creating an inclusive climate is more attainable for organizations that rally around shared objectives and place their primary mission at the forefront.

As Simon Sinek emphasizes in Start with Why,1 “institutions driven by purpose” (a popular term nowadays), where differences align with common goals and visions, foster environments conducive to inclusion. In these organizations, leaders act as facilitators of common goals. We observe that inclusive leadership, particularly in multicultural workplaces, significantly boosts harmony among employees and enhances productivity.

Inclusive leadership, especially in multicultural workplaces, enhances both harmony and productivity among employees.

The increasing significance of inclusion and inclusive leadership perspective is propelled by numerous factors. Among these are the importance of labour unity in societal and historical contexts, advancements in basic sciences, and emerging social developments.

Innovations in Basic Sciences and Social Developments

History lessons have often taught us that it was the great leaders and the pivotal events around them which had shaped our history. Yet there may also be another crucial layer underlying history which involves advancements in the field of science. Innovations in agriculture and military technologies, followed by breakthroughs in basic and later social sciences over the last century, have all played a significant role. Viewing human history through the lens of these developments offers a more effective method to understand the leadership qualities required in each era.

Numerous examples abound, from the invention of the wheel and firearms to the herring fish being caught and salted on open seas, enabling fleets to navigate for months without docking. Innovations such as antibiotics, the telescope, the compass, Cartesian thought, electricity, quantum mechanics, and the internet have all facilitated new understandings of leadership in the years that followed. One of the more subtle examples might be the change in the social status of women. The now-widely-accepted egalitarian practices of our day can partly be attributed to the discovery and widespread use of birth-control pills. When women gained control over their destinies, they also began to break free from their historically prescribed roles in social and economic arenas. This list of influential developments can be extended even further.

Which Scientific Advancements Have Triggered the Progress We Are Now Experiencing in Inclusion?

The questions that arise are numerous. What were these cutting edge technological developments of such importance? What shapes our current understanding of leadership today and will continue to influence it in the near future?

While there is not a single definitive answer, some notable examples include neural networks, genetics-supported neuroscience, quantum mechanics, GPS, and new approaches in sociology and psychology. To delve deeper into this discussion.

The most pivotal development in this regard has been the change in our perspective on the theory of evolution through what might be termed as “multilevel selection” (MLS) theory. Secondly, there are the academic contributions of Elinor Ostrom, the recipient of the Nobel Prize in economics for the year 2009, finding areas of practical application both in societal life and in the business world.

Darwin’s theory of evolution, although now controversially positioned by Huxley’s contributions, initially provided a robust framework for understanding life on Earth and the development of species. Darwin based his theory on three fundamental elements:

Measurable characteristics of living organisms that change over generations.

These changes providing them with an advantage in their environment in terms of their survival and the continuation of their lineage.

The transmission of these changes to future generations.

When these three elements converge, the evolutionary development process as described by Darwin comes to life, gradually becoming a general characteristic of the species.

While this theory effectively explains the development of certain vital characteristics, it does not adequately account for the formation and evolution of social behaviours, moral norms, and societal traditions across generations. Traits such as respect, devotion, politeness, honesty, trust, courage, and even altruism often do not provide an advantage to the individual and may even place them at a disadvantage. Even in modern society, let alone throughout history, these traits do not necessarily offer individuals a survival advantage over selfish, self-centred individuals. So how did these traits develop over time to reach us today, and how have they come to prominence within the concept of “inclusion” that we will extensively discuss in this book?

Yuval Harari, in his book Sapiens, suggests that our ancestors’ ability to dominate other “homo” species was due to their superior organization and cooperation within their communities. Similarly, where Darwin’s theory meets challenges, he touches on the concepts of “individual evolution” and “social evolution”. That is, while the aforementioned traits may disadvantage the individuals exhibiting them, the communities displaying these traits gain an advantage over other communities, supporting the three elements of evolution. While selfish, self-centred individuals may have a competitive edge, history shows that communities that foster cooperation and protect communal interests have been more advantageous.

Another key reason this topic is included in this book is the concept of natural selection, which initially starts in smaller communities and gradually expands to larger ones on a scale from the individual to the entirety of humanity where smaller communities eventually form the larger versions. The technological advancements and their facilitation of more effective demographic movements have transformed what was once a social evolution confined to families, villages, tribes, local communities, or even nations and races into a broader phenomenon through the interaction of larger communities. In other words, while the characteristics of a neighbouring village or country were once elements in evolutionary competition, today we are witnessing a process where subcultures around the world are competing with each other.

Of course, the phenomenon we call evolution manifests through changes observed over generations. It is not yet feasible to discern how the dramatic developments of the last century, unprecedented in history, will evolutionarily impact humanity. Here, science aids our understanding. When discussing social traits, we inevitably explore what can be learned from other organisms. A study conducted by Purdue University academic William Muir serves as an inspiration for us to underscore the importance of “inclusion” in MLS with regard to our future. In the experiment, initially, chicks from the most fertile chickens and roosters were selected to breed the next generation. This approach, when continued over five generations, resulted in a significant decline in egg production. The experiment was then repeated, but with a focus on selecting the most productive groups of chickens rather than the most productive individuals. This approach means that instead of focusing on individual champions, the process allowed a small group that had outperformed others to form the next generation. As anticipated, this group selection approach did not decrease but increased egg production in subsequent generations. It turns out, individual performance, which presumably favoured traits prioritizing personal over communal interests, did not lead to more productive communities. Conversely, communities formed by individuals who prioritized communal interests not only thrived collectively but also left a better legacy for their future generations.2

If such results emerge from chickens, might similar principles apply to human communities?3 An experiment involving university students in America provides some insight.

In this study, students who have just started their education in the university were chosen and assessed for their propensity to help others with a test. Months later, the same assessment was repeated with the same students who were now asked to share the test questions with two friends of their choice. Subsequently, these students and their two friends were called to participate in a competitive game where the winners received free movie tickets. At the game’s conclusion, students who had been identified as more individualistic and self-interested won more tickets individually. However, when evaluated as groups, those who had been initially tested as more altruistic collectively won more tickets with the two friends they have invited. While this experiment does not incorporate an evolutionary component, it also does not yield drastically different results from the chicken experiment, reinforcing the naturally advantageous positions of communities formed by individuals who prioritize social values. The experiment also highlights the importance of inclusion in both contemporary and evolutionary contexts.

Homo Economicus

Another significant and more contemporary development is found in the works of Nobel Prize recipient economist Elinor Ostrom. Ostrom’s research indicated that both centralized structures and market mechanisms, such as privatization, fall short in managing situations involving common, scarce resources that should benefit everyone. She demonstrated that groups capable of self-organization could effectively address these challenges. Economists, traditionally toggling between centralized decisions and market mechanisms, were introduced by Ostrom to a third, viable solution. Ostrom’s contributions are particularly significant as they offer hope for resolving critical global issues like the management of natural resources – forests, oceans, and water.

To understand Ostrom’s work, we should first refer to an article that inspired her. In 1968, the year I was born, ecologist Garrett Hardin published an article in Science magazine. Hardin’s piece presented the following scenario:

Picture a pasture open to all. It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons. Such an arrangement may work reasonably satisfactorily for centuries because tribal wars, poaching, and disease keep the numbers of both man and beast well below the carrying capacity of the land. Finally, however, comes the day of reckoning, that is, the day when the long-desired goal of social stability becomes a reality. At this point, the inherent logic of the commons remorselessly generates tragedy. (…) The rational herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue is to add another animal to his herd. And another; and another … But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons. Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit – in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.

Ostrom’s work demonstrated that centralized, top-down structures are ineffective at solving this paradox. In such systems, decision-makers either see themselves as outside of the system or exempt from the same rules and consequences, which are significant issues. Her research also showed that market solutions like privatization fail to deliver benefits, especially since market players are primarily motivated to maximize benefits for stakeholders rather than conserving resources, highlighting why market mechanisms are not a solution, as outlined by the classic agency problem in economic theory.

Ostrom’s true achievement was proposing a new method in place of these ineffective theories. She showed that communities capable of self-organizing among their members and working functionally in cooperation with other similar human communities were viable and that only such systems could offer solutions to some of humanity’s most significant challenges.

Ostrom’s empirical studies laid out a clear method for how such communities function. She consolidated her doctoral thesis completed in 1965 and subsequent research into an article of pioneering quality in the field of economics, titled Governing the Commons, which was published in 1990 and has become one of the most referenced works in her field over the last two decades. The article introduced a new approach to the literature, known as “Ostrom’s Law”.

As I have mentioned earlier in this chapter, I believe that the major events in human history – political, economic, and technological developments – have been propelled by advances in the scientific field. The manifestation of Darwin’s theory of evolution in the form of MLS theory in the social dimension, and following that, Ostrom’s economic theory of self-organizing human communities and how they can solve major problems, together help us understand more deeply why the issue of inclusion is becoming increasingly important today.