How Humble and Inclusive Leadership Helps Teams Beat Procrastination

    By Randall Chase

        If you have ever worked in a team where people drag their feet, avoid decisions, or wait until the last minute to act, you know how quickly procrastination can tank productivity and morale. What surprised me as I dug into the research was how much leadership style shapes this behavior. Not the loud, commanding kind of leadership people often associate with authority, but the quiet kind that asks real questions and listens. The kind that makes people feel seen.

Two approaches stand out. Humble leadership and inclusive leadership. Both are grounded in the idea that people do their best work when they feel respected, valued, and connected. When leaders practice these styles well, procrastination tends to drop. When they do not, procrastination often grows into a real threat to team health.

Humble Leadership: Leading with Curiosity Instead of Control

Humble leadership starts with a simple idea. Instead of telling people what to do, ask real questions. Show curiosity. Invite ideas. Edgar Schein calls this humble inquiry, and leaders who embrace it create the kind of environment where people want to contribute rather than hide in the background.

When leaders show humility, employees feel that their voice matters. Researchers have found that this sense of value and belonging actually lowers procrastination because people feel motivated to engage and take ownership of their work. Humility strengthens the sense of community inside a team, and that sense of connection turns into action. People step up because they want to, not because they fear consequences.

Inclusive Leadership: Creating Space for Every Voice

Inclusive leadership takes this even further by intentionally making room for diverse perspectives. Nembhard and Edmondson describe inclusive leaders as people who listen to ideas from every level of the organization, not just the loudest or most senior voices.

When a workplace becomes inclusive, communication becomes more open. Transparency increases. Silos begin to break down. People stop feeling like outsiders in their own organization. Research shows that when employees feel shut out or ignored, procrastination usually increases. Why work hard for a vision that does not include you? But when people feel welcomed into the decision-making process, engagement grows and procrastination shrinks.

When Both Approaches Work Together

When leaders practice humility and inclusiveness together, the impact multiplies. Teams experience more trust. People share ideas freely. Creativity improves. Negative behaviors like procrastination drop because everyone understands how their role fits into the larger mission.

Studies show that when employees feel psychologically safe and supported, they perform better and delay less. It sounds simple, but feeling respected changes how people show up each day.

The Complicated Side of Humble Leadership

Of course, leadership is never as clean as a textbook. Some researchers point out that humble leadership can backfire when employees mistake humility for weakness. If expectations are not clear, some team members may push boundaries or take advantage of the leader’s approach. Time theft and other forms of disengagement can grow under leaders who appear too tolerant or unclear about accountability.

The truth is that humility is not soft. It requires clarity, consistency, and firm communication about expectations. Teams need both support and structure. When that balance is missing, procrastination can return quickly.

Moving Toward a Healthier Culture

The lesson here is not to abandon humility or inclusiveness. It is to pair them with clear policies, shared values, and honest conversations about expectations. When leaders reinforce teamwork and set the tone for responsible time management, employees rise to that standard.

A humble, inclusive leader can inspire creativity and innovation, but also protect the team from drift or rule-bending. When leaders practice curiosity, invite ideas, and still maintain guardrails, procrastination has very little room to grow.

My Takeaway

Digging into this research pushed me to rethink what good leadership looks like. I went in believing I already understood these frameworks, but the more I read, the more I realized how many leaders struggle to balance humility with accountability. I even found studies showing how some employees try to exploit leaders who lead with kindness.  At the end of the day, humble and inclusive leadership is not about being soft. It is about being grounded, curious, and clear. It is about asking good questions, inviting people into the process, and creating a culture where everyone understands the shared mission. When leaders do that well, procrastination loses its power.

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