Conceptual Review of Inclusive Leadership Practices to Strengthen Investment Committee Decision-Making

Investment committees play a pivotal role in institutional governance, determining asset allocation, risk management, and long-term capital preservation strategies. However, their effectiveness is often constrained by groupthink, hierarchical dominance, and insufficient integration of diverse perspectives. This conceptual review explores the role of inclusive leadership practices in strengthening investment committee decision-making, emphasizing how inclusivity fosters resilience, accountability, and innovation in financial governance. Drawing on leadership theory, the review highlights core dimensions of inclusive leadership—diversity in composition, equitable participation, psychological safety, and shared accountability—as mechanisms that enhance the collective intelligence of committees. Inclusive leadership enables investment committees to better identify risks, balance competing interests, and integrate long-term considerations such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) imperatives into portfolio strategies. Diversity in gender, cultural, generational, and professional backgrounds expands cognitive frames and improves scenario planning, while equitable participation ensures that no single voice dominates the deliberative process. Psychological safety promotes openness to dissenting views and critical questioning, reducing susceptibility to bias and reinforcing transparency. Shared accountability further strengthens trust among stakeholders by embedding collective ownership of investment decisions. This argues that inclusive leadership practices yield strategic benefits, including improved adaptability in volatile market environments, enhanced legitimacy of governance processes, and alignment with fiduciary and sustainability responsibilities. Nonetheless, challenges remain, such as potential delays in decision-making and cultural resistance in traditionally hierarchical institutions. To address these limitations, a conceptual framework is proposed that links inclusive leadership inputs to improved decision-making outcomes. This framework underscores the need for institutional investors, asset managers, and governance bodies to embed inclusivity not as a peripheral value but as a core capability in investment decision-making. Future research should empirically validate these propositions to guide best practices in financial governance.