This post celebrates Maria Montessori whose date of birth is 31 August.
When I first enrolled my child in a Montessori school, I wasn’t looking for leadership lessons. I just wanted a place where he wouldn’t be reduced to a seat number, silenced in rows, or force-fed phonics before he could tie his shoelaces. What I didn’t expect was that his classroom would hold up a mirror to my work, and, oddly enough, give me a crash course in inclusive leadership.
Here’s what I’ve observed from the child-sized tables and wooden bead chains. And here’s why Montessori education isn’t just a gift to children, it’s a masterclass for anyone who wants to lead better.
1. Everyone deserves to be seen and respected
In my son’s Montessori class, the teacher doesn’t bark orders or demand conformity. Instead, she watches. She listens. She respects each child’s rhythm. Some kids spend 20 minutes pouring lentils from one bowl to another, others head straight to math beads. No one’s rushed or shamed.
Inclusive leadership starts here. It’s about seeing people as individuals, not job titles. It’s about asking, “What do you need to do your best work?” instead of assuming we already know.
As Ferdman (2014) puts it, inclusion begins with recognizing each person’s full humanity. Watching my child be treated as a whole human, even at age four, was a wake-up call.
2. Beyond autonomy: cultivating agency
Montessori’s idea of “freedom within limits” sounded like fluffy idealism at first. But here’s what I’ve seen: when kids are trusted to make meaningful decisions, they don’t just become independent, they become empowered. My child chooses his work, sets goals for the day, and solves conflicts with peers using a literal peace rose. That’s not just autonomy. That’s agency.
Autonomy gives people the power to choose.
Agency gives people the belief that their choices matter.
Inclusive leadership should aim for more than just flexibility. It’s not enough to let people decide how to work if they don’t feel their work makes a difference. Real inclusion requires that people have influence on outcomes, on culture, on decisions (Randel et al., 2018).
That’s what my child gets every day in his classroom: not just permission, but power.
3. The environment is the third teacher
In Montessori philosophy:
- The first teacher is the child themself, driven by curiosity and an intrinsic desire to learn.
- The second teacher is the adult guide, who observes and facilitates rather than instructs.
- The third teacher is the environment, the physical and emotional space that teaches through invitation, structure, and beauty.
Montessori classrooms are intentional. Materials are placed just right for little hands. Nothing is loud, garish, or overwhelming. Even the colors are soft. They seem to whisper: You belong here.
Workplace environments send the same signals. Psychological safety doesn’t come from motivational posters, it comes from consistent signals that your ideas, identity, and presence are valued (Edmondson, 2019). Inclusive leadership means creating these conditions consciously.
I’ve seen my son blossom in a room designed for inclusion. It’s made me question how often we overlook the workplace equivalent.
4. Leadership is about guidance, not control
Montessori teachers don’t stand in front of the class. They kneel beside kids, observe quietly, and intervene only when necessary. Their authority comes from trust, not volume.
Inclusive leaders, take note. Leading from the side doesn’t mean losing control. It means guiding instead of dictating, facilitating growth rather than demanding performance (Nishii & Mayer, 2009).
Turns out, my kid’s teacher has better coaching skills than some senior executives I’ve worked with.
5. Belonging is built in daily actions
My son’s class includes different ages, languages, temperaments. He learns to wait his turn, explain a lesson to a younger child, and advocate for himself when a classmate grabs his puzzle piece. It’s not always smooth but it’s inclusive by design.
That’s the work of inclusive leadership too: creating a space where difference isn’t just tolerated but celebrated. Where community is part of the curriculum (Shore et al., 2011). Where no one feels like an outsider.
Montessori doesn’t just teach kids the alphabet. It teaches them how to live, and lead, with others.
In other words
I used to think leadership development happened in meeting rooms and strategy sessions. Now I know it can happen at a child-sized table, with sandpaper letters and a peace rose.
Montessori showed me what inclusion looks like before it becomes a corporate initiative: respect, agency, intention, and connection. If we brought even half of that into our teams and organisations, we’d all belong a little more, and lead a lot better.
Sometimes the best way to lead adults is to learn from how we teach children.#
References
- Edmondson, A. C. (2019). The fearless organization: Creating psychological safety in the workplace for learning, innovation, and growth. Wiley.
- Ferdman, B. M. (2014). Diversity at work: The practice of inclusion. Jossey-Bass.
- Lillard, A. S. (2017). Montessori: The science behind the genius (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Montessori, M. (1967). The discovery of the child (M. J. Costelloe, Trans.). Ballantine Books. (Original work published 1948)
- Nishii, L. H., & Mayer, D. M. (2009). Do inclusive leaders help to reduce turnover in diverse groups? Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(6), 1412–1426.
- Randel, A. E., Dean, M. A., Ehrhart, K. H., Chung, B. G., & Shore, L. M. (2018). Inclusive leadership: Realizing positive outcomes through belongingness and uniqueness. Human Resource Management Review, 28(2), 190–203.
- Shore, L. M., Cleveland, J. N., & Sanchez, D. (2011). Inclusive workplaces: A review and model. Human Resource Management Review, 21(4), 311–326.
