I will start with two basic points that everyone can logically agree with:
1.) Every organization needs quality leadership
to be successful in a highly competitive world, and 2.) Diversity is a reality that is here to stay, and its impact is
increasing exponentially as our demographics continue to change. Further, diversity’s impact will
broaden via globalization as the world continues to shrink and flatten. As a result, there is an automatic interconnectedness
between leadership and diversity, yet this relationship between
the two has not been adequately and accurately explored. This leads me to my third point, which
some may debate. 3.) In order to
truly maximize the effectiveness and potential of ourselves and our organizations
we must develop some solid diversity leadership competencies. This is true for all of us,
regardless of our cultural background; because you cannot maximize your
effective as a leader in an extremely diverse society without understanding
diversity. In short, you cannot
lead what you do not understand. Some may debate this by saying “…
America has always had diversity within its ranks and we’ve consistently been
the leaders of the free world.” That is true, however what’s different now is that global competition is
far fiercer; and our society is far more diverse than ever before. Additionally, the teachings and
philosophies of every great leadership expert from Sun Tzu to Stephen Covey
will confirm that the lion’s share of leadership is motivation; and every major
study on culture has proven that different cultural groups are motivated by
different things.
Management –v- Leadership
If you were to compile a list of the traits and skills that you most admire
about great leaders like -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Tony Blair, Mary
McCloud-Bethune, Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Margret Thatcher,
and others; odds are you would list things like moral courage, their ability to inspire; their mastery of language; how
they helped ordinary people tap into their greatness, etc…. Your list would not include the
statement, “They were great managers”. Chances are they all are/were; but in the end nobody cares. We don’t follow other people because of
their management skills. We follow
them because of how they make us feel.
The masses remember great people not because of their ability to manage;
but because of their ability to LEAD! The reality is that people don’t want to be managed; they want to be
led. They want to be
inspired. They want to follow
people that they connect with. The
21st century leader MUST have the adequate competencies to connect
and build trust in an authentic way with people across a huge myriad of
cultures and ideologies.
Diversity Management –v- Diversity Leadership
Management by nature deals with rules and policies. And let’s face it, that’s the easy
part. Anyone can create a rule or write a policy statement. Leadership, on the other hand, deals
with changing hearts and minds, and holding people accountable. This is a far more daunting and
challenging task.
The unfortunate and regrettable truth is that we as a society have treated
diversity like it is an inanimate “thing”; an object to be managed. But it’s not. It is a collection of people; living, breathing folks with
minds and emotions. For the past
20 years or so, organizations have focused a lot of energy on diversity management, and understandably
so. To their credit, these efforts
have helped many organizations move past just counting heads, dealing only with
representation. Some of these
organizations are now re-directing a portion of their energy towards creating
an inclusive environment that supports diversity. The point that I am attempting to make is that the diversity
management approach is not incorrect; but it is incomplete. Managers tend to look toward the most
expedient (and often temporary) fix; while leaders are more apt to look down
the horizon for the actual long range resolution to the problem. This type of leadership is woefully
missing as it relates to building fully inclusive environments that not only
allow all types of people to flourish and maximize their abilities; but
encourages, grooms and develops them to do so.
Many feel that leaders have failed to aggressively take the lead on
diversity out of a lack of desire. However, I on the contrary think this failure to lead on diversity has
less to do with deficient desire, and more to do with fear. Fear of making a mistake and being
negatively “labeled”. The good
news is that this fear can be eroded when leaders are equipped with some diversity
leadership competencies that will build both their knowledge and
confidence.
Trends That Make Diversity Leadership Competencies an Imperative
Developing these competencies is no longer a forward thinking
innovation. We are actually
running out of time. There are a
large number of demographic and economic trends making the need to act an
imperative. Among them:
Labor Shortage -- As Baby-Boomers retire America faces decades of talent shortages. A report by Development Dimensions
International, as reported in a recent article, The New War for Talent by Michael Gregoire, “one-fifth of this country’s large, established companies will be
losing 40 percent or more of their top talent in the next five years.” Additionally,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics further predicts a 10 million personnel
shortfall starting around 2008-2010.
Global Migration
Patterns – As a result of the aforementioned
talent shortage the U.S. will need to increase its immigration numbers which
will further increase our diversity, in the areas of race, culture and
religion.
Generational Issues – We will continue to have four distinctly different generations working
side by side in our workforce. The
tensions that exist may intensify. Due to our increasingly challenged economy, some older workers who had
intended to retire will be forced to stay in the workplace for financial
reasons. Simultaneously, many
talented, impatient, “up and coming” Generation X’ers may start to feel some resentment
toward these more matured workers who are now impeding their progress be
refusing to leave these jobs that the Generation X’ers want; thus creating what
is known as “generational conflict”.
A Few Required Competencies
In her book, Managing Diversity:
Toward a Globally Inclusive Workplace, Michalle E. Mor Barak talks about
how ancient Chinese tradition divides people into categories based on four
qualities: Shi (scholars), Nong (farmers), Gong (artisans) and Shang
(merchants). The belief is that to
be a fully effective leader, one must acquire the “…vision and ethics of the
scholar, the appreciation and respect for basic human needs of the farmer, the
creativity and drive for excellence of the artisan, and the ambition of the
merchant (in order) to make a profit.” The concept to grasp here is that cultural
competency is not about learning every little nuance about every cultural
group. It’s more about learning
the perspectives and big picture concepts that relate to various cultures. In short, diversity leadership
competency is not focused on learning a long list of cultural “do’s and
don’ts”. It is about establishing
common ground with people from cultures other than your own by developing some
simple tools. Some examples of
these competencies are:
· Being aware of your own
biases
· Developing cultural
dexterity
· Challenging false
assumptions
· Exercising moral
courage
· Embodying trust and
fairness
· Being consistent
Most of these competencies are not complicated or difficult to learn; and
they tend to line up with our already accepted moral codes, and organizational
values. All we have to do is put
forth an effort until they become second nature.
In the words of leadership guru Warren Bennis, “Managers are people who do things right. Leaders are people who do the right thing.” Take the lead, step up and do the
right thing. Everyone will benefit;
yourself included.
