Diversity presents one of the most important aspects of management because it contributes to creating a healthy working environment and significantly improves the decision-making process. In explaining why diversity should be welcomed in the workplace, specialists refer to the ‘giraffe and elephant’ key dynamics. The giraffe represents a manager who perceives his workplace as suitable for employees based on his subjective view. On the other hand, the elephant represents an employee who struggles to fit working conditions primarily designed for giraffes. Thus, by rejecting the opportunity to hire diverse staff, managers increase the risks of developing a one-sided view in the decision-making process and low employee satisfaction with the workplace. In this essay, I will describe the diverse organization I plan to lead and explain which strategies will help me develop cultural intelligence and encourage diversity in the workplace.
Firstly, there are different types of leadership positions I can acquire in the future. For example, the role of a parent can also be acknowledged as a leadership position because it also requires an individual to develop specific qualities. However, significantly more approaches and strategies can be utilized in the business manager position than in the role of a parent. Thus, defining the benefits I can bring to the diverse organization in the role of a leader is more valuable for my professional development.
The organization that I hope to lead in the future is an e-commerce company. Considering the growing impact of corporate responsibility, I imagine that the organization I will work for in the future will prioritize making the world better for society. In an e-commerce company, the mission will define the organization’s purpose in providing support for local communities and establishing decent working conditions for employees. Addressing the elephant and giraffe dynamics, one can determine that satisfactory working conditions can only be established in diverse organizations. Furthermore, as e-commerce activity favors organizational development on a global scale, I hope that the nature of diversity in my future workplace will include the different cultural backgrounds of the organization’s members. Even though I cannot suggest that my cultural background can present significant addition to an already culturally diverse workplace, I know that my education and experience can substantially improve the decision-making process. Furthermore, as diversity also implies equality in the workplace, as a leader, I can contribute to the development of a healthy working environment by cultivating positive interactions between employees.
Next, the concept of diversity and inclusion are closely connected to the topic of identity and otherness in the perception of surrounding people. The otherness aspect contributes to the development of domination and subordination dynamics, where the majority, united by similarities, imposes conditions on the minority (Tatum, 2010). Thus, the leader’s primary goal in a diverse organization is to overcome domination and subordination dynamics and establish equal opportunities for all employees. Furthermore, the leader should lead by example to help employees overcome bias and racial stereotypes. I always believed that people from all ethnicities and cultures are equal because each individual is unique in the combination of factors that shape their personality. The identity that I will bring to the position will allow me to perceive each employee as unique with different experiences and improve the organization’s work with the combination of employees’ differences. A positive approach to individual differences practiced by leaders contributes to the development of an inclusive environment (Mor Burak et al., 2016). Thus, the organization can promote inclusivity, diversity, and equality through the manager’s efforts to create a positive work environment where differences are celebrated.
Furthermore, considering the nature of diversity within the organization, a significant part of my efforts in the position of leader will focus on developing cultural intelligence to address potential cross-cultural differences in conflicts. Conflicts in the workplace are inevitable, but depending on the approach used for their solution, conflicts can have significant positive outcomes, such as increased employee engagement and creative decisions. The main challenge in addressing conflicts in diverse organizations are differences in negotiating styles across cultures and cultural differences in ethics. For example, different cultures perceive workplace debates as arguments, while in other cultures, debates present a social norm.
Overcoming cultural misunderstandings requires implementing a leadership strategy that suits the leader’s approach and personality. Furthermore, the overall organization’s commitment to diversity relies on the leader’s performance in promoting diversity (Hayes et al., 2020). One of the cultural intelligence (CQ) strategies I can implement to resolve the issue is analyzing potential areas of conflict and raising employees’ awareness and knowledge of cultural differences in that area. While overcoming the challenge will take significant time, the resolution presents an opportunity for me as a leader to develop analytical and planning skills.
In conclusion, writing this essay allowed me to identify potential areas for my professional development in the business manager position. After constructing an image of the diverse organization, I might lead in the future; I was able to define the identity that I can bring to the position of business manager. Furthermore, I acquired a better understanding of how the leader’s personality influences the organization’s efforts in the promotion of diversity, equality, and inclusivity. Lastly, after acquiring the results of the CQ test, I plan to spend more time developing my cultural intelligence skills to be more prepared for working in a diverse organization.