Leading and managing a diverse group

1. MOSAIC Mentoring Program Leading and managing a diverse group Spokane Community College 1810 N. Greene St. Spokane, WA 99217

2. MOSAIC Mentoring Program Leading and managing a diverse group? Our nation becomes more diverse everyday, it’s imperative that you know how to lead and manage in a multicultural environment. To be an effective leader, there are certain skills that are critical to learn in order to lead and navigate effectively in a diverse workplace. Weather on campus or in the community you must have this skill set to be successful.

3. Workplace of the future Each of us comes into the world of work with features and ways of behaving that are the products of our culture. Maximizing and capitalizing on workplace diversity is the challenge for managers and employees in the workplace of the future.

4. Effective leaders • Effective leaders must move beyond their own cultural frame of reference to promote strong intercultural communication and create cultural synergy in the workplace. They must recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential in a diverse population.

5. Inclusive Work Environment • . An inclusive work environment includes, but is not limited to recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion patterns, subscription to professional journals. In addition, a manager should consider the every day language and attitudes that are allowed in the workplace that describes women, minorities and People with Disabilities.

6. Valuing Diversity • Valuing diversity should be a consistent part of every employee, supervisor/manager and senior executive's ongoing professional development.  Valuing diversity should be a staff development initiative, used as a change agent that assists individuals understand and shift their feelings and attitudes around differences.

7. Consensus Building • Any organizational strategy that is implemented for managing diversity requires skill building techniques. Effectively implementing any task or program with diversity in mind requires the ability to work with complexity, multiple dimensions such as human resources, and various levels of management. A manager's ability to manage diversity effectively offers consensus building, develops conflict resolution skills and promotes intercultural communication skills.

8. The Golden Rule • Many people believe in the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated. The implicit assumption is that how you want to be treated is how others want to be treated. But when you look at this proverb from a diversity perspective, you begin to ask the question, what does respect look like; does it look the same for everyone? Does it mean saying hello in the morning, or leaving someone alone? Does it mean making eye contact when you speak? It depends on the individual

9. The platinum rule • We may share similar values, such as respect or need for recognition, but how we show those values through behavior may be different for different cultures. How do we know what different cultures need? Perhaps instead of using the golden rule, we should use the platinum rule that states: "treat others as they want to be treated." Moving our frame of reference from an ethnocentric view (our way is the best way) to a culturally relative perspective (let's take the best of a variety of ways”) will help us to manage more effectively in a diverse work environment.

10. Create the environment • The manager must consider what impact policies, practices, and ways of thinking have on the different individuals in the team. Managers must remember that there is no “best” way of doing anything. They have to constantly adapt their style of management to meet the varied needs of their employees. • The fundamental objective for the manager is to create an environment that fully taps the potential of all individuals without giving advantage or disadvantage to any person or group of persons.

11. What would you do? • Pretend that you are the new President of SCC, write a one page paper, double spaced on how you would celebrate diversity on this campus. • Please send completed paper to kmcclure@scc.spokane.edu or turn in to the SCC Multicultural Student Center in care of Kitara McClure