Introduction
In the current world, inclusion and diversity are required of all leaders. All employees are also expected to be conscious of inclusion and diversity and be equipped to support inclusive and diverse work ecology, despite their job titles, seniority level, or professional specialty. Respect is also among the most crucial aspect of a culture of inclusion. Diversity is increasingly vital as a core value and daily dedication for firms to prioritize. Every firm looks for a variety-conscious leader who can work with different people. Hence, this paper will discuss why diversity consciousness is a prerequisite for effective leadership, the diversity Skills that the program’s participants get, the relevance of these skills today, and the value of experiential training in developing diversity-conscious leadership.
Why Diversity Consciousness is a Prerequisite for Effective Leadership
There is more value in taking advantage of teams of diverse backgrounds, perspectives, genders, ages, and experiences. Inclusive leadership is about creating involvement, connection, and respect, where the wealth of thoughts, views, and backgrounds are bonded to generate organizational worth (Freeman, 2021). As the globe goes on to struggle with quick changes, there is recognition that, for most intricate challenges, past and present solutions cannot work in the future. There has yet to be another appropriate time to use the best practices of all-encompassing management. Inclusive leaders access and answer to a bigger group, and make sure that they are listened to, retrained, revered, and appreciated. Such aspects make diversity consciousness important for effective leadership.
Diversity consciousness is significant since it assists leaders in leveraging diversity by proactively building teams with different qualities and backgrounds. This adds different views, approaches, and opinions to problems the leader encounters in all work surroundings (Vo, n.d.).A diverse conscious leader gets everyone in the firm to enthusiastically support their efforts. The eventual objective of diversity and inclusion is to get to a level where people feel valued due to their uniqueness, which necessitates teaching people to search for commonalities. It also implies recognizing base instincts, biases, and trends and constantly working to retain the brain to counter those ingrained reactions. Research shows that diverse firms are 33 percent more likely to outperform ethnically homogenous firms (Vo, n.d.).Diversity consciousness enables a leader to leverage workforce diversity.
Diversity Skills that the Program’s Participants Develop
AAN Leadership development program acknowledges the significance of having leaders that mirror the demographics of its members and the patients they serve. The program offers a meaningful professional development experience that engages members from underrepresented neurology groups (“AAN leadership development,” n.d.).One of the skills that participants are taught in this program is how to be an up-stander and an advocate. Most organizations deal with situations where employees see something faulty but do not discuss it. Hence, in this program, leaders are taught to be advocates at work so that employees feel free to talk about problems that may affect their work. The leaders are taught to begin speaking when they notice misconduct at work, whether it is an inappropriate joke at the expense of another person, unfair promotion, or discriminatory hiring.
Additionally, participants are also taught about cultivating cultural awareness and multicultural comprehension. It is crucial to generate a sense of belonging to strengthen everyone’s connection to coworkers and a sense of purpose (“AAN leadership development,” n.d.).Participants are also taught to be diligent learners because the current generation believes that learning is the key to prosperity in their professional journey. Continuous learning is key to workplace prosperity, and specifically, learning about diversity and inclusion is essential to establish and supporting an inclusive and diverse workplace. The participants are taught to be leaders that drive the inclusion and diversity agenda.
The AAN leadership program shows no set path to becoming a lifelong learner. Leaders must constantly teach themselves about diversity, inclusion, and equity and be at par with the newest tactics (“AAN leadership development,” n.d.). Some of the strategies taught in the program include data-driven decision-making to assist leaders and their companies in creating a more diverse and all-encompassing environment. A prosperous, diverse, and inclusive leader knows the present tools, strategies, and resources and learns novel strategies and resources.
Lastly, participants are taught how to create inclusive messaging internally and externally. To make an actual impact, a leader should consider inclusion and diversity, both inside and outside the company. Participants of the AAN Leadership Program are taught to conduct an inventory or audit of their firms’ marketing messages to external and internal stakeholders (“AAN leadership development,” n.d.). They are asked to find if the images in their marketing content are inclusive and diverse and if their website is inclusive. They are also asked to investigate whether they have any hidden or subtle stereotypes or biases in their marketing message. The leaders are taught the importance of arming their employees to act and think using a multicultural lens.
The Relevance of These Skills Today
As cultural dynamics change in a firm, leaders must go on with their development training; diversity and inclusion are crucial skills and principles in a training category.Being an advocate may be intimidating at times, but it is critical to establish an all-encompassing and diverse workplace that benefits everyone (Pancheva, 2021). Suppose a leader becomes a more vocal advocate for inequalities at work. In that case, other coworkers will reflect the leader’s behavior and follow in their footsteps, creating a positive flow impact of advocacy in the organization. Being an up stander at work is a principal skill to change one’s workplace culture into a highly all-encompassing and cooperative workplace.
Moreover, cultural consciousness reinforces the significant objectives of diversity knowledge. It assists all people to feel seen, revered, and appreciated. Multicultural comprehension is the basis of a more diverse and inclusive work environment where everybody can prosper. Cultural consciousness and multicultural comprehension aim to assist workers in feeling safe at work, treating one another equally, connecting, respecting coworkers, comprehending one’s exceptional strengths, and making significant contributions (Freeman, 2021). It assists everyone in better comprehending and appreciating different groups of people.
Being a tireless learner is crucial for leaders today because of the increase in diversity of the workforce. The business world is constantly evolving, and a leader needs to have successful diversity and inclusion consciousness to work with different people (Vo, n.d.). Creating inclusive messages is essential for leaders because it ensures that the company has no hidden stereotypes or biases that may harm its reputation.
The Value of Experiential Training in Developing Diversity-Conscious Leadership
Experiential training is vital in creating diversity-conscious leadership because it gives leaders an experience that will teach a leadership principle or practice their leadership skills. The training is intended to put leaders in real-life circumstances where they can utilize the knowledge learned from reading leadership books and lectures (Banerjjee, 2019). Its aim is producing g confident leaders that know how to deal with any circumstance with ease and peace. Using experiential training to boost diversity and inclusion indirectly is very effective. This can engage teaching leaders about a leadership subject but structure the sessions so that participants can observe and mirror diversity-related behaviors.
AAN diversity training program used simulations where participants worked against the clock in teams to run a fictitious organization in a real-life challenging organizational setting. Due to pressure and competition, the participants behaved how they would behave in a real-life setting, and the coaches and participants were able to observe and reflect on their behaviors and those of others (“AAN leadership development,” n.d.). This provided an excellent platform for probing behaviors associated with inclusion and diversity. Hence, experiential training is essential in diversity-conscious leadership because it mirrors real-life situations and how leaders should behave in a diverse workplace.
Conclusion
Diversity skills are essential to assist a leader in better comprehending and handling people that are not like their ad to support inclusive and diverse work ecology. Inclusive communication requires a receptive attitude, vast consciousness of other cultures and viewpoints, empathy, and active listening. Using and practicing diverse leadership skills assists a leader in improving their self-development and their career chances in the future. The AAN Diversity leadership training program is an excellent example of a creative and experiential leadership program that teaches participants to be diversity-conscious. Some skills taught include being an advocate, being a tireless learner, and creating inclusive messages. Such skills are vital because they help leaders foster workplace diversity and make employees feel comfortable working for their organizations.
References
AAN leadership development. (n.d.). American Academy of Neurology. Web.
Banerjjee, S. (2019). Experiential leadership development – The outbound way. Linkedin. Web.
Freeman, K. (2021). How to embrace diversity in the workplace. DDI World. Web.
Pancheva, S. (2021). How can experiential learning improve diversity in the workplace? Stratx Excl. Web.
Vo, K. (n.d.). How to embrace diversity and inclusion as a leader. Ivy Exec. Web.