Introduction
Recent results from the employee survey at Lakeland Medical Clinic indicate a serious lack of diversity leadership among the staff. This deficiency has impacted negatively patient attendance at the clinic. I write this paper to highlight the preferable characteristics of a diverse leader and then compare them to my qualities as a suitable leader. This work will also provide recommendations on ways to establish teamwork as a leader. In my assessment, a diversity leader should have the characteristics outlined in the following section.
Characteristics of a Diversity Leader
Ability to Deal with Diversity Issues
A diversity leader at Lakeland Medical Clinic should be the one who respects the differences that exist between the staff and residents based on their beliefs, cultural values, and health practices. Since it is almost elusive for a group of people to abandon their identity, a leader should acknowledge these facts with understanding, and at no point should overlook the differences while discharging their duties. As an individual and an employee at the clinic, I acknowledge and respect the fact that the groups of people I interact with (colleagues and patients) have their set of cultural beliefs and values that may differ from mine. If selected, I will continue honoring these differences while carrying out my obligations.
Justice and Impartiality
Handling juniors and patients justly and impartially is an important attribute expected of a leader. A diverse leader should discharge duties without discrimination and unfairness as such conduct makes the subjects feel unwanted and unworthy, hence they alienate themselves (Olcum & Polat, 2016). Their actions should not segregate others based on differences in opinions that border education levels, religion, gender, politics, race, and culture among other aspects. Being just and impartial when interacting with residents would instill in them a sense of inclusiveness, hence, they would not bar themselves from visiting the clinic. I do not take delight in the unjustness and unfair treatment of anybody I engage with since I know the side effect of this as mentioned herein. As a leader, I cannot allow myself or others to promote injustice and profiling of not only staff members but also outsiders.
Negotiation
Since Lakeland Medical Clinic is situated in a locality whose residents have divergent cultural values and health approaches, there is a high likelihood of skirmishes erupting on perceived provocations. When these conflicts arise, the leader has to learn how to amicably resolve them (Hewes, 2019). Throughout my employment period in this organization, I have always championed peaceful coexistence within the organization. Never have I promoted conflict resolution through non-diplomatic means as this would appear retrogressive and counterproductive to the organization. I would continue to spearhead peaceful dispute resolutions if I become a leader in this project.
Empathy
The leader should have a great understanding of not only himself but also their subjects- their qualities and necessities. This information should help the leader in modifying how they interact with the subjects. Empathy creates trust and enhances cooperation between leader and their coworkers (Reed, 2017). An empathetic lead can recognize and acknowledge the individual differences which exist between groups of people: be it within the clinic or among the residents. With this prior understanding, I customize how I deal with them. This quality has earned me trust and enhanced other people’s willingness to collaborate with me.
Collaborative Leadership
Having highlighted the preferable attributes of a diversity leader, I prefer collaborative leadership as the best way to solve the diversity problem at Lakeland Medical Clinic. This leadership style involves teamwork among executive leaders and subordinates such as low-level employees and patients. Information is relayed spontaneously and every team member is responsible for the whole (Cleveland & Cleveland, 2018). A collaborative leader frequently seeks personal opinions, perspectives, and ideas among team members to develop plans and resolve problems. Therefore teammates feel more engaged and motivated to work. The sense of inclusiveness that is exhibited in collaborative leadership invigorates participants and instills a culture of work that promotes organizational productiveness.
As a collaborative leader, I would aspire to form effective mentorship programs to promote the overall clinic performance and help propagate skills within the Lakeland Medical Clinic. Effective mentorship would enhance an employee’s career and professional growth (Embree et al., 2018). The clinic will also benefit from sustaining high-quality and employable staff. Collaborative leadership promises positive changes but it also has its disadvantages. For instance, it is costly to implement collaborative leadership since more roles created come with costs (Okpala, 2018). For instance, the need to mentor employees to fit into a team may accrue extra expenses. The need for more than one person to do a project instead of one becomes an expensive process. Although collaborative leadership encourages diversity, it overlooks the fact that teammates have their working styles which may be contradictive of the team’s course. Teammates should then be patient with their colleagues who possess such stray behaviors as they strive to transform.
If I was to select one leader to head the project, I would choose Dr. Martin Owen, from the urology department. Apart from having practiced medicine for 24 years, Dr. Martin runs a non-governmental organization, We Care for All, which is concerned with the welfare of the poor. The organization has tremendously improved the welfare of vulnerable groups in society. It has received various awards, accolades, and recognition for its good work in Haiti. Since his organization has a national outlook, its administration is in a better position to deal with cultural diversity issues. These achievements and experiences drive me to think that Dr. Martin is well-suited for this opportunity. When given the support, patience, and support he can take this company to the next level as far as cultural diversity is concerned.
References
Cleveland, M., & Cleveland, S. (2018). Building engaged communities—A collaborative leadership approach.Smart Cities, 1(1), 155-162. Web.
Embree, J. L., Wagnes, L., Hendricks, S., LaMothe, J., Halstead, J., & Wright, L. (2018). Empowering nurses to lead interprofessional collaborative practice environments through a nurse leadership institute. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 49(2), 61-71. Web.
Hewes, R. (2019). Top Ten Traits of Great Leaders.Web.
Okpala, P. (2018). Balancing quality healthcare services and costs through collaborative leadership. Journal of Healthcare Management, 63(6), e148-e157. Web.
Olcum, D., & Polat, S. (2016). Characteristics of diversity leadership according to teachers.The Anthropologist, 24(1), 64-74. Web.
Reed, S. B. (2017). Five key attributes of leadership: Engaging and motivating employees are critical obligations of healthcare leaders. Healthcare Financial Management, 71(7), 48-52.