How to Be a Good Leader in a Diverse Workplace

Being a good leader in general takes work, but it is even more of a challenge when you are focused on leading a diverse group of professionals in your office. Diversity breeds a wide array of ideas and methods to getting the job done. However, it also means a range of personalities and work habits with which to contend, because of the different cultural, gender and other personal ideals that accompany a diverse work environment.

Instructions

1. Identify key resources that could help with forming a diverse workforce. This might be an internal resource, such as a diversity representative on your staff who can deal with issues of sensitivity training or be a liaison between staff and administration, or you could utilize external resources, such as special workshops for staff and leadership on how to make your diverse work environment a comfortable one for all employees.

2. Encourage people to contribute based on their individual merits and cultural backgrounds. The beauty of a diverse office is that everyone does things differently and it is those individual, creative processes that come together to create one methodology that makes your office stand out. For example, if you have an individual in your office who is from another country, encourage him to brainstorm based on his experiences where he is from or educate the office on methods used in his native country that might work in your office environment. The idea might fly or it might not, but it gives your employee a sense of belonging on the team, while at the same time celebrating his personal culture.

3. Encourage cultural sensitivity and understanding among your staff. Circulate literature about working in a diverse environment, and make it clear to your staff that jokes of an offensive nature to a certain group will not be tolerated. Hold a training session to remind everyone of the benefits of working in a diverse environment and how to conduct themselves accordingly.

4. Treat employees fairly across the board. This is important because it is a sensitive issue when dealing with a workplace made up of different nationalities, genders, religions and races. If you have a perceived bias toward one group of people, then it might seem as though this is the case because you prefer working with that one type of person. Practice leading with an even hand across the entire employee pool to strike down any perception of a bias.

References

• U.S. Department of Transportation: Leading A Diverse Workforce