Leadership Experiences

Leadership Experiences

When you work for an organization as large as the one I am employed by, diversity within a team is a common issue I have experienced. The higher the cultural diversity within a team, the more noticeable the differences are in attitudes and behaviors. The two most common types of diversity I have found in my organization are ethnicity/race, gender, and age.

The first type of diversity I have encountered in my professional experience would be age. As stated by Blackman (2017), people of different ages tend to think differently due to different experiences. For example, I am technically a Millennial, so I am more technology savvy and able to assist my co-workers who are from the Baby Boomer and Gen X generations on the latest software that we are using. I also feel that I think more critically and work at a much faster pace than my co-workers who are not from my generation. This can be both a blessing and a curse when it comes to working on a team, as I find myself much more independent and less inclined to want to work with others, I would instead do it myself as I sometimes feel that would be the most efficient way to get things done.

The second type of diversity I have encountered in my professional experience would be ethnicity/race. I work for an organization that employs over 11,000 employees throughout the state of Virginia, with more than 41% of that workforce being of a minority ethnicity (VCU Health, 2017). I honestly feel this is what makes our organization and my team so great. I have been able to learn new ways of thinking and achieving goals from my co-workers who are of a different cultural/ethnic background. I have to say it has helped me to become a better-rounded employee and a human being and a great manager.

Managing and working within a culturally diverse team poses many challenges but can also lead to exceptional results. I feel managers should motivate individuals within a diverse team environment by “prioritizing communication, treating each employee as an individual, being open-minded, and encouraging employees to work in diverse groups” (Dyson, 2017). Communication is essential when managing a team that is likely to have different priorities and practices. Managers should encourage their team members to communicate openly and to be accepting of others’ opinions and views. This type of open communication ties into having the employees work in diverse groups, by doing this the manager is allowing the employees to get to know one another on a personal level and this can assist in removing their preconceived notions about team members of different cultural backgrounds (Dyson, 2017).

References

Dyson, E. (2017). Shifting the definition of diversity in the workplace. People Scout. Retrieved

from https://www.peoplescout.com/getting-right-understanding-managing-diversity-in-workplace.

VCU Health. (2017). 2017 Workforce annual report. Retrieved from

https://vcuhealthsystem.uberflip.com/i/957828-2017-vcu-health-annual-report