Leadership and Diversity What Would You Consider?

Leadership and Diversity

What would you consider?

I would consider that this is a very diverse group. Group members come from different ethnicities. The "Asian Group" is the strongest as it consists of four group members: Julie, Jinsoo, Arash and Harpeet. There is only one American: John. There is only one representative of Europe: Tom. Group members are of different age ranging between 30 years (Harpeet) and 51 years (Julie). Group members are also of different gender. There are two women: Julie and Harpeet, both of them having an Asian background. Both their gender and ethnicity and the fact that they are a minority in the group will probably make them prone to develop a closer relationship (e.g., be allies) than to the rest of the group. The rest of the four group members are males. I would find it also important that the group members share different religious beliefs. Certainly I would consider that there is a Muslim-Hindu conflict in India which might cause difficulties in the work-relationship between Arash (Muslim) and Harpeet (Hindu), both of them being also of different gender but of almost same age (Arash: 32 and Harppet: 30). As the case shows us exactly these two issues (religious background and gender) have been the cause for the conflict between Arash and Harpeet. Being the group leader, I would certainly have in mind that the conflict between the two of them might result in an inability of the whole group to develop a shared team vision, come to agreement, openly share ideas, work together or produce the needed critical team results under utmost time pressure of only 30 days (see Team Conflict Management Strategies, p. 1). I would furthermore consider that he only two group members that have unique skills are Arash and Harpeet. Therefore it is important for a successful work result of the whole group that both of them reconcile as soon as possible. I would also consider lack of common work experience in the whole group. Four of the group members work together for 9 months: John, Julie, Jinsoo and Tom. The two "newcomers" are just the two opponents: Arash and Harpeet. The fact that both of them are the "youngsters" within the team, both in team membership and real age, might serve as a basis for reconciliation between the two. It seems reasonable that they might be inclined to settle their difference against the background that they might need each other's support in order to sustain their own position in the group.

What steps would you take?

One of my general steps would be empowerment and motivation of the whole group because this has been proven as a "win-win" situation in a diverse organization (see Moon (1997), p. 23). I would also find it necessary to ensure a collaborative climate and to build confidence in a successful work result. As regards the two opponents Arash and Harpeet, I would interview both of them to identify the core issues and individually diversity coach them as both measures are very valuable tools to resolve diversity conflicts in teams (see Team Conflict Management Strategies, p. 2).

What would be your expected outcomes?

I would expect that the underlying differences in perspectives may be transformed into constructive conflict and competitive advantage because this strategy tries to resolve the conflict through team inclusion. I would also expect that resolving the conflict between the two opponents would improve the work climate within the whole group and enable all group members to refocus on their own tasks especially against the background that all of them are working together in only one office.

What if your approach does not work?