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Main Page • Making the Case • Objectives • Agenda • Structure/Benefits Making the Case for Self-Study™© in Cutting Edge Leadership In today's global economy, leveraging the strength of a diverse workforce is more important than ever. In the first decade of this century, 85% of new American workers will be women, minorities and immigrants from across the globe. Valuing human diversity means valuing individual human differences, not only differences in gender, class and race, but differences in abilities, ethics, beliefs and points of view. Tom Friedman (2005) notes that globalization creates a platform where intellectual capital could be delivered from anywhere, which gives a new sense of freedom to the way we do work. Successful leaders know that understanding human diversity goes beyond a matter of compliance and that the traditional approaches to understanding company culture, leadership development and competancy only scratch the surface. "Going beyond" begins with a shift in the leader's awareness and in turn comes a transformation in thinking, behaviors and communication. "Ultimately, we cannot achieve the cultural humility required to live in a turbulent culturally diverse world unless we can see cultural assumptions within ourselves. In the end, cultural understanding and cultural learning start with self-insight (Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership, 1992)." "Insight, I believe, refers to that depth of understanding that comes by setting experiences, yours and mine, familiar and exotic, new and old, side by side, learning by letting them speak to one another (Mary Catherine Bateson, Peripheral Visions: Learning Along the Way, 1994)." "Through the years I have encountered people and been involved in events that have had a huge impact, knocked off rough corners, lifted me to heights of joy, plunged me into the depth of sorrow and anguish, taught me to laugh, especially at myself--in other words, my life experiences and the people with whom I shared them have been my teachers (Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope, 1999)." "If something is happening outside of awareness, how on earth do you fix it? The answer is that we are not helpless in the face of our first impressions. They bubble up from the unconscious--from behind a locked door inside our brain--but just because something is outside of awareness doesn't mean it's out of control (Malcolm Gladwell, Blink, 2005)." "Individuals must, and can ask, where do I fit into the global competition and opportunities of the day, and how can I, on my own, collaborate with others globally? Globalization is going to be more driven not only by individuals but also by a much more diverse--non-Western, non-white--group of individuals. Individuals from every corner of the flat world are being empowered (Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat, 2005)." |
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