Multicultural Leadership Instructor: Yadira Rosales Transforming leadership into a multicultural model

Thinking about Leadership…  Is there a leader you look up to in or outside of work?  How does this person display leadership qualities?  What does leadership mean to you?

Leadership  In the book, Leadership The Challenge by Kouzes and Posner 2003, they introduced the five practices for exemplary leadership;  In general leadership is practiced through,  Model the Way  Inspire a shared vision  Challenge the Process  Enable others to act  Encourage the hear

Model the Way  The first point that is made is that if you want others to follow, you must demonstrate appropriate behavior and set an example, “demonstrate that you are committed to your beliefs,” (Kouzes & Posner, 2003).

Inspire a shared vision  In other words, as a leader you must inspire action from the rest of the group.  Kozner and Posner, 2003 mentioned that if you want your constituents to share the same beliefs and work for the same cause you first must need to relate to the group and find ways that you can energize.

Challenge the Process  “Leaders search for opportunities to innovate, grow and improve,” (Kouzer & Posner, 2003)  Nothing has ever been accomplished without taking a risk.

Enable others to Act  “Exemplary leaders Enable Others to Act. They foster collaboration and build trust,” (Kouzer & Posner, 2003).  Leaders help others meet their goals and help to involve everyone in the group. No exclusions.

Encourage the Heart  Encouragement  “Encouragement requires that we get close to people, show that we care, and demonstrate that we are interested in others. Encouraging strengthens trust between the leader and constituents,” (Kouzes & Posner,2007, Encouraging the heart: A leaders guide to rewarding and recognizing others).

How do we relate these views of leadership into a new form of leadership… Multicultural Leadership

Background  As Bordas, 2007 explains in her book, Salsa, Soul and Spirit, we live in a diverse world due to migration, expansion, and settlement of societies.  “Multicultural leadership has broad relevance and application to the diverse world,” (Bordas,2007).  “6.8 million Americans identified themselves as multiracial in the 2000 Census.” (Bordas,2007).  Multicultural leadership is broad enough and flexible to incorporate into any mode of existent leadership.

A Multicultural Leadership Model Understanding Leadership…  Ethnocentricity - seeing the world from one cultural perspective and believing it to be universal (Bordas, 2007).  American leadership centers on White or mainstream cultural values in the United states.  Due to the diversity in our society adopting multicultural leadership can teach one to be sensitive to cultural differences and to also know how to involve others from different cultural backgrounds to contribute to change.

Multicultural leadership;  “incorporates many cultural perspectives, appreciates differences  values the unique contributions of diverse groups  promotes learning from many orientations  People are encouraged to maintain their cultural identities while participating and contributing to the larger society” (Bordas, 2007)

Promoting change in distinct and unique cultures  Latino, Native American and African Americans cultures promote a collectivist and collaborative attitude of leadership.  In Salsa, Soul and Spirit we will be reading what is effective leadership in these communities.

Multicultural leadership  In Salsa, Soul and Spirit, Bordas explains that in the Hispanic tradition often a new journey, stage of life requires a bendicion (blessing).  American Indians often burn sage to purify the person with smoke.  African Americans might sing a traditional hymn, followed by a communal prayer.

Understanding cultural differences  Will enable us to form a relationship with a group that we might not identify with or might not know a lot about  Educate us on how diverse and unique people’s lives are and to take into consideration their traditions and customs before trying to lead

Leadership in communities of color  Bordas, 2007, “Leadership in communities of color is grounded on spiritual responsibilities: Leaders attend to people’s material and social needs, as well as provide inspiration and hope.”  These communities need to feel trust and support before acting. One needs to be respectful of the time it might take to be part of the group.

Concepts of Multicultural Leadership 1. Authority comes from the group 2. Leaders are chosen because of their character, including honesty, humility and generosity, 3. Leaders inspire people to identify with them by setting an example 4. A leader serves something greater than her or himself- the mission or well being of the community comes first 5. A leaders plays by the rules (Bordas, 2007)

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References  Bordas, J. (2007). Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age, New Approaches from Latino, Black, and American Indian Communities. San Francisco: Berett Koehler.  Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. Z Encouraging the heart: A leaders guide to rewarding and recognizing others.  Kouzes, J. M. and Posner, B. Z Leadership the challenge: Workbook. San Francisco, CA. Jossey Bass.

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