Running head: LEADERSHIP IMPACT AND REFLECTION 1

Leadership Impact and Reflection

OGL 350
Writing Assignment #7
Lindsay Snowden
April 29, 2018
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Leadership Impact and Reflection

The Diverse Organization

The diverse organization in which I am currently a leader is Starbucks. Starbucks values

diversity and inclusion, and offers equal opportunities to all gender, races, and working-age

people. They value community and capitalize on the uniqueness between people using their

differences to start conversations, advocate for positive change, and build a business set on a

foundation of diversity. To many, the purpose of Starbucks is to sell coffee. The actual purpose

is to nurture and inspire the human spirit, one cup, one person, one neighborhood at a time. The

purpose of Starbucks is to have a positive global impact on communities and people around the

world…through coffee. Their platform is positive social impact; their medium is coffee.

Starbucks aims to achieve this by offering emphasizing customer connections between baristas

and customers in-store, encouraging their team members to give back, supporting their coffee

farmers, and participating in global service acts.

Working for a diverse organization requires leaders who “engage and manage

relationships across diverse co-workers [and] customers” (Chrobot-mason, et. al., 2013, p. 315)

successfully and effectively. To do this, a leader must embody qualities and values that align

with inclusion, appreciation, and cultural intelligence. How I fit into Starbucks as a leader is by

exemplifying their mission and values. I identify as a leader who values diversity, encourages

inclusion, and recognizes differences as strengths within our organization. Though I am a

middle-class, educated, white female, I believe this does not exclude me from the ability to truly

value and appreciate diversity. We are told that because of privilege, I cannot possibly and truly

be fully open to diversity, but I say they’ve never met me, then. I hold an open heart to everyone

with no boundaries for inclusion. The important part is to be aware of underlying implicit bias,
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and to remain sensitive to cultures, races, and others who have walked different paths than

myself. This is part of makes me a qualified leader within my diverse organization.

My Pie Chart and Identity

Part of my identity that was not listed on my original pie chart is “Texan”. What I had not

considered before is that growing up in a town in Texas where 48% of the population was

Hispanic/Latino, according to the 2000 census, has an impact on my identity. Perhaps this is why

my “white culture” does not play as strong a role in my identity as I originally perceived. I now

understand that my race plays a significant role in my privileges, but it should not undermine the

cultural immersion I experienced by growing up in southern Texas. Perhaps attending schools

where the demographics were practically evenly split between white and other races, spending

days and nights at my friends homes whose cultures were completely different than my own,

participating in a quinceañera at the age of 14, and attending a high school where half the

population was not white gives me the advantage of being more accepting and inclusive of

diversity. Eagly and Chin note that “individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups, in

particular, generally have multicultural experience because they have learned to negotiate both

minority and majority cultures” (Eagly & Chin, p. 220), and that this makes them good leaders in

multicultural organizations. I’d like to argue that though I did not grow up in a minority group

(though, could we argue that the white population in my hometown was on the verge of being the

minority group? As of the 2010 census, my hometown was 62% Hispanic/Latino), I did grow up

having to navigate both minority and majority cultures; I did grow up practically immersed in a

culture different than my own. This, I think, magnifies my value of acceptance and inclusion, as

well as enables my ability to be an effective leader in a multicultural setting.

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Identifying as 31 year old, married, home-owning, middle-class, educated white female

automatically grants me privileges that I don’t like to admit I was born with. Why should I have

been born with more privilege than anyone else? But the way of the world, and society, says that

I was. What I’ve learned in this course, though, is that it’s important to recognize the privilege of

who I am in order to better understand the culture of others; to be more sensitive to the status of

others. Our identity sets us apart whether we consciously admit it or not. Perhaps my identity

holds me more accountable for speaking up for others, for advocating for others, and for standing

up for change. As a leader I aim to advocate for inclusion, appreciation, respect and celebration

of differences, and my innate character refuses to let me back down from this. As a leader, I will

bring a strong voice for inclusion to my workplace; I will bring courage for when it’s necessary

to stand up; eyes to see with clarity; a heart that is sensitive to others, and a mind that is open,

understanding and culturally intelligent. I hope my identity will not stand in my way, but will

stand up and stand with others.

My Leadership Impact

In chapter 5 of Leadership in a Diverse and Multicultural Environment, Mary Connerley

(2005) talks about the competencies that are necessary to lead people within a multicultural

organization. She mentions that for leaders to be successful in multicultural interactions, global

literacy is necessary (Connerley, 2005, p. 71). “’To be globally literate,” she says, “means

seeing, thinking, acting, and mobilizing in culturally mindful ways’ (Rosen & Digh, 2001, p.

74)” (Connerley, 2005, p. 71). For me, my approach to leadership in a multicultural organization

would include growth towards becoming more globally literate. I’d like to be mindful that

culture impacts people at their core, and dictates their responses, habits, and perceptions. I’d like

to be more culturally sensitive when working with others, but not in a way that interrupts or is
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overbearing in the workplace. Everyone should feel included, appreciated, valued and respected

in the workplace. Being able to create a work culture where diversity can flourish in this way

requires cultural intelligence, awareness, and education. Because a leader impacts the way a

team thinks, works, acts and feels, it’s vital to integrate cultural competency into a leaders skill

set.

Conclusion

At the beginning of this course I liked to think that I was fairly culturally aware. Though I

still think I have had a fair amount of cultural exposure in my life (by growing up in southern

Texas, living in Europe for 1.5 years, and travelling to 9 other countries), this course has shown

me the depth of cultural knowledge that I still require. Cultural intelligence is not just about

knowing other cultures or appreciating them, but understanding their communication styles,

conflict management styles, context styles, norms, societal standards, and much more.

When I took the pretest earlier this semester I scored in the low 70’s. When I took it

today, my score was 104. My understanding of cultural diversity and how to approach it as a

leader has grown already. However, to become an even better leader and member of society, I

aim to continue to expand my knowledge and cultural experiences even more.

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References:

Chrobot-Mason, D., Ruderman, M.N. & Nishii, L.H. (2013). Leadership in a Diverse Workplace.

Chapter 18 in The Oxford Handbook of Diversity and Work. ASU Library Holdings.

Connerley, M. L., & Pedersen, P. B. (2005). Leadership in a diverse and multicultural

environment: Developing awareness, knowledge and skills. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

publications.

Eagly, A., Chin, J. (2010). Diversity and Leadership in a Changing World.

Pasadena, Texas Population:Census 2010 and 2000 Interactive Map, Demographics, Statistics,

Quick Facts. (2018). Retrieved April 28, 2018, from

http://censusviewer.com/city/TX/Pasadena