The Missing Link: Leadership Keys to Creating an “Inclusion Sustainable Culture” for Global Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century

The Missing Link: Leadership Keys to Creating an “Inclusion Sustainable Culture” for Global Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century by Jasmine Renner (Excerpts Develop Africa Inc. Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development Program)



The variables that constitute the creation of an “inclusion sustainable culture” for global organizations are numerous. Global organizations must be aware that first and foremost, human capital is the key for effecting organizational transformation. This realization will require a paradigm shift from outcomes-based results to a systemic embracing of the limitless possibilities inherent in the value of human capital. For example, one of the numerous ways this can be affected in a small group setting is by allowing individuals from other cultures who have a different approach to team building activities to utilize their methods of collaboration, work ethics and framework in arriving at a final product. Inclusion must not only relate to acceptance of differing human but valuing and celebrating a workforce characterized by heterogeneous human attributes.

The author in an article “Reflecting on Cultural Considerations for Team Development in Major Urban Settings” wrote about his intellectual and emotional experience as a member of a group assembled for a graduate course at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. The group had representatives from various cultures. The group assignment required determination of its own tasks, grading criteria and individual and group grading. The group determined that participation was to be voluntary and the author described the difficulty that a Chinese member of the group had with this approach. Since the Chinese culture is a large power distance culture, it emphasizes listening and respect for hierarchy. The student felt very uncomfortable volunteering her ideas during group discussions. When called upon for her lack of participation, she reflects on the reason for difficulty and accepts that it was cultural.

Valuing productive diversified approaches to problem solving is a key component to the creation of an “inclusion sustainable culture” for global organizations. Diversity tends to breed new approaches to old practices and long-standing problems. However, individuals in organizations may find such change troubling. Given such realities, R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. indicated in Beyond Race and Gender that companies need to go beyond simple recognition of cultural diversity to active diversity management: "Managing diversity is a comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment that works for all employees."

The critical leadership keys necessary to create a sustainable inclusion e culture for multicultural organizations include the following: (i) a genuine appreciation and valuing of diverse cultural leadership styles, (ii) a recognition of individual differences within the work environment, (iii) seeking feedback and input from workers from non-majority groups, and (iv) continuous evaluation and monitoring of workplace culture.

Appreciation and Valuing of Diverse Leadership Styles The various leadership styles represented in a global multicultural organization are often unique and distinctive and may reflect the values and beliefs of the particular cultures and nationalities represented. The expression of employees’ leadership styles and team work attributes may cover a whole gamut of factors both seen and unseen. In creating an inclusion sustainable culture it is therefore helpful, to perceive in the behavior and traditions of employees from other cultures certain universal strivings.

As Joseph Campbell stated:

“The human psyche is essentially the same all over the world. The psyche is the inward experience of the human body, which is essentially the same in all human beings, the same organs, the same instincts, the same impulses, the same conflicts and the same fears. Out of this common ground, emanates differing leadership styles across cultures.

In appreciating and valuing leadership styles among heterogeneous individuals within a company, the following consideration must serve as a foundational guide:

The relationship between leadership styles and values is intricately intertwined that one can hardly be discussed without referring to the other. Values are the driving force of a person’s lifestyle and determine priorities in decision making. Values are what individuals stand for and therefore form those intangible things that are most important and foundational. The question then becomes: How do we translate this understanding to create a sustainable inclusion culture? Simply by recognizing and fully understanding that different employees within the organization may bring different backgrounds, skills and framework of viewing certain organizational problems may help to foster a range values of multi cultures. The key therefore in creating and sustaining this culture is to seek to understand the set of values or rules governing employees’ behavior to effectively plan a synchronism between values and the organization’s culture. Employers should seek to see with “hybrid eyes” the rich potential for dynamism and effective decision making amongst heterogeneous workers.

Seeing with “hybrid eyes” will require an art of reconciling different behaviors or styles of leadership from the lens of the perpetrator and not necessarily ours. It also encompasses accepting the various cultural implications that go with that behavior and encouraging alternatives ways of viewing problem solving or product assembly within an organization. Experts indicate that business owners and managers who hope to create and manage an effective, harmonious multicultural work force should be open to valuing different work styles apart from theirs and to encourage verbalizing and trying these new approaches.

Recognize Individual Differences Sustaining a healthy and inclusive culture also entails the recognition of individual differences within a heterogeneous workforce. Writing in The Complete MBA Companion, contributor Rob Goffee stated that "there are various dimensions from which differences in human relationships may be understood. These include such factors as orientation towards authority; acceptance of power inequalities; desire for orderliness and structure; the need to belong to a wider social group and so on. Around these dimensions researchers have demonstrated systematic differences between national, ethnic, and religious groups. Yet Goffee also cautioned business owners, managers, and executives to recognize that differences between individuals can not always be traced back to easily understood differences in cultural background: Employers must not assume differences are always 'cultural but must recognize that there are several sources of difference. Some relate to factors such as personality, aptitude, or competence. It is a mistake to assume that all perceived differences are cultural in origin. Too many managers tend to fall back on the easy 'explanation' that individual behavior or performance can be attributed to the some fact about his or her culture such as being an 'African, ' an ‘Italian’, 'a Catholic' or 'a woman.'

Seek Feed-back and Input from Non-majority Groups.

Another key to creating a sustainable inclusion culture is in soliciting the opinions and involvement of non-majority groups on important work tasks. This is beneficial not only because of the contributions that they can make, but also because such overtures confirm that they are valued by the company. Feedback and input from non-majority groups also adds an exciting dimension to group decision making process and fosters an open communication, dialogue and input within the organization. Additionally, serving on relevant committees and task forces can increase their feelings of belonging to the organization. Conversely, relegating non-majority members to superfluous committees or projects can trigger a downward spiral in relations between different cultural groups.

Continuous Evaluation & Monitoring of Policies and Practices Experts recommend that business owners and managers must establish and maintain systems that can continually monitor the organization's policies and practices to ensure that it continues to be a good environment for all employees. The multicultural organization is characterized by pluralism. Therefore periodic monitoring of the company’s policies and practices to ensure openness and effective dialogue amongst various groups must be ensured. In addition a full integration of minority-culture members both formally and informally, an absence of prejudice and discrimination, are all essential characteristics the company should strive for. Jorgensen suggest that this should also include "research into employees' needs through periodic attitude surveys." The organization that achieves these conditions will create an environment in which all members can contribute to their maximum potential, and in which the 'value in diversity ' can be fully realized.

Conclusion Creating a sustainable inclusion culture in today’s organization is both an art and a strategy. As an art it requires the successfully managing of the human systems factor in an organization characteristic of heterogeneous individuals. As a strategy it requires a conscious effort by managers and leaders to create open, systems of dialogue and flexibility and to skillfully interwove the expectations of such attributes into the core mission and vision of the organization.



At the turn of the twenty-first century, there is urgency for global entrepreneurs to create a sustainable inclusion culture within their organizations. Not only is the world changing more rapidly every day, but it is possible those organizations who implement this posture will have an advantage over those who do not. Employees, work groups, and teams can be motivated to achieve greater levels of productivity by institutional leadership, leading to simultaneous change throughout all levels of a particular entity. Then, as more institutions adopt a sustainable inclusion culture worldview and transform their existing organizations to co-evolve with the external environment, whole societies will also change and develop to greater levels of productivity.

© 2007 All rights reserved

The Missing Link: Leadership Keys to Creating an “Inclusion Sustainable Culture” for Global Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century - To learn more about this author, visit Jasmine Renner's Website.

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