Ari Ecker

Module 7 – Written assignment

OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations
Spring 2021 – A
 For this paper I will discuss how the knowledge gained from this course will

prepare me for leading a diverse organization in a future leadership position. I will

examine how to create a homogeneous workplace and show how this philosophy will

help me bring purpose and identity to that position. I will also examine my approach to

leadership and the strategies I would utilize based on my own personality and

characteristics.

As I consider a leadership position for which I am currently preparing, I think I will

land in my field of corporate video production. I am currently a Senior Multimedia

Specialist for the Learning and Development team within Prudential Insurance. As the

team stands currently, I would classify us as “somewhat” diverse. Of the nine team

members, there are four White men, two White women, one Latino man, one Latina

woman and one African American man on the team. My own personal goal would be to

eventually become the Director of this team, or a video production team like it.

When looking at the purpose of this type of team and the nature of its members

diversity, you need to look at the goals and responsibilities of our business function.

This video production team within Learning and Development is there to provide the

Sales and Marketing teams the training and knowledge they require to properly sell

Prudential’s products and services to our customers. A diverse team is required

because our “clients”, the sales and marketing teams, are a diverse group of individuals.
Their customers are also diverse. Therefore, the messaging and branding needs to be

consistent throughout this pipeline.

When I think about the identity I would bring to the position as a Director of a

video production team, I would want to instill a lot of the strategies discussed by

Chrobot-Mason, Ruderman and Nishii, in Leadership in a Diverse Workplace. As they

mention, “successful leadership of diverse others requires a new set of skills and

practices that were not required of leaders when the workplace was homogeneous.

Contemporary leaders must create a cohesive team identity despite the fact that

workgroup members vary greatly in their demographic, geographic, and professional

identities” (Chrobot-Mason, Ruderman and Nishii, 2013). This is a vastly new changing

world, and the change seems constant. The ability to adapt and change is more

important than ever.

When I look back on my pie chart from Module One, I think the knowledge and

insights I’ve gained have changed my own perception of my cultural identity quite a bit.

Initially, my pie chart of cultural identity was Gender 20%, Age 20%, Marital Status 20%,

Parental Status 20%, Income 10%, Race 7% and Religion 3%. However, the course made

me realize my race and religion are a much bigger part of my identity, even if I didn’t

realize it. After completing this course, I would rank my cultural identity as Gender 20%,

Age 20%, Race 20% Marital Status 10%, Parental Status 10%, Income 10%, and Religion

10%.
 Within the context of my future leadership position as a Director of a video

production team, there will be many challenges and opportunities to overcome. My

approach to leadership follows many of the tactics outlined in Effective Leadership for

Multicultural Teams by Ken Williams. Some that stood out to me were direct and indirect

tactics, cooperative and competitive tactics and emotional based tactics. “Direct tactics

are explicit methods of influence, including the use of gentle pressure tactics and

personal appeals, while indirect tactics use covert measures to manipulate team

members” (Williams, 2008). These are important because you have to find the subtle

balance between the two and know when each is appropriate based on who you are

working with. Cooperative tactics are also important because they “involve rational

arguments or consulting with team members, while competitive tactics influence

members through pressure tactics” (Williams, 2008). Again, some team members may

be open to a competitive leadership style, while other may find this to aggressive.

Finally, emotionally based tactics “rely on emotional appeals and include inspirational

and personal appeals” (Williams, 2008). I found this tactic to be most important

because personally I feel this is the best way to connect with your team and form those

bonds as one cohesive unit.

After taking the CQ cultural intelligence post course test, I found my results to be

vastly different. In the pre-test. I scored a 64, compared to my post-test, where I scored

a 99. There were a number of areas I feel the course content has opened my eyes to the
nuances and challenges of multi-cultural work environments. Being conscious of the

cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural

backgrounds has improved greatly. I also think I can pause and silence differently to

suit different cross-cultural situations, which wasn’t the case at the start of this course.

As Alexander Matveev mentions in Intercultural Competence in Organizations, learning

about multi-cultural diversity in organizations has shown me that “effective multicultural

teams can make a difference in whether the organization achieves its objectives on

time and in an effective and efficient manner. Understanding how multicultural teams

function as well as teams’ challenges and advantages are the central topic to global

competitiveness and innovation” (Matveev, 2017). These concepts seem fairly simple,

but if not implemented correctly can cause friction and unrest with a multi-cultural

team. However, if you can implement this mentality as a leader, you give the team a

chance to truly shine.

Throughout this course I have tried to gain the knowledge that will prepare me for

leading a diverse organization in a future leadership position. I examined how to create

a homogeneous workplace and showed how this philosophy will help me bring purpose

and identity to that position. Additionally, managing direct and indirect tactics,

cooperative and competitive tactics and emotional based tactics shaped my approach

to leadership and the strategies I would utilize when leading a multi-cultural team in any

organization.
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.

Williams, K. (2008). Effective Leadership for Multicultural Teams. Chapter 6 in Effective

Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice.

Matveev, A. (2017). Intercultural Competence in Multicultural Teams. In Intercultural

Competence in Organizations A Guide for Leaders, Educators and Team Players (pp. 77-102).
Cham: Springer International Publishing.