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348 PART 4: THE LEADER AS A RELATIONSHIP BUILDER
organizations. One aspect of diversity of particular interest is women’s style of
leadership, referred to as interactive leadership. The values associated with interac-
tive leadership, such as inclusion, relationship building, and caring, are emerging as
valuable qualities for both male and female leaders in the twenty-fi rst century.
People differ in their level of diversity awareness and their sensitivity to other
cultures, values, and ways of doing things. Leaders evolve through stages of per-
sonal diversity awareness and action, ranging from minimum efforts to meet affi r-
mative action guidelines to valuing diversity as an integral part of organizational
culture. Strong, culturally sensitive leadership is the only way organizations can

become inclusive. Leaders first change themselves by developing personal charac-
teristics that support diversity. They use these personal characteristics to change
the organization. The ultimate goal for leaders in the twenty-first century is to

build organizations as integrated communities in which all people feel encour-
aged, respected, and committed to common purposes and goals.

Discussion Questions

1. How might a leader’s role and responsibility change as a company becomes more
diverse? Explain.
2. How might diversity within the organization ultimately lead to better problem solv-
ing and greater creativity?
3. What is interactive leadership, and why might this approach be increasingly impor-
tant in the twenty-first century?
4. Discuss ways in which low power distance as a social value among followers could
affect their interaction with a leader who displays high power distance.
5. Why do you think the glass ceiling persists in organizations?
6. How would you lead a group of people who are different from you?
7. Why is it important for today’s leaders to develop cultural intelligence? Do you
think a leader who has never had experience with people different from him or her-
self can develop the ability to smoothly adapt to culturally different ways of thinking
and behaving? Discuss.
8. Recall a leader you worked for. At what stage of personal diversity awareness (refer to
Exhibit 11.5) was this leader? Explain. At what stage of diversity awareness are you?
9. Do you think people and organizations can ever become gender and color-blind?
Discuss.

Leadership at Work

Personal Diversity
Each of us feels different in many ways from the average behavior or expectations that other
people seem to value. This reflects our own feelings of diversity. The differences you feel
compared to others could be about your physical characteristics (height, age, skin color),
but also could reflect a difference in your thinking style, feelings, personality or behavior,
especially when you feel different from what other people expect or what you perceive are
the social norms. Write in the list below six ways you feel different from others:
1. ________________________ 4. ___________________________
2. ________________________ 5. ___________________________
3. ________________________ 6. ___________________________