Discussion Post

DISCUSSION POST 4

DiscussionPost

DiscussionPost

Theteaching on transformative leadership has expanded my scope inunderstanding managerial skills not only as a consultant but aleader. Among the key thing I learnedis the role of transformative leadership in promoting culturalcompetence in the workplace. While diversity continues to beappreciatedin the society, leaders have a role in ensuring that differences inbeliefs and attitudes do not affect the performance of employees.Indeed, stereotyping could lead to negative attitudes in theworkplace resulting inbad performance.

Throughoutthe week, I have been thinking of the best way of promotingintercultural sensitivity as a transformative leader. The employeesin an organization are culturally diversemeaning that thy hold different beliefs and attitudes towards thesituation.The value of one’s culture, if appreciated can lead to employeemotivation which consequently leads to intercultural sensitivity. Ifleaders could understand the culture of different employees and tryto incorporate them into the business environment, it couldlead topositive results. In a way, this shows the impact of a transformativeleader in instilling principles in the employees by encouraging themto respect their differences.

Indeed,Avant in Shield (2011) noted that the transformative leaders shouldbe a social-change model which begins with promoting culturalcompetence in the work area. One way would be to mark certainimportant dates relevant to different employees and jointo help them celebrate it. While this does not imply that otheremployees believe in the celebration, it shows tolerance andsensitivity to others. Consequently, creativity can bepromotedas the employees can exploretheir full potential due to cultural sensitivity. Eisenbeißand Boerner (2013) expressed that transformational leadership couldencouragethe creativity of employees especially if intercultural sensitivitywerepart of the company values.

References

Eisenbeiß,S. A., &amp Boerner, S. (2013). A double‐edgedsword: Transformational leadership and individual creativity. BritishJournal of Management,24(1),54-68.

Gagnon,S., &amp Lirio, P. (2014). Follow the Experts: InterculturalCompetence as Knowing-in-Practice. InCross-CulturalInteraction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications(pp. 889-908). IGI Global.

Shields,C. M. (2014). Leadershipfor social justice education: A critical transformative approach.In Internationalhandbook of educational leadership and social (in) justice(pp. 323-339). Springer Netherlands.

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