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Diversity is least important leadership principal – AchieveGlobal reveals

Submitted by on May 25, 2011 – 9:23 pmNo Comment | 2,150 views
2010 AchieveGlobal study “Developing the 21st-Century Leader” revealed that majority of U.S. leaders ranked ‘diversity’ as the lowest important leadership principal. The study analyzed 42 business practices sorted into six primarily zones of leadership: Business, Reflection, Society, Diversity, Ingenuity, and People. Besides literature review and several focus groups with executives and managers, the study generated 941 survey responses from the United States, Mexico, India, China, Singapore, Germany and the United Kingdom.

According to AchiveGlobal study, to succeed in diversity zone/category, the leaders:

  •  Strive to meet the needs of customers representing other cultures.
  • Encourage collaboration among people from different groups.
  • Display sensitivity in managing across cultural boundaries.
  • Collaborate well with people very different from themselves.
  • Effectively lead groups made up of very diverse people.
  • Learn about the business practices of other cultures.
  • Manage virtual teams with explicit customercentric goals and practices.

“Valuing human differences is a core skill for 21st-century leaders” the study states. However, this zone ranked lowest amount all study participants. “It was a rather disturbing finding, particularly the way the world is going and how integrated the global economy is,” said Craig Perrin, director of solution development at AchieveGlobal. Although diversity in the workplace was not recognized as a major business challenge  by all respondents, it was ranked as a highest the most important issue to attend by respondents from global organizations.

The study concludes: “A question for further study is whether organizations that value diversity are more likely to grow globally, or global scope causes leaders to place higher value on diversity. The answer is likely a little of both.”(Source Diversity Executive, Kellye Whitney article, 06-04-2010)

 

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