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Hello Everyone
Meeting new people is a lot of fun
because I like to see how they will react to me since I
am blind. Often I am asked what I do for a living.
When I am in a mischievous mood I may tell them I'm
a heart surgeon. Following what I'm sure are
confused looks, I go on to say I do work that attempts
to touch the hearts of people so they will become
inspired to make changes on the job. But heart
surgery is intense work so I started responding by
saying I'm an oncologist. An oncologist addresses the
personal and organizational cancers that grow in our
organizations; cancers of gossip and back stabbing,
for example.
I moved on from the medical field and
began to identify myself as an architect. Like the
architect who was called in to assess a problem on
the 16th floor of a building and eventually found the
cause in the cracked foundation, I like helping people
get in touch with their foundation so they can move out
and provide good service to customers. I show them
how to craft a vision for who they are and what they
want to become.
As with architecture, a solid
foundation is imperative in building your role as a
leader. Before you add any more bricks, check to see
that your foundation is sound.
Steve
The Changing Role of the Twenty-first Century Leader
In our last newsletter we discussed
two of the sixteen attributes of an effective leader:
- The leader must be able to set boundaries
- The leader must be able to interview and select
the right people for the job
Today we will look at two more:
The leader must be able to work
in a
multicultural setting. The number of multicultural
and
multiracial families is rapidly growing in the United
States. Thanks to the internet we have global access
in just a few keystrokes. We can call Customer
Support and be speaking to someone half-way
around the world. Webinars have participants from
multiple countries. Yet have we attitudinally made the
adjustments necessary to work in a multicultural
setting? Have we been able to put aside our
prejudices as we interact with colleagues from other
countries, other cultures, other languages?
Not only are there sometimes language challenges,
but there may also be thought pattern challenges or
differences in how people address problems.
Cultural diversity training and leadership strategies
must be relevant to different places of work. More than
ever before it must become an integral part of the
everyday "normal".
The leader must be able to adapt
to
and lead change. The twenty-first century leader
will
be required to develop a curious mindset in order to
have a breakthrough on how to more effectively
engage in the business dialog. It must not be thought
of as something extra or separate to do in addition
to "real" work. Leading and adapting to change and
developing competencies to work in a multi-cultural
setting are parts of the new normal.
Why is adapting to change so
difficult? Possibly because most of us prefer to have
control over our own life - what we do, who we do
business with, where we go, etc.
We define change as "to be or cause
to be different." In reality we are dealing with three
types of change: primary, secondary and tertiary.
Primary changes have to do with the
evolutionary aspect of life; from birth to death and all
the stages in between. Secondary changes occur due
to choices we make; college or trade school, married
or single, Toyota or Honda. Tertiary changes are those
things which are beyond our control; September 11,
accidental death of a loved one.
Most of us like predictability, routines
and we desire the ability to control what happens to
us. Perhaps the biggest adjustment to change
comes when we must deal with people who are
different from ourselves. As human beings who come
from different cultures, we must learn the art of getting
along with people who don't think like we do, or who
don't work like we do. Underneath these differences
are a residue of prejudices and discriminatory
behaviors that result in more tension.
Dr. Roosevelt Thomas would invite
us to have a dialog about these tensions and
complexities and learn how to manage these
differences. The twenty-first century leader must
address adapting to change and multi-cultural
settings as a leadership and managerial competency
if they are to truly be successful.
.
Reflections
Our film documentary From
Breakdown to Breakthrough: a story of inclusion is
finally complete and I am hard at work on the
accompanying facilitator's guide and participant
workbook. This thirty minute film will stimulate your
thinking about how to integrate the principles of
leadership, diversity, disability, team building and
inclusion into your workplace. The guide and
workbook will provide the substance and content for
fruitful dialog and business integration of some key
workplace principles. Stay tuned for more details.
So until next time stay the course and
continue to be a difference maker
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Steve Hanamura
With over 30 years of experience, Steve Hanamura is
a nationally known speaker, consultant and trainer. He
is widely sought after in the areas of leadership
development, building effective teams, leading
diversity initiatives and managing generational
differences. With a national client list spanning
Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit
institutions, Steve is highly regarded for his unique
perspectives and distinct training techniques.
As president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc. he is
committed to making a difference in the lives of
individuals and organizations. His goal is to assist
organizations to work together to build constructive
relationships by understanding how we must draw
from the past and work in the present so we can plan
and build for the future.
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