Developing Leadership Diversity - Research Paper Example

According to an issue paper published by the Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC), “diversity leadership addresses how leaders at all ranks and organizational levels shape the impact of diversity dynamics in the forces under their command” (2010, p. 2). Due to the expansive applicability of developing leadership diversity in current times, the research paper hereby aims to proffer pertinent issues relative to leadership diversity and would hereby identify and describe emerging ideas and examples of innovative organizations that apply the chosen leadership diversity concepts.

Definition of Terms A study conducted by Lim, Cho & Curry (2008) have explicitly provided a definition of diversity leadership as dealing “with ways in which people and groups relate to one another and how management [leadership] decisions are made in the midst of differences similarities and tensions among groups” (cited in Military Leadership Diversity Commision (MLDC), 2010, p. 1). . Morrison’s (1992) definition of leadership diversity, to wit: “the acknowledging that diversity is indeed a leadership issue and is “the integration of diversity within the leadership ranks” (p.

4; cited by Alkandry, n.d., p. 8). Emerging Ideas In the research conducted by Alkandry (n.d.), the author acknowledged that “managing a diverse workforce would need a different type of leader who is capable of exercising cultural relativism. In this situation leadership diversity becomes an issue of inclusiveness and respect for the cultural uniqueness of every member of the organization” (Alkandry, n.d., p. 5). This is consistent with Shen, et.al.’s (2009) study which disclosed that “diversity management does not only recognize but also values and harnesses workforce differences, such as individual characteristics, backgrounds, orientations and religious beliefs, so that individual talents are being fully utilized and organizational goals are met” (p. 238). Given these theoretical frameworks, the challenge is to develop leaders who recognize distinct values on respective cultural orientations; yet, are able to harness talents, skills and abilities that facilitate the achievement of organizational goals.

Morrison (1993) proposed five steps in developing leadership diversity in organizations, as follows: “The first step is to discover, and then regularly rediscover, the current problems in your own organization. Step two is to strengthen top management commitment. Step three is to choose practices in a strategic way. Then, step four is to demand results from those efforts. Step five is to then build on progress to keep momentum going” (par. 13). Contemporary organizations have been manifested to practice developing leadership diversity, as proposed by