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Leadership Development Plan

Name

Institution

Course

Professor

Date
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Leadership Development Plan

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has emerged as a core component of leadership

training in the current complex and diverse world. Thus, leaders need to understand how

relations in social systems function and how race, gender, culture, and socio-economic status

impact people and companies. There are many organizations that are seeking to develop

significant policies that support diversity today. This is because it helps in promoting diverse

views and innovation. However, these efforts require leaders who have some level of self-

consciousness about their prejudices. Like other effective leaders, I am willing to promote

equality in society. Cultivating cultural awareness and practicing diversity sensitivity allows

leaders to address barriers and effectively manage organizations. There are various ways in

which I will be able to improve in leading across differences.

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses in Leading Across Differences

Strengths

One of my strengths in leadership is empathy. This quality enables me to appreciate and

comprehend the various experiences of people in the team I am working with. Thus, it fosters a

culture of recognizing that people’s opinions matter in the organization regardless of their

dimensions of diversity. For instance, empathy allows me to recognize that those with disabilities

have the right to give their point of view just like those without disabilities. In addition, empathy

helps to improve communication with other people and contributes to the formation of an

inclusive environment. This is important in leadership, especially between and among diverse

groups. I will enhance this quality by ensuring that I engage in active listening to other people’s

opinions. I will also ensure that I incorporate their feedback when making decisions (McCloud et

al., 2023). Thus, it will assist in creating a better environment for the team members. As a result,
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people from different cultures and ethnicities will be embraced, hence promoting a conducive

working environment. Another strength that I possess is communication, which is helpful in

leading across differences. It eliminates cases of misunderstandings and ensures that everyone in

the team is given the chance to express their opinions. To build on this strength, I will promote

active discussions that can address all issues of diversity and inclusion. Thus, if I encourage

people to be open and have genuine conversations, the results will be a united and helpful team.

Weaknesses

Unconscious bias is one of the weaknesses that affects my ability to lead across

differences. Such biases can significantly influence the decision-making processes as well as

interpersonal interactions. Therefore, they can have a negative impact on efforts to establish a

diverse and equal environment in the process of learning. For example, I tend to assume that

people from a particular culture have similar behaviors. Thus, I can unconsciously treat them like

another employee from the same culture. However, I will avoid this by getting to know someone

from a personal level since the bias stems from generalization. Additionally, I will attempt to

discuss with my co-workers how they can assist me in identifying my biases and how they affect

my actions and behavior. Decision-making frameworks that call for stakeholder participation

will also help to alleviate the effects of such biases (Hall & Davis, 2020). This will be through

conducting a fair and balanced decision-making process. Another weakness that I have is the

limited cultural engagement. This significantly limits my ability to effectively coordinate a

diverse workforce. At the moment, I do not have enough information about the people of

different cultures and backgrounds to understand the essence of a multicultural workplace.

However, I am willing to improve by ensuring that I attend the cultural awareness programs. The

knowledge that I gain from such education will significantly help in enhancing my cultural
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competence. In addition, I would like to travel and meet diverse people and groups. This will

help me to gain real-life experience as well as get acquainted with different cultures. Therefore,

it will assist me in enhancing the level of empathy and efficiency in the management of a diverse

population.

Individual Opportunities for Growth When Leading Across Differences

For me to be an effective cross-cultural leader, I need to understand how my own identity

and culture influence my leadership. I will do this through the analysis of the internal diversity

factors such as race, gender, and age. This will make it possible to understand how such factors

impact my values and beliefs. For instance, I may have some challenges that are unique to my

racial background that other people have not gone through. These experiences may influence my

actions and decisions as a leader. Therefore, I get to know how these factors influence leadership

behavior by observing and asking the employees’ opinion. This will assist me in being conscious

of my bias and promote inclusivity. It will also assist in the development of a society with

minimal prejudice. In addition, I will borrow some practices in diversity and inclusion at the

workplace from the important models that embrace leadership across differences. Such

organizations include employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These models can enhance my

leadership skills to a greater extent (Michigan State Police, 2024). This can also be seen in the

Michigan State Police formation of the African American Employee Resource Group (AAERG).

It occurred as a way of supporting the formation of communities that can promote inclusion as

well as the education of other employees on the African American culture. I will draw on the

inspiration provided by this model and include the same measures in my leadership model. This

will include the provision or support of equal rights groups. These practices will assist me to

improve my leadership skills and support equity in the workplace.

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Another important opportunity for my personal growth that can help in leading across

differences is the provision and management of feedback systems. I will ensure that I have

clearly established the avenues through which I can obtain feedback from the organization

members. Therefore, I will be able to gain understanding of their concerns. This is especially true

for those from marginalized communities. I can obtain feedback through questionnaires, focus

group discussions, or daily one-on-one interviews (Crans et al., 2022). Thus, active acquisition of

this feedback and its integration into my leadership practices will allow me to make changes

based on the findings. The approach will enhance my receptiveness and adaptability as a leader.

Managerial Strategies for Inclusive Leadership

In order to enhance my leadership competencies regarding differences between people, I

have to be more attentive to the selection of appropriate managerial strategies that will assist me

in achieving equality within the team. I can achieve this through inclusive decision-making. This

involves ensuring that all the team members from the different backgrounds are involved in the

decision-making process. This can, for example, include individuals from all age groups. In

addition, I will suggest the implementation of structured meetings that must involve input from

all the members of the team (Pham, 2024). Therefore, this can reduce bias by ensuring that all

aspects of a particular issue are considered and the decision-making process is improved.

Furthermore, I will ensure that I put in place procedures that will ensure that people of different

diversity are represented. Some of the tools that will be useful to this approach include rotating

the meeting facilitators and using anonymous input tools. I will constantly monitor the decision-

making process to ensure that it is being implemented in an effective manner.

Another important aspect that I will consider to enhance my leadership across differences

is equality within the team. I will concentrate on ensuring that all employees in my team have
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equal chances of growth, promotion, and productivity in the workplace. To do this, I will ensure

that there are measures that are put in place when it comes to performance assessments as well as

professional development (Schnackenberg & Tomlinson, 2020). To eliminate bias in the

processes that determine career paths and openings, these processes must be fair and applied

equally across the board. Other measures I intend to take include the introduction of mentorship

and sponsorship programs. Such programs will help the underrepresented team members in their

career advancement. This way, I can fill gaps in knowledge and experience for these individuals

through direct mentoring and sponsorship. In addition, I will also ensure that all the employees

respect each other and work together by promoting cultural diversity through team-building

activities. This will improve interpersonal relations and promote unity among the members of a

given team. I will educate the workers on cultural sensitivity and how to engage with other

people of different cultures to ensure that they embrace the differences. I will also incorporate

the conflict-solving techniques that are diversely perspective-sensitive. This will ensure that

there are no related problems that may arise and worsen the working relationships among the

employees.

Organizational DEI Initiatives and Opportunities

I will make use of organizational DEI efforts based on the Four Layers of Diversity

model to improve my leadership across differences. This framework was developed by

Gardenswartz and Rowe. It offers a framework for how diversity can be understood and

managed in organizations (Goldminz, 2019). The first of the layers is the personality layer. It

involves the personal attributes that an employee possesses and that define them in the

workplace. This ranges from personal communications to personal values. The appreciation of

such diversity promotes a better working team since employees understand that they have
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different strengths that they can contribute to the team. Understanding how these personality

traits affect the team will enable me to create a culture that embraces respect and openness. In

this case, it will not only be possible to seek and listen to the diverse opinions.

The Internal Dimensions layer includes the fundamental aspects of self-identification,

including race, gender, age, and physical disability. These dimensions considerably influence

how people perceive the workplace. For instance, understanding how race and gender affect the

work environment can assist in eradicating unfair treatment and promoting equal opportunity

(Detroit Police Department, 2024). To promote this, I can adapt policies and practices that

address the concerns of employees with different backgrounds. This will be possible by

concentrating on internal dimensions of the organization. It would involve developing support

structures and career management programs that will address the issues related to different

groups. Therefore, it will help in the establishment of a better and equitable environment at the

workplace. On the other hand, the External Dimensions layer encompasses factors such as

education, geographical location, and religion. Although these dimensions are less apparent, they

significantly shape individuals access to resources and opportunities as well as their experiences

at work. For instance, the level of socioeconomic status determines an employee’s opportunity to

undergo professional development. Thus, I can consider these outside factors as I create

interventions that will help eliminate the system barriers and offer meaningful assistance to

employees who may experience other forms of difficulties. This might include such measures as

allowing employees to work from home or developing community outreach initiatives that are

culturally sensitive.

The organizational dimensions layer includes aspects like job description, rank, and work

location. This layer identifies various roles within the company. It also discusses how the
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hierarchical structure affects employees’ experience and prospects (Goldminz, 2019). For

instance, employees who work in junior positions or in different branches of the company can

experience different challenges than top managers or those who work in headquarters. This

implies that analyzing these dimensions may help me to identify the barriers and how to address

them. It will also ensure that every employee is given an equal chance to grow within the

company and acquire new skills and training. This may require changing the promotion

standards and ensuring that there is a fair allocation of resources. It can also include the

provision of mentorship programs that may enhance the employees’ experience in an

organization at different levels. This will be achieved through the use of strong diversity training

programs that will be implemented. Such programs will focus on bias and diversity in the

workplace. Participation in such training will help me to appreciate how the different layers of

diversity affect people’s interactions and decisions at the workplace.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is a unique opportunity to improve leadership across

differences. This is because it will make me exposed to a wider view of the world and different

cultures. I can promote community engagement by inviting the community members to

participate in the celebrations that the organization holds. Doing this will provide me with

opportunities that help in interacting with different cultures and learn from them (Schiavo, 2021).

These experiences will assist me in gaining empathy and respect as well as obtaining the

information that will be useful in my leadership practice. Therefore, this will boost my attitude

towards the communities by spending time and communicating with them.

Frameworks for Understanding DEI in Leadership

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In order to improve my ability to lead across differences, I will develop my personal

leadership development plan based on the existing DEI frameworks. In this case, I will use

Bennett’s developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS) and the cultural competence

continuum. These frameworks offer a systematic way of promoting diversity, equity, and

inclusion in leadership. Bennett’s developmental model of intercultural sensitivity provides a

progressive framework for how people may grow their intercultural understanding (Rodríguez,

2022). In addition, the DMIS divides intercultural sensitivity into six categories, which are

denial, defense, minimization, acceptance, adaptation, and integration. Every stage corresponds

to a certain approach and perception of cross-cultural communication. In my development plan, I

will determine my current stage on the continuum and then determine specific ways to move to

the next level. For instance, if I am at the minimization stage, where people consider all people

are equal despite the differences in appearance, I will have to shift to the acceptance and

adaptation stage. This will include the deliberate and conscious attempt to embrace and interact

with other cultures. The purpose of it is to gain more insight into the complexities of culture.

Through advancing through these stages, I hope to build better and more compassionate

leadership skills. Such skills should embrace diversity of opinions from various individuals.

The Cultural Competence Continuum is a model that is used to assess the level of cultural

competence and development through different stages. The stages include cultural

destructiveness, cultural incapacity, cultural blindness, cultural pre-competence, cultural

competence and cultural proficiency. They are all a reflection of different levels of

organizational capacity to address cultural diversity (Rodríguez, 2022). My plan will therefore

involve conducting a self-assessment on this continuum in order to identify my current status on

the cultural competence and cultural proficiency framework. This will allow me to set specific
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targets to attain a higher level of cultural proficiency. It will involve participating in training

sessions that are meant to improve an individual’s knowledge of diversity and communication

with such groups. Besides, I will consult with coworkers and supervisors to assess what aspects

of my leadership need improvement. Implementing these frameworks in the development plan

will help in providing a plan towards the enhancement of a better DEI leadership strategy.

Through exploring the stages of the DMIS and the Cultural Competence Continuum, I will

establish a strong foundation for practicing cultural competence and incorporating inclusive

leadership into my daily practice. With this approach, I will be able to create a positive working

environment that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Creating a Long-Term DEI Leadership Development Plan

In the contemporary, diverse world, it is important to build a long-term strategic

leadership development plan that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion. The first approach to

my DEI leadership development will be ensuring that I am always learning about DEI and how I

can improve on it. Managing diversity entails being aware of how inequalities are structured in

organizations and in broader society. Therefore, I will attend DEI training programs, including

workshops and webinars, in order to understand the dynamic nature of diversity and inclusion

issues (Weller et al., 2024). For instance, the issues to be covered in the training programs to be

delivered will be the issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. For example, I will be able to

ensure that the employees are able to receive training on how to use gender-inclusive language.

This will seek to avoid the discrimination of a particular sex, social gender, or gender identity. It

is also important, as it will help in avoiding the gender stereotypes.

Conclusion
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There are various ways in which I will be able to improve in leading across differences.

DEI is relevant in leadership in contemporary society due to globalization and the rising cultural

diversity in the workplace. The steps that I can take in order to increase my ability to lead across

differences include improving my communication skills and cultural competence. In addition, it

is necessary to understand how to manage bias and develop cultural sensitivity as a continuous

process. I can also apply DEI frameworks like the Four Layers of Diversity. This will allow me

to come up with long-term measures towards equality, creativity, and inclusion.

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References

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Detroit Police Department. (2024). Committee on Race and Equality (CORE). City of Detroit.

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Goldminz, I. (2019, December 17). The 4 Layers of Diversity [Gardenswartz & Rowe]. Medium.

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