This paper discusses good leadership and the tasks of a leader, as well as how cultural and religious differences can affect leadership and possible solutions to these problems. The research goes on to investigate how to become a multicultural leader and the impact of communication in a company. It imagines the functions of a leader in an organization and what leadership entails. It is geared on presenting the various aspects of leadership in organizational settings, as well as how a new leader can evolve into a seasoned role model capable of managing multicultural teams and demonstrating transdisciplinary methods and cultural sensitivity. Religious and cultural diversity is a reality in all the organizations due to the dynamic nature of eh workers and the global community notion that has made foreign hiring feasible, thus introducing the concepts of cultural sensitivity. Therefore, the management must strive to understand the different religious and cultural backgrounds of its employees. As a foreign manager in a new environment, the most important thing is to understand the dynamics of the new setting, which means the conflicts that might arise, and formulate possible solutions to enable a harmonious working environment (Koppelman and Goodhart, 2011). Therefore, being a foreigner in America should not be an issue as long as one uses proper techniques to familiarize themselves with the rules at hand and importantly, the local as well as workplace culture. From this perspective, the foreign manager is learning the new environment and thus should not be a coach, rather, he/ she should be the student and allow to be taught by the locals.
Discussion
The two possible conflicts that might arise in the event of asking employees to work on days of religious significance would be the contradiction of the provisions of the law on religious freedoms and moral conflict based on the fact that human beings often feel obliged to worship and thus find it unnatural not to do so. These two conflicts would land the organization in legal battles that are costly and result in disgruntled workers predisposed to strikes and boycotts. To solve these conflicts, the manager should ensure they follow the provision of the constitution to avoid conflict with the laws. Secondly, he/ she must employ culturally and morally compatible approaches to get the workers to put in more work, for example, an overtimes program can be put in place with relevant components such as incentives which shall encourage the workers to work longer days so as to make up for the absenteeism on religious holidays. From this perspective, the workers can finish their tasks before embarking on holidays. Alternatively, another employee who does not share the same religious beliefs could step in and arrangements made for their compensation.
Cultural quirks should not restrain a foreign manager from expressing his/her ideas provided that he/she is professional and exhibits cultural sensitivity. However, it is important that the manager learns the various quirks in the given society so that he/ she may no inadvertently insult the local beliefs. Regardless of the preparations made, the manager should freely express his/ her ideas provided that they do not infringe on the rights of the locals or fellow foreigners.
Multicultural leadership promotes inclusivity and adaptability which are important aspects of the management of a diverse workforce (Muna, 2014). It is particularly important in the case of the foreign manager fitting in the local community and environment. To become a multicultural leader, there is need to learn from history in order to get rid of myths and stereotypes which can be a hindrance to understanding diversity. Studying the history of the locals helps the leader familiarize themselves with the details of the culture which improves their fitting in and avoid awkward occurrences. For example, learning that the organization has casual Fridays helps avoid confrontation with employees over inappropriate dress code on Fridays. Another way to become a multicultural leader is by thinking of we and not I (teamwork) to create mutual focus in the working environment. This will enhance integration and make the organization come up with a collectivist culture which will result in peace, harmony, and unity. A good example here is bringing together The Latino, Black, American and Indian leadership in the organization. Their working together will make great success for the organization. Finally, the manager can learn from these individuals and implement some of the aspects that have worked for them. Learning from peers is invaluable as it offers the first-hand experience that is specific and localized as opposed to the material found in books and academic sources.
Nonverbal communication can be tricky to correctly decipher considering the numerous gesture that the human body is capable of producing, some of which are similar and others contraindicative. From this standpoint, it is possible to have conflicts due to misinterpreting gestures and other body movements. The major conflicts that might arise in the misunderstanding of non-verbal communication are the mismatch of intended signal and the perceived signal and the picking up of unintended signals and interpreting them wrongly. The first case happens where an employee shrugs their shoulders to indicate indifference or not knowing and the manager interprets it as a refusal to answer. The second case is where an employee makes a gesture to a fellow employee who happens to be in the line of site of a manager thus making the manager associate the gesture with themselves, a scenario that can result in punitive measures if not understood and clarified well. The possible actions to be taken to diffuse the misunderstanding due to non-verbal communication and cues is encouraging professional communication within the workplace and permitting only universally acceptable and hard to confuse gestures such as waving a handshake and nodding the head (Kosecki, Badio, and Kosecki, 2014). Policies must be made towards this area so that the involved parties abide by the organization code of conduct.
Leadership influences organizational performance in that it sets the guidelines to be followed and aligns group dynamics with organization policies. This is due to the fact that leaders are in charge of groups and thus make micro policies within these groups which localize group initiatives to organization targets.
The key leadership qualities leading to effective leadership include the following; self-assessment, sharp perception, responsive to the needs of the group, innovation, and knowledge of the organization (Maxwell, 2012). Self-assessment is where the leaders periodically check their strength and weaknesses as an individual by asking themselves self-assessment questions, determining points of weakness to improve on. Sharp perception involves knowing what people perceive about you as an effective leader thus helping in self-improvement. An effective leader should also be responsive to the needs of the group which means that he/she should engage in participatory leadership where he listens to the group or team members and implements their contributions where feasible. Penultimately, innovation, and creativity enable the leader to come up with solutions to the issues that he/ she faces and thus effectively tackle the situations. Finally, having knowledge of the organization is where the leader is well acquainted with overall mission, goals, and objectives of the organization and how to achieve those as established in the corporation’s strategies.
In an organization, conflict normally arises due to diversity, individual perception and varied interests. As a leader, conflict resolution and negotiation is best to ensure harmonious working environment. There are five approaches to conflict management. They include; accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, compromise and confrontation. Accommodating is the approach that emphasizes cooperation instead of being assertive. Avoiding conflict means effective methodologies are instituted to prevent conflicting scenarios. Collaborating is an approach that brings together the parties involved in a conflict so that they can establish a common ground and work to solve the disputes. It involves mediation to come up with a binding resolution. Compromise occurs when bargaining and each party is rigid with their stand but they are able to identify some of their interest which they can be willing to lay down and compromise to get a solution. Then finally, confrontation style where one party involves in the conflict places their desires above others. Assertiveness is applied in this approach and it involves addressing it head-on. At times, it can raise emotions and involve hostile communications.
For effective leadership, the following strategies are necessary to be employed by the managers. They include; role modeling, hiring right people, understanding management as leadership, authenticity, empowering and encouraging others. Role modeling is where the leader acts as a good example to the staff that would motivate them to work hard as you are. Hiring right people means the organization should know the talents and qualification they want based on the merit. Understanding management as leadership helps managers be able to better serve as role models rather than simply figures of authority (West, 2004). Authenticity enables leaders to know and understand themselves based on their weaknesses and strength. It enables leaders to verify their decisions and own responsibility of every action they undertake. Finally, encouraging and empowering others to make decisions involves the inclusion of staff members in management decisions thus helping them own the process of problem-solving. Technology leverages an organization against its competitors and helps ensure the efficiency and speed are achieved. It requires significant investments in terms of resources particularly in integrating technology in the strategic management and leadership. This process would facilitate efficacy in management because technology improves service delivery and facilitates faster operations within the organization.
Conclusion
Being a leader can be challenging and a foreign context can be intimidating. However, with the application of best practices and cultural sensitivity, a leader can function virtually everywhere effectively. Additionally, the use of technology has become rampant in the corporate sector where every company is streamlining its processes, including leadership ones to be aligned with technological advancements. This is important as it improves service delivery. Finally, what is important in leadership is the creation of an enabling environment which makes it easy to implement leadership strategies. These strategies help in both effective management and leadership. The use of technology is one of the trends in leadership strategy an organization needs to implement for effectiveness.
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References
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Kosecki, K., Badio, J. and Kosecki, K. (2014). Cognitive processes in language. 1st ed.
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Maxwell, J. (2012). The 21 indispensable qualities of a leader. 1st ed. [Mumbai]: Magna
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Muna, F., Zennie, Z. (2014). Developing multicultural leaders. 1st ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
West, M. (2004). Motivate teams, maximize success. 1st ed. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
