More and more the topic of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has an ever-prominent role. Companies and organizations all over the world are constantly searching for professionals who are fully prepared to address all multi-cultural, multi-generational , and other challenges created by a diverse workforce driving our global marketplace.
In todayâs workforce, employees belong to various age groups, races and ethnicities, genders, and have different sexual orientation. They lead, manage, think, and learn in diverse ways. There are people in full command of their physical abilities working side by side with employees with other disabilities. And they are people with distinct values from many cultures who are responsible for leading dynamic companies and organizations through initiation, survival and success.
Employees are more likely than ever before to work with other employees with assorted demographic or functional backgrounds. It is almost impossible to find a companyâs workforce and customer base that are not influenced by diversity . Yet, many organizations fail to harness the full potential of their diverse workforces. Clearly, a comprehensive understanding of how employees react toward diversity in the workplace, and embrace (or are impacted by) inclusion initiatives is needed. How this understanding affects their work-related outcomes is evident by the vision of any company/organization that wants to succeed in todayâs extremely competitive and globalized marketplace.
In a previous work published by Palgrave Macmillan (Aquino & Robertson, 2018), the two editors of this book were part of the team that thoroughly addressed the topic of Diversity Management, through the discussion of the many dimensions of diversity and the presentation of different applications of D&I. Diversity Management is needed not only in the marketplace, but also in the academic environment, which is mandated with the task of preparing the professionals who will have the responsibility to make this world a more inclusive workplace.
This current book goes one step beyond, by focusing on the topic of the Impact of Effective and Creative Leadership on Diverse Workforces. The goal is to provide the reader with relevant information, experience, and insight to create awareness about the crucial role of leadership in improving organizational performance in diverse organizations. Besides, effective and creative leadership are needed to employ a diverse workforce for the greatest impact on company culture and performance.
With that goal in mind, this book examines the role of corporate culture in the execution of successful strategies for diversity and innovation . The impact of a creative work culture and its effectiveness should be reinforced for a diverse workforce , full of cultural and perceptual differences. With its model and case studies illustrating how diversity helps to shape corporate culture , this book serves as a valuable resource for HR researchers, managers, and practitioners.
The book is divided into five chapters, in which the contents and examples are provided together with practice exercises and case studies to help the reader realize the relevance in linking diversity and leadership with success.
- Chapter 1: This Introduction;
- Chapter 2: Relationships Among Leadership, Organizational Culture , & Support for Innovation ;
- Chapter 3: Leadership and Diversity Implementation;
- Chapter 4: Leadership, Culture , and Innovation ;
- Chapter 5: Leadership, Growth, and the Future .
Chapter 2 discusses the relationship among leadership , organizational culture , and support for innovation . Different leadership styles are addressed to provide the reader with a clear picture of which ones favor innovation and inclusion. Also, the importance of an organizational culture that leads to a corporate climate that fosters innovation is discussed in detail.
Creative leadership and a diverse organizational culture support the development of creativity and innovation in organizations (Henderson, 2018; Hughes, Lee, Tian, Newman, & Legood, 2018). Innovation is not just about new products, methods, or things; it is also discovering new ways to do things (Henderson, 2018; Hughes et al., 2018). Creativity can be harnessed to build innovative processes and develop useful applications with results that are replicable, affordable, and address a need. Common examples of innovation include large-scale efforts associated with Google , SAP , or Apple products, but many smaller organizations are successfully developing innovative organizational cultures as well. Using creative leadership , diversity , and collaborative teams , organizations are able to respond to rapid change with innovative solutions and processes. Startup organizations, incubator businesses, and other inventive companies are developing new approaches to complex problems. Multiple perspectives within diverse organizations encourage the exploration of innovative processes and creative solutions to problems.
Henderson (2018) discussed the need for companies to change their approach to business by embracing change through building a culture of diversity and risk taking . Organizations are demonstrating creativity in the delivery of their products and services, from producing sustainable energy through so...