Management of Diversity and Management of Perspectives
Leaders are people. They have their views and they see things in certain ways unique to them, and differently from others.
One of the greatest challenge of leaders is ability to manage diversity. Diversity is the free gift of nature. An attempt to destroy Diversity is equal to destroying nature. Instead of fighting nature, the wise and humble thing a leader should do is learn how to manage and maximize diversity.
But you cannot understand how to manage diversity if you know to manage perspectives. We are creatures of perspectives. We see issues differently. We also understand issues differently. The depth of our perspective draws from our experiences in life, our exposure, our educational, cultural and religious backgrounds. When you understand what influences your Perspectives, you will be humble and tolerant of other people’s Perspectives over the same issue.
This is an important lesson leader or those in the school of leadership must learn. You see what you see. You observe what you observe. You interpret what you see and what you observe based on your educational, cultural, religious, and political bias. These are our realities. Because we all don’t have the same background in all things, it will be wrong to make an outright condemnation of someone who interprets or expresses an opinion in a way that does not align with ours.
On matters of public concerns, Individuals must learn to be tolerant, humble, and tactful in responding to other people’s views. Leaders must learn how to manage diversity of views and opinion without being defensive, judgmental or dismissive.
By Dr. Joseph C. Ibekwe, President and Founder, Fled International Leadership Institute, Abuja