Cultural Leadership Self Assesment

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with hands-on experience of such teams would disagree. When people of different cultural backgrounds come together in any setting there will always be issues in terms of interaction. They bring their own cultural baggage in terms of how they do things and expect things to be done. Cross-cultural issues will not always be a hindrance, in fact they can be a force for positive creativity, but when a clash of cultures occur it has a negative impact, especially within a team.” (regent.edu, n.d.) Communication between us never existed because of their cultural differences and their in ability to comprehend the rank structure in the military. I could not treat them any different than another lower enlisted person because they felt like their entitlements in their culture crossed the ocean with them. I had to examine every style of leadership I had used to communicate with them and evaluate my overall leadership style in general. A leader communicates consistently with his or her subordinates. Never leaving anyone uninformed. “Managers who have completed advanced training in intercultural communication skills will be able to foresee many cultural sensitivity issues and preemptively put procedures and training in place to avoid unnecessary stress and workplace tension without singling out any one person or group.” (nortedameonlime.com, 2015) I had to let them fail in order to get their attention. It was not until our first confrontation with enemy forces in Afghanistan did they begin to truly understand the meaning of what I had been telling them the whole time. It took a life threatening experience to fully understand that their culture had no place in combat and questioning my leadership was not an option any more. The learning curb was trust, it was something as a leader I had never had to deal with. I had never given a reason for anyone not to trust me. Leadership is the art of influencing others and a big part of that influence is your trust in them and their trust in you. In their culture I was not old enough to be a leader of men. One of them stated that I was wise before my time and it was not customary. I could not disagree with what he stated because It would have set us back again. I said thank you and moved forward.

Cultural Awareness Self-Assessment Form

Please give a qualitative evaluation of each of the ten factors by clicking the circle that represents the appropriate numerical score which in your judgment best represents your assessment of your performance on each factor. This is not an opportunity to assess your desires, wishes, hopes, dreams, or even your potential. 7 = outstanding (superb); 6 = excellent; 5 = very good; 4 = average (good); 3 = fair; 2 = poor; 1 = very minimal; 0 = no ability at all. Once you have completed the 10 items, click CALCULATE.

1. I listen to people from other cultures when they tell me how my culture affects them. 5

2. I realize that people from other cultures have fresh ideas and different points of view to bring to my life and to the workplace. 5

3. I give people from other cultures advice on how to succeed in my culture. 7

4. I give people my support even when other members of my culture reject them. 7

5. I realize that people outside of my culture could be offended by my behavior. I’ve asked people if I have offended them by things I have done or said and have apologized whenever necessary. 7

6. I realize that when I am stressed out I am likely to make myself and my culture right and another culture wrong. 7

7. I respect my superiors (boss, teacher, supervisor, group leader, etc) regardless of where he or she is from. I do not go over his or her head to talk to someone from my culture in order to try and get my way. 2

8. When I am in mixed company, I mix with everyone. I do not just stay with people from my culture, or only with people from the dominant culture. 5

9. I go out of my way to work with, recruit, select, train, and/or promote people from outside the dominant culture. 4

10. When people in my culture make jokes about or talk negatively about other cultural groups, I let them know that I don’t like it. 4

ASSESMENT

You have excellent cultural awareness. There is room for growth, and the areas you have designated that are less than six or seven are areas you can target for specific growth and development. With the foundation you already have, it is clear the motivation and interest in further growth and development are clearly established; thus, it should be relatively easy for you to focus and concentrate on those areas that need additional attention. Your total score was 53! (highered.mheducation.com, 2015)

MY INFLUENCES

To be honest growing up a minority in a predominately white town in Texas and Eastern New Mexico made me culturally sensitive to other minorities who struggles were the same as mine. My grandfather was born and raised in Mexico and his kind heart always extended to anyone who was in need regardless of who they were or where they came from. He is my main influence in my life. However, as I became exposed to the world of cultures other than Mexican and Black while serving in the military I began to desensitize myself to every culture except my own from my own home town. Growing up Mexican in a small farm town is different from growing up Mexican in Los Angeles or San Diego. Growing up in the (Latino Culture) if you want to put a classification on it was different as well. We grew up with respect and our small town culture made us different than anyone else in our (Latino Culture). My Grandfather influenced me to always to do what was right and to honor my name. I left my small world with those ideals and I expected to be treated the same way.

Everywhere I traveled to I always showed respect. However it was not until I met Command Sergeant Major David S. Davenport (Current US ARMY TRADOC Command Sergeant Major) where I learned how to become an American Ambassador to other cultures. To be open minded to anything that was recommended especially when working in their community/country. Allowing them to educate me on what works for them and observing and taking it with me to dissect and formulate other ideas to make it better and present it to them as an American idea or to take what I had learned and allow me to grow from what I had learned. Everything I learned or taught opened my mind to be more receptive to different cultural ideas. II had to rid myself of the stigma the