How to lead a team with diverse values, beliefs, and backgrounds

One way to evaluate a leader is to see him or her in the light of hope, compassion, stability, and trust.

Hope is the belief in a better future, which helps people remain focused. When a leader conveys hope, it encourages the team members to meet their goals.

Compassion demonstrates the ability to listen to others, showing that a leader cares for each individual on the team.

Stability and trust go hand and hand with one another. Trust is the foundation of leadership which a leader develops over time through stability. Ensuring that your teammates can count on you creates a safe space for team members to work freely.

Hope, compassion, stability, and trust. These are also components of servant leadership, a core value at Charleston Southern University.

Servant leadership establishes a solid foundation for leadership, particularly in a diverse environment. A critical skill for a leader is managing a team with diverse values, beliefs, and backgrounds.

A diverse team has the potential to succeed when members from various backgrounds work together to offer fresh ideas. However, when it comes to differing ideas, diversity can disastrously impact productivity if it’s not managed well.

It’s more difficult for diverse teams to operate well together because people who think differently from each other frequently see, experience, and comprehend their work differently.

The way a team thinks of itself is crucial. Team identification occurs when individuals are pleased to be part of an organization. Employees with team identification believe they work together rather than against one another to achieve the same objectives.

The team that works the most cohesively with each other is the team that takes the most pride in the work that they do. This leads to a more unified team, creating more success within the group.

Leading a team with many different perspectives can be challenging, which is why a servant leader should search for the positive aspects in each of their employees. The leader’s words should reflect the worth that each team member brings to the organization and include the unique background each member contributes.

Inclusive leaders focus on hope, compassion, stability, and trust.

They demonstrate a commitment to diversity in their recruiting, promotion, remuneration, and retention policies. They emphasize the benefits of diversity for team performance and show that they are open to learning from differing perspectives.

David Gelb is finishing his football career while pursuing his Master of Business Administration at Charleston Southern University.

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