"Incorporating Multicultural and Workforce Diversity Leadership Attributes and Efforts in Contemporary Leadership Practices"

Abstract

Established and respected leadership practices such as Transformational Leadership Bass [1], Bass [2], Authentic Leadership Luthans & Avolio [3], and Distributed Leadership Lumby [4] are known for offering an understanding of the ways that leadership skills can be applied and practiced in a variety of organizational settings. These well-known leadership practices are also known for underscoring the kinds of traits and behaviors that leaders should possess to enhance their leadership abilities and overall effectiveness. However, one area that is absent from traditional leadership practices is a focus on the kinds of multicultural and workforce diversity leadership knowledge, skills, and abilities that organizational leaders should possess to manage human diversity effectively in a variety organizational setting. The aim of this paper is to: 1) share examples of existing multicultural and workforce diversity frameworks that offer insights for advancing traditional leadership practices: and 2) highlight the benefits of incorporating multicultural and workforce diversity leadership traits, behaviors and supporting diversity practices into traditional leadership practices.