Unit 2 Applied Learning Reflection
What?
In leadership studies, oftentimes a trait based approach has led us to connect certain characteristics and types of people with leadership. While leadership can look different across different individuals there are underlying biases behind who we view as leaders and the type of leadership that is valued.
In an article by Scientific American, the authors found that top managers are oftentimes disproportionately white men [1]. Furthermore, a review by the New York Times found that only 20% of officials and executives in prominent positions identified as Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, multiracial or otherwise a person of color [2]. This underrepresentation is severe considering that these groups make up 40% of the U.S. population. To accurately reflect the population and the increasing diversity of the U.S. it will also be important to increase representation in leadership positions.
So what?
The benefits of diversity in leadership have been well documented. Forbes’ Coaches Council wrote up some of these benefits including greater depth and breadth of experiences, broadened perspective, increased awareness, the ability to attract and retain top talent, a sense of trust, psychological safety, and more [3]. Diverse teams also have been shown to have better outcomes ranging from increased innovation to higher profits to employee satisfaction [4].
In a TED Talk by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, they posed the question "Why do so many incompetent men become leaders?" [5]. While this is a valid question to consider, the flip side of this question is why are there so few women and minoritized leaders? The Scientific American article highlighted one possible answer to this question in their finding that in discriminatory environments and companies those outside of power are punished for trying to help each other [1]. These sources demonstrate that not only are marginalized groups underrepresented in leadership, they also are often punished on their path into management positions.
Now what?
The question posed in the last section and this overall issue is quite complex. An article by Harvard Business Review discussed the United State's progress towards a racially just workplace. They found that while diversity and inclusion efforts have been increasingly common within companies and organizations, the progress toward top management roles and greater economic well-being and influence for marginalized individuals remains slow to nonexistent [6]. Experts have called for better recruitment, retention, and promotion strategies for underrepresented groups and there is an opportunity for increased research in this space. While some may argue that affirmative action and Civil Rights laws have created sufficient support for marginalized groups, it is clear that there is still much work to be done in increasing representation amongst leadership and that growth has remained slow [6].
In light of continuing underrepresentation of marginalized groups in leadership, it will be important to further consider the impact of identity on trait based leadership research and unpacking bias related to the trait based approach.
References
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