Running head: MODULE 7: PAPER 1

Module 7: Paper OGL 350

Nicole Blossey

Arizona State University

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Module 7: Paper OGL 350

The leadership position I am currently preparing for is within the ASU Foundation as a

nonprofit Director of Development in the Athletic Department. To work towards reaching this

goal I am completing my degree which is required for the role, as well as currently working in an

Audio-Visual Sales position to enhance my abilities to raise money from donors. I had the

fortune of previously interviewing for this position however I found out early in the process that

a degree was needed which I had yet to complete. Admittedly I was extremely upset as I have

more than 15 years of relatable experience, but I was not going to let that allow me to give up,

that is why I reenrolled back into college and am thankfully nearing completion now. I have

been an organizational leader in earlier positions and bring a wealth of knowledge to a team, but

I do not have a lot of experience managing cultural teams, or at least those that had issues large

enough to come across my desk. I am thankful for that, but this course has taught me a lot about

my past fortune and ways to be proactive with solutions in my future roles as I will come across

it. I will now ensure I work towards finding proper exercises to acknowledge diversity and

promote it among coworkers as that will be a time-consuming challenge but also something that

must be done.

Diverse Organization.1

Regardless of whether I achieve my goal of joining the ASU Foundation team or not, all

my future positions will face cultural diversity to some ability. All my positions have been in

customer service either sales or management and not only do we handle our internal teams, but

we conflict can arise through customers as well. In the article Leadership in a Diverse

Workplace, it mentions the significance of how “even if an individual claims to be a leader, it is

not so unless others reciprocate by granting or affirming leader identity on individual … strongly
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affected by the attitudes and expectations associated with different social identities” (Chrobot-

Mason, 2013). It is important to lead with emotional maturity, remain proactive in setting up

clear-cut solutions to handling moments of adversity, and ensuring your team knows they can

trust you in confiding in you in times of upheaval. In thinking about the companies I have

worked for previously and my confidence level in their respective HR departments to keep

sensitive topics within the leadership level I had zero faith in them. The companies where

mostly small and they would hire introductory HR teams to keep overhead margins low. In

working for ASU, I will work with a vast mix of individuals as well as collaborate with donors

from all over the world. I consider myself an easy-going person who takes a lot of pushing

before I become even slightly flustered when it comes to disagreements. I think this skillset

stems from managing teams at a very young age, some of those employees who were even the

same age as me and growing up in a large family where our individual opinions had no value. I

do not say this as a negative thing but more to what may have caused my relaxed mannerism

when it comes to being adamant about diverse topics. My demeanor stood out to most

employees in my past roles as they would mention how well I handled upset customers or

irrational team members and I would then encourage them to handle those inevitable situations

the same. Some of the challenges I may face in raising money for the athletic department would

be being female. Being positive I hope that would not be the case, but the reality is some men

may negate my skillset or ability to speak and from the funds for the athletic department per lack

of experience in sports they previously played. Another defeat I may face would be working

with wealthy individuals who may have certain egos and demands stem from that type of

cockiness. “Creating a balance between the amounts of personal and positional power can be a

challenge in a multicultural team where members have different orientations towards sources of
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power” (Williams, 2008). My solution for both types of conflict would be to stay calm, cool, and

collected looking internally to my true personal and professional values as I cannot let these

temporary moments affect my career or negate the emotional intelligence I have earned.

Leadership Approach.

Diversity and Leadership in a Changing World addresses the concern with how diversity

has made its impact globally, “In addition to the issue of access to positions of leadership,

questions arise concerning how leaders from diverse identity groups lead - that is, where their

differences from the majority group make a difference in behavior” (Eagly, 2010). Being a

leader now affects a much larger scale of people as traveling is more accessible than ever,

studying abroad is readily available, and large organizations have expanded globally. As a

leader we need to equip team members of all ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds to be

accepting of diversity. I wholeheartedly enjoy leading and I really enjoy a challenge, it is the

best of both worlds for me. Diversity truly is a beautiful thing, but we must be good at

encouraging our teams to see the larger picture by setting admirable examples and for some this

may be easier to follow than for others to initially grasp. Applying time, patience, and kindness

to my leadership style they will come around.

CQ Cultural Intelligence Score.

I enjoyed taking the cultural intelligence pre-test to see where I stood, my score was

81/140 and now the post-test receiving a much higher score of 113/140. Comparing my personal

and professional growth throughout this course in terms of diversity is irreplaceable. As I

mentioned previously, I am very easy going and rarely if ever argue with someone over a

difference or opinion, it just seems silly to me, but this course has taught me that personal
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opinions or not I will face diversity in the workforce and I am thankful I will be equipped with

the proper tools to manage it effectively.

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References

Chrobot-Mason, D., Ruderman, M.N. & Nishii, L.H. (2013). Leadership in a Diverse

Workplace. Chapter 18 in The Oxford Handbook of Diversity and Work. ASU Library

Holdings.

Eagly, A., Chin, J. (2010). Diversity and Leadership in a Changing World.

Williams, K. (2008). Effective Leadership for Multicultural Teams. Chapter 6 in

Effective Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice. ASU Library Electronic Holdings.