Because of our completely unique life’s experiences everyone has certain prejudices & biases, both good & bad, that we content with. The question is not whether a great leader-coach has prejudices & biases, but how they manage their biases. These biases can pose an enormous obstacle for a leader-coach when they are asked to coach someone who for whatever reason fits in to a category that the particular coach has a potential negative bias against. As the workforce has become more diverse, & as companies become more international in nature, leaders may be more challenged in handling diversity related issues effectively. More & more leaders will be needed to coach those who have backgrounds & experiences drastically different from their own. When coaching those of different cultural backgrounds coaches may be totally unaware of the emotional reactions that may occur subconsciously because of the cultural differences & the “different visions of life” that result from those different cultural experiences (Goldsmith & Lyons 2006, p. 133). The potential downside of not being able to recognize & deal with resulting biases can have enormous negative consequences to organizations.
I have spent a big portion of my career working overseas many big corporations. During that time I have witnessed many talented managers fail because of their inability to adjust their styles & be more accepting & understanding of those who are different from themselves. I worked particularly closely with one executive who had a commanding style of leadership. His approach conflicted drastically with the multi-national team which he was assigned to lead in Spain. Because of his inability to recognize & accept the diversity of thoughts & approaches that the multi-cultural team contained, he was unable to successfully manage the project & eventually was demoted. Although this manager had been very successful in the organization in the US, he was unable to accept that a different leadership style was needed to be successful in an international & culturally diverse team environment. His bias was to manage the team from a directive leadership style. He complained about how the team wanted to take long lunches; about discussions taking too long; & about “dissent” among team members. Rather than attempt to understand the cultural nuances, he relied on what had proven successful to him in the past & he pushed the team harder move rapidly to accept his solutions. Eventually, the project was reassigned to another leader & he was demoted to another position back in the US. Despite having a very talented team assigned to his group, he was unable to manage this diverse group, leading to negative consequences for him, the team & the organization. His inability to adjust kept him from seeing the enormous opportunity that existed in leading this diverse team. Because he failed to appreciate the uniqueness of each individual & the value they bring to the team & the potential benefits they brought to him & the organization, he was unsuccessful in achieving any meaningful results.
The leader-coach can improve outcomes when dealing with diverse teams by questioning their own assumptions about the individual and/or the cultural group they represent. Rather than taking actions based on past beliefs & conclusions which the leader-coach has made based on their own prior experiences, which are likely biased toward their own personal cultural background, the coach should question those assumptions, gather input & explore meanings with the “coachee” & not make assumptions nor draw conclusions until an understanding of differences are fully examined (Hargrove 2003, p. 187). This approach should lead to better understanding between coach & “coachee” & improved results when coaching those of diverse backgrounds.
References:
Goldsmith, M., & Lyons, L (2006). Coaching for leadership: The practice of leadership coaching from the world’s greatest coaches. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Hargrove, R.A., (2003). Masterful coaching: Inspire & impossible future while producing extraordinary leaders & extraordinary results. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
Magnify Leadership & Development
6232 South Vinecrest Drive • Murray, Utah 84121 • Phone: 801-266-0849 Email: info@magnifyleadership.com Website: www.magnifyleadership.com
James Gehrke is the President of Magnify Leadership & Development.
After various promotions in Sales, Sales Operations, Training & Development, & Sales Management & Training, he headed Pfizer’s Learning & Development for all of Europe, Canada, Africa, & the Middle East where he was instrumental in the development of a global management curriculum & other training initiatives to enhance organizational effectiveness for over 30,000 employees. He has worked on many high levels, cross functional teams addressing issues such as Field Force Effectiveness, Change Leadership, Leader Behavior Development, Executive Coaching & many others.
Since starting his own training company, James has developed & trained both public & private leadership, coaching, targeting & territory management sessions for hundreds of participants in various industries. James is bilingual & can teach in both English & Spanish http://www.magnifyleadership.com
