Category: Unit8-LA 2

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LDRS 500- Unit 8- LA 2

Unit 8-LA 2

Unit 8 Learning Activities

Th Gender- Leader Implicit Association test that I scored is negative. Which means; that I don’t associate female with a supporter, and male with a leader. I wonder if this result related to other women.

Research has shown that “group life and feeling a part of a community have a significant impact on our wellbeing. Individuals who report a sense of belonging to groups and networks are likely to exhibit positive psychological functioning across a range of variables including self-esteem, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction” (Daley & Buchanan, 1999; Haslam, Jetten, Postmes, & Haslam, 2009, as cited in Allen & Bowles, 2012, p. 110). Additionally, “A sense of belonging protects against psychopathology and stress” (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; as cited in Allen & Bowles, 2012, p.110). The “employees in more cohesive work groups displayed greater amounts of courtesy that would have been predicted based only on their job satisfaction or organizational commitment” (Kidwell, Mossholder, & Bennett, 1997, p.775). A study conducted at the University of Michigan by Hagerty revealed that “People who can say ‘I belong’—at work, in their family or a community group—function better psychologically than people who feel like square pegs in round holes” (Michigan News, 1997).  Additionally, people who felt belonged perceived less conflict in their lives, and they got more social support from others than did the non-belonging (Michigan News, 1997).

The employees (Nugent, Pollack &Travis, 2016) reported feeling included when thy experience “uniqueness” and “belonging.” Belonging is essential to develop a sense of engagement and finding purpose and fulfillment at the workplace. Therefore, when employees feel unique and valued, they report feeling teamwork, cohesiveness, and organizational citizenship behavior. Inclusion (Catalyst report, 2016) “is having more teammates of different racial and ethnic groups, seeing increases in colleagues from different nationalities, the growing presence of women across levels, or a noted uptick in the number of out LGBT employees” (p.5). When an employee has repeated experiences of exclusion, it can result in a reduction in productivity, engagement, and even in the employee’s sense of self-worth. Hence, will end up having a cost that affects the individual, team, and organizational level. When they feel excluded and devalued, it might compromise job performance and satisfaction.

Catalyst (2016) reported, “The invisibility of inclusion, salience of exclusion, and coexistence of inclusion and exclusion pose a challenge to leaders” (p.3). Therefore, to support women sense of belonging at the workplace by;

making inclusion visible should be encouraged by:

  1. Creating a shared understanding, and vision for integration.
  2. Rewarding mindsets and behaviors that enable such transformation.

Interrupt exclusionary behaviors by:

  1. Promoting and engaging in authentic dialogue.
  2. Ensuring the connection between what you say and what you do is crystal clear to employees.

Manage inclusion’s and exclusion’s coexistence by:

  1. Paying attention to human elements, rather than relying on programs to drive change.
  2. Monitoring progress, challenges, and setbacks. P. 3

There is a clear opportunity for leaders to help employees become more attuned to inclusive behaviors. Making behaviors, programs, and policies visible and engaging employees in the change process are essential. P. 7

Actions taken by leaders are:

  1. Developing a Shared Understanding and Language: Develop—and use—a shared understanding and language of inclusion that distinguishes it from diversity.

✓ Start by asking employees to share examples of two distinct experiences: a time when they were in a group (e.g., a work team) in which people felt valued, heard, and included; and then a time when they felt singled out or dismissed.

✓ Discuss the difference and validate your employees’ experiences. Listen carefully for words, feelings, and experiences that capture inclusion. Leverage these expressions and viewpoints to craft a shared vision and universal language of inclusion.

✓ Use this vision to set the tone for how to make team meetings, feedback sessions, and one-on-one exchanges more effective, creating opportunities for deliberate and concrete steps that will personalize inclusion and make it more visible and relatable, and encourage sustained progress.

  1. Visibly and Explicitly Rewarding Inclusive Behavior: Hold yourself and others on your team accountable for creating and broadcasting a shared vision of inclusion. Develop a system of visible rewards for employees who demonstrate inclusive behaviors.

Ways leaders can align their intentions, words, and actions include:

  1. Pay attention to the human side of change, not just programs and policies.
  2. Monitor the progress and setbacks. Any change is iterative and entails both success and challenges and to ensure progress leaders may engage in two-way conversation with employees.
  3. Seek feedback.
  4. Role model desired behaviors to make the destination clear. Highlight and amplify any inclusion in ways that reflect, want to see and not only in formal ways but also an informal way.
  5. Transparency and verifying employee’s experiences of exclusion
  6. Share plans that illustrate an image and awareness of the continued progress and challenges.

There is a valuable suggestion presented by (McDonagh & Paris, 2013), can be implemented in the healthcare system to advocate women in leadership by:

  1. Make it easier for women to reach top position and promote the effective leadership style that can create a transformational model of care.
  2. Provide leadership development and succession planning– leadership development programs are essential for preparing the next generation leaders for organizational continuity and strengthen the teams of leaders to excel more collaborative environment. Succession planning importance is to ensure each executive position has a successor in line who are developed for advancement.
  3. Women supporting women- gender imbalance in leadership positions that was a belief for long time; however, there are many avenues to provide support including mentoring program, networking, and participation in leadership programs.
  4. Corporate culture changes, which recognize women as a leader who enable professional decision making and collaboration through magnet recognition program. Regarding, this program designed to attract and retain top talent, improve patient care, foster collaborative culture, and advance healthcare professional. Therefore, supporting diverse leadership by including men in women leadership.

Whether you are a woman or not, this is a contemporary issue that all leaders need to be aware of and willing to address in their context. It’s upon leader’s approach and their decision-making process to drive inclusive work culture where leaders help the employee feel supported, heard and valued-mitigating the exclusionary behaviors that single-out, overlook and devalue individual’s uniqueness and their sense of belonging. Therefore, employees can navigate their day to day experience in an authentic way and learn from their exemplary leaders.

Reference

Allen, K. A., & Bowles, T. (2012). Belonging as a Guiding Principle in the Education of Adolescents. Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, 12, 108-119.Retrieved from: https://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/100267/V12_allen_-and-_bowles.pdf

Kathryn J. McDonagh; Nancy M. Paris, (2013), The Leadership Labyrinth: Leveraging the Talents of Women to Transform Health Care. Nursing Administration Quarterly. 37(1),6–12 DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0b013e3182751327

Retrieved from: https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:3219/crossref?an=00006216-201301000-00003

Michigan News-University of Michigan. (1997, April). “Belonging” means more to women than to men. Retrieved from: https://news.umich.edu/qbelongingq-means-more-to-women-than-to-men/

Nugent, J., Pollack, A. & D. Travis, (2016). The Day to day experiences of workplace inclusion and exclusion. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/the_day_to_day_experiences_of_workplace_inclusion_and_exclusion.pdf

Roland E. Kidwell, Jr., Kevin W. Mossholder, and Nathan Bennett, (1997). Cohesiveness and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis Using Work Groups and Individuals. Journal of Management. 23 (6), 775 – 793. doi.org/10.1177/014920639702300605

Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=6&sid=321da364-7fe7-4ce8-81b4-15cb6380becf%40sessionmgr120&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=psyh&AN=1997-39082-004