Replying to LO26993 --
Rene,
Thank you for your thoughtful response.
I apologize for making you feel excluded in my reference to diversity as
that which made this country great. To be a bit more precise, I believe
that, without question, ethnic and cultural diversity in America has
contributed to this country's reputation for "ingenuity."
I appreciate your confronting me on ethnocentricity, and I certainly did
not mean to suggest that other countries and parts of the world are not
equally great. The Earth is an awesome place, including my little corner
of it.
In working with team-based programs for so many years, I need to be
reminded that not every job is team-based. Again,to be a bit more
specific, I would feel the same need to establish an atmosphere of
intimacy and trust, particularly between the instructor and participants.
In all of my observations and studies of leadership, I have observed that
one common link between leaders is their feeling of responsibility for
others, which includes a willingness to be available to and of assistance
to others. To me, when everyone is praticing leadership, then you have
teamwork.
If not teambuilding exercises like the type I described, I would suggest
exercises which encourage you to go beyond your own personal boundaries,
and to look to others who are different from you to help fill in some of
the gaps.
I believe that we are entering an era of appreciative inquiry, and that
diversity will become more celebrated as we learn its significance.
I have worked with numerous programs who teach people to "celebrate
diversity." There is a need for recognition of diversity as something
that is needed in order to maximize and leverage creativity in a company
or elsewhere.
Thank you again.
Genene Koebelin
M.S.Adult and Organizational Learning
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