Deep Leadership Across Cultures

Leading a shelter organization probably requires you to play many different roles over the course of a day…..

Fearless Advocate

Counselor and Therapist

Multi-tasking Manager

Inter-Agency Diplomat

Fundraising Expert

Motivational Coach

Firefighter

Daily Miracle Worker

Wise Spiritual Leader

(plus remembering to go home and have a life)

Great leaders are… Grounded Courageous Humble Decisive Constantly learning

Great leaders can… Communicate effectively Embrace change & uncertainty Engage others towards a shared goal Prioritize and focus their efforts Ask for help

Great leaders have… Boundless energy Deep domain knowledge Integrity A sense of vision & direction Profound self-awareness

Lines of Leadership Development The Inward Arc The Outward Arc Source

‘Outer’ Lines of Development Technical skills Process skills Metaskills Domain knowledge Personal experience

‘Inner’ Lines of Development Blending theory and practice (Praxis) Meta-capacities Psychological development Spiritual development Congruence

How do you cultivate the ‘inner’ qualities of leadership? Being grounded & centered Self-awareness Humility Courage Vision Energy Integrity Authenticity

Leaders from all sectors are working in increasingly complex social terrain…..

…especially between cultures

As leaders your work may include Providing effective services to Aboriginal clients Getting a deeper understanding of where clients are coming from Building effective working relationships with Aboriginal agencies and community organizations Recruiting and managing Aboriginal staff Increasing the cultural competence of non- Aboriginal staff Working with Elders, community liaison workers and cultural specialists

So what is Culture?

A Working Definition of Culture “A system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning.” (Bates, D. G., and Plog, F. Y. (1990). Cultural Anthropology. New York: McGraw-Hill.)

The ‘Iceberg’ Model of Culture

Above the surface Below the surface Action Layer Ritual, communication, body language Speech Layer Language, vocabulary, grammar Thought Layer Values, attitudes, ethics, beliefs Artifact Layer

All people have culture

Most of culture is invisible and unconscious

Cultural patterns that we are not familiar with are often invisible to us

Education is the transmission of culture

Many basic cultural patterns are in place by two (mothers are the carriers of culture)