October 1, 2020
By Sarah Gleeson, Entrepreneur.com
To be an effective leader, taking the time to evolve through personal development courses and programs is highly productive and incredibly beneficial. It doesn’t just result in your own growth and improvement: It trickles down to benefit the teams you lead and positively influences the organization you work with.
However, no matter how many courses you take, life experience is often the biggest and most influential contributor to what you learn and, why you learn it.
There is a famous quote by Confucius that says: “If you’re the smartest one in the room — then you are in the wrong room.” The meaning of this quote infers that mentorship and diversity are imperative to expanding your knowledge and improving yourself as you strive to reach your personal potential. After all, if everyone in the room is thinking the same way, has the same beliefs, or likes the same things, what benefit does it have for those in the room? It certainly doesn’t improve one’s ability to be innovative or think critically.
Diversity in the workplace results in a multitude of organizational benefits all the way down from the C-Suite to the entry-level employee. In your role as a leader, embracing and nurturing diversity among your team and colleagues will ultimately result in your ability to lead more effectively, compassionately, and successfully.
Here are four reasons why diversity in the workplace makes you a better leader.