Leadership Diversity & Inclusion Statement

Inclusive leaders make every effort to make sure all members of the group receive the opportunity to participate at their greatest capacity and reach their potential. (5) I myself have experienced what is like to be a minority as a caucasian in Hawaii for 4 1/2 years and Japan for 7 1/2 and not receive equitable treatment because my culture and skin tone was different from theirs. In athletics, academics, and socially, I was always the odd one out even if i was achieving at the same level. Where this experience could have made me sour and develop a sense of ostracism for the rest of my life, I instead chose to prevent the same from happening to others in the future. Therefore, while at VMI I have picked up on when someone who is a minority here is being treated unfairly without those doing it even realizing it. Unfortunately, instances such as these are more common than I would like to admit here at VMI and in the United States. Sadly, these occurrences feel natural to those that are unknowingly contributing to the subconscious anti-diversity rhetoric that has been inadvertently implanted within society and American culture. However, this will not be tolerated any longer. To foster an inclusive environment around myself, I educate myself on the cultural attributes of others and learn from outside an ethnocentric position to try to provide an environment that is hospitable and open to all while catering to the needs of others to make sure they are cared for enough that they can succeed at their fullest ability. 6, 7)

In the future, I plan to be as inclusive of everyone under my wing as possible, taking care not to leave anyone feeling underrepresented or their needs unmet. By educating myself, I can better implement their needs into the mission effectively. The first step in understanding my own background comes from seeing where my own Cultural Mindset lays. The results of a Global Mindset survey place me in the “high” subscale, in the top 13.6% of cadets, who participated in the survey. I scored a 4.05 on a 1-5 scale in Global Mindset (mean 3.47), Conceptualization (mean 3.49), and Contextualization (mean 3.45). Someone with a high Global Mindset tends to be able to identify and understand cultures and their differences, similarities, and various perspectives to develop a cohesive diverse community. Conceptualization refers to the ability of a person to analyze the “big picture” and relate it back to the organization’s diversity goals and strategy. Finally, contextualization describes a person’s ability to adapt learned culture to the immediate environment (Arora et al., 2004).

Women often feel a sense of backlash as leaders and are not respected to the same degree as a man in the same position. This feeling could be alleviated by informing those that would be working under her of her previous achievement and building her credibility. I would be open to allowing women under my leadership to come to me for advice or assistance but take care not to overstep, just the same as I would with another man. No special treatment would be given and this common courtesy would be extended to all who are in my organization. It is important that all of my followers feel valued by me because the effect would trickle down to the lower levels, creating a more inclusive environment over time. (8)