Overcoming Barriers to Participation in Diverse Strategic Decision-Making Groups: A Leadership Perspective

The authors acknowledge that diversity in institutions continues to be an urgent social, cultural, and national need, and that much is yet to be accomplished before that cause is satisfied. Where diversity has already happened in decision-making and problem-solving groups, there are consequences that require special handling. The paradoxical effect of bringing diversity to otherwise homogeneous groups is that differences, as important as they are, lead to communications difficulties that may actually reduce the likelihood of the advantage of the diverse membership. The paper discusses the challenges of diversity in group settings and proposes a leadership approach to enhancing the strategic advantages that are the purpose of the diverse membership.