Our "Crippling" Culture

There have been many instances in which my classmates’ comments have changed my opinion, or view, on leadership. There have been many different experiences, and roles, shared about leadership in class. These stories have opened my eyes to an entirely different side of leadership. However, one conversation that we had in class has seemed to stick with me. We were discussing ethnicity, I believe. Sandeep was sharing his experience in moving to the United States of America from the United Kingdom. He shared that if he had continued to only seek people of his ethnicity as companions, it would be “crippling”. This statement made a lot of sense to me, seeing as how his ethnicity is a minority in our country, our campus, and etc. However, when he made the statement, I reflected upon my own life, and the relationships in my life. Coming from a small town, I had not been exposed to a variety of ethnicities, cultures, or even a variety of people. All of the people I knew from my hometown had basically the same interests, values, and beliefs. Everyone from my hometown loves sports, puts a warning label on large cities, and works in an average town. The doctors, and CEOs, drive the same vehicles, and live in the same homes, as the teachers and factory workers. I have always been drawn to the kind of people that express the same personalities as the people in my hometown for obvious reasons. Coming to Ohio State was quite the culture shock for me. Although, I am not intentionally limiting myself to the middle class, Caucasians on campus, I have noticed that those of the people I have developed relationships with. Sandeep’s comment about “crippling” himself by not exposing himself, or even opening himself, to other cultures would be very difficult for him to find companions. Since the middle class, Caucasians are not a minority, it may be easier for me to surround myself with those sorts of people. Sandeep’s comment made me feel that I have been “crippling” my life by not exposing myself to other groups of people. Although this conversation may not directly affect leadership, I believe that having these experiences with people of other cultures are crucial in a leadership role. I believe that a leader must be willing, and able, to cross the barrier between cultures. The language barrier between two cultures is experienced daily. Many of us would rather avoid the conflict, than struggle with communicating with the people of other cultures. I believe that this kind of attitude is lethal to a leader. A leader must be open, a communicator, and many other things. A leader must not only be open to ideas, and communicate between members, but they must be open to other cultures, and willing to communicate with members of the group that may not be such an easy task.