Ethnocentrism, Cultural Competence, and Inclusive Leadership

Introduction to Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism refers to an individual's tendency to prioritize their race, culture, or ethnic persuasions and to use them as the foundation for their thinking. Northouse (2013, p. 384) contends that everyone harbors some degree of ethnocentrism. Dr. Milton Bennett developed the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity, which describes, across six stages, a continuum of attitudes toward cultural differences. The model aims to move individuals from the ethnocentric positions of denial and minimization toward acceptance, adaptation, and integration. Bennett describes ethnocentrism as a mindset or attitude that presumes one's own worldview is superior and is often oblivious to other possible and existing views.

Ethnorelativism, by contrast, refrains from judging other people on the basis of their culture. It holds that other people's views are equally valid. The three ethnocentric stages that Bennett identifies are denial, defense, and minimization. People experiencing denial do not acknowledge cultural differences; those in defense criticize others; and those in minimization portray cultural differences as trivial.

The Three Ethnocentric Stages

Denial

People in the denial stage ignore the existence of cultural differences. They are ethnocentric because they believe there is a single correct way to live — their own — and that those who behave differently simply do not know better. Such people tend to impose their values on others, believing their values are right and that others are merely confused. They are not threatened by cultural differences because they deny those differences exist in the first place. Most people in denial hold these views as a result of limited contact with people who differ from them; they have simply never encountered compelling reasons to believe that other cultures are equally valid. A key indicator of the denial stage is the belief that one is superior to the local community around them.

Defense

Those in the defense stage are not outright ignorant of the existence of other cultures. Although they acknowledge that other cultures exist, they do not accept their validity. They feel threatened by the fact that there are other ways of thinking, and this threat drives them to assert the superiority of their own culture by denigrating others. They view cultural differences as challenges to be overcome and cling to the dualistic perspective of "us" versus "them." Unlike people in denial, who simply dismiss other cultures, those in defense feel genuinely threatened by competing values. As a result, they tend to surround themselves with people from their own culture and avoid others.

Minimization

Cultural differences also threaten those in the minimization stage, but their response is different: they attempt to minimize those differences by convincing themselves that people are, at bottom, more alike than they are different. They do not view people from other cultures as inferior, misguided, or unfortunate, but they have not yet developed genuine self-awareness about their own cultural positioning. People in the minimization stage do not adjust to changing social and cultural situations because they believe that all humans are fundamentally the same (Bennett, 1993).

Ethnocentrism, Prejudice, and Leadership

Ethnocentrism can distort people's perceptions of places and other cultures, impairing their ability to perceive others accurately. There is a striking similarity between ethnocentrism and prejudice. Prejudice is rooted in a lack of accurate information about others, or in an unfavorable view of other people's cultures. It is often encouraged by a misunderstanding of an idea or by a single interaction with a person from another culture whose behavior was personal and idiosyncratic, yet which the judging party ascribes to an entire community or group. Like ethnocentrism, prejudice affects everyone and must be actively addressed in order for individuals to operate at their best in multicultural settings.

Both of these hurdles can prevent a leader from optimally harnessing the diverse talents available in a multicultural workforce. A leader who is unaware of their own ethnocentric shortcomings will most likely fail to tap into the rich human capital around them. Favoring candidates perceived as aligned with one's own ethnocentric preferences leads to a failure to capitalize on cultural diversity (Ashoka, 2013). Today's leaders must develop a genuinely global view of human capital.

Conclusion

Leaders in today's organizations must contend with increasingly multicultural workforces. To achieve meaningful and sustainable success, they must recognize the critical importance of organizational culture. No leader can fully absorb everything there is to know about cultural competence, but understanding the forces that drive multicultural interactions remains essential. A foundational knowledge of the qualities that make an effective leader — across cultural contexts — supports a holistic and inclusive approach to leadership. Knowing one's own prejudices, biases, and ethnocentric tendencies is critical to becoming a successful multicultural leader (Mercer, 2015).

References

Ashoka. (2013). Why underprivileged employers need to employ the 'unemployable.' Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2013/08/12/why-underprivileged-employers-need-to-employ-the-unemployable/

Bennett, M. (1993). A developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Guérin-Marion, C., Manion, I., & Parsons, H. (2018). Leading an intergenerational workforce: An integrative conceptual framework. International Journal of Public Leadership, 14(1), 48–58.

Mercer, J. (2015). Understanding your own ethnocentrism. Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu/global/2015/01/25/understanding-your-own-ethnocentrism/

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Sugiyama, K., Cavanagh, K. V., van Esch, C., Bilimoria, D., & Brown, C. (2016). Inclusive leadership development: Drawing from pedagogies of women's and general leadership development programs. Journal of Management Education, 40(3), 253–292.