About this Qstream
Typically in most hierarchical organizations, anyone above someone on the hierarchy chart is considered to be a leader. Good leaders will listen, promote empathy, and help bridge communication channels to enable all employees to thrive and perform better while also managing conflict. Learn about leading diverse teams with this starter Qstream microlearning course.
Category: Diversity and Inclusion Leadership and Communication
Industry: All Industries
Questions: 14
FREE
Navigate through the Qstream questions below to preview. Each challenge is designed following Qstream’s best practices for maximum knowledge reinforcement and engagement. This Qstream is free for clients to use as a starting point.
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Answer explanation:
There are countless definitions, viewpoints, and levels of leadership. Technically, if you are in a hierarchical organization, and you are above someone on the hierarchy chart, you are a leader. Placement on a hierarchy chart doesn’t mean that you can really lead people from anything other than that power position.
True leadership comes from, as John Maxwell said, “The ability to gain followers.” You can’t be an effective leader if everyone is following you because they fear for their jobs. To acquire followers and to have leadership, there is no need for absolute control, authority, or obedience. This refers to more of a totalitarian or dictatorial approach. True leadership is about setting a vision, goal, and strategy for where you want to go and then helping the people you are leading to make the choices that will help them to accomplish what they need to accomplish.
True leadership is when people are willing to follow you because of how you make them feel. This takes practice and skill.
Answer explanation:
While the words ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ are often interchanged, there are indeed differences between the two.
• Leadership is about strategy, vision, and motivating others.
• Management is about the day-to-day work of getting tasks done and ensuring that deadlines get met.
Some managers are great leaders, but not always. Likewise, some inspirational and motivational leaders are not great managers.
Great teamwork often includes people who can see the vision (leaders) and people who can make sure that the vision comes to fruition (managers).
Answer explanation:
Being a leader does not involve having a specific title or position (i.e., CEO). If you think beyond formal leadership, which is when someone has a title, then anyone can be a leader, because anyone can have people who are willing to follow them.
Being a leader does not require exerting absolute authority or power over others. Someone who is appointed to a role or who is given a specific title may or may not be a great leader. They may simply command from on high, but they don’t actually lead people through vision and belief in their people. These types of leaders rarely have high-performing teams.
Leadership is ultimately about influence. Who can influence others? When seen from this perspective, then it is easy to see how anyone can be a leader. If you think about your organization, probably some of the people with the most influence don’t have an important title but they do have great power and influence.
Answer explanation:
The purpose of having leaders and a hierarchical structure is to ensure that chaos does not break out and that tasks are able to get done. The type of leader entirely depends on different fields and sizes of an organization, but the presence of leaders is required to maintain order in teams and in organizations. It is important to note that the person in a group that has the power may or may not be the person at the top of the hierarchy. Being a leader does not necessarily involve status or seniority.
The role of a leader is very situational and can differ depending on various positions and fields. In certain jobs, like the medical field, first-responders, and the armed services, hierarchy is crucial because there is not much time or room for flexibility. In fact, lives may depend upon a very structured and rigid hierarchy. However, in other jobs, there may not be a need for a rigid hierarchical system, and there is more room for negotiation between leaders and the people they are leading.
Leaders need to understand the culture of their teams and organizations and then lead with what works best for the type of job that needs to get done. In other words, great leaders understand the context of the situation that they are in and adapt their style or their form of hierarchy accordingly.
Answer explanation:
In abstraction, the phrase “servant leadership” could be interpreted in many different ways. In the leadership circles, it is a way of seeing leadership through a non-traditional lens. If traditional leadership is about obtaining a particular rank, using that rank to drive performance, and measuring success through metrics and output, then servant leadership flips these ideas around.
Servant leadership represents success through a leader who serves the needs of those they lead, while they cultivate and develop those teams. They seek to achieve results through encouraging diversity of thought, driving engagement, and listening. They have an unselfish mindset and believe that leadership is not about them, but instead about the team that they are leading.
One way that you can be a servant to your team as a leader is to be accountable. If you say you are going to do something, make sure that you do it. If others say they will then hold them accountable as well. Don’t take this too far (no stopwatches when deadlines are coming up), but holding yourself and others accountable shows that you respect your team enough to keep your word, and it also helps to build trust.
Answer explanation:
Both mission and vision are necessary to have a successful team. However, they are not synonymous and should not be used interchangeably. A mission is often referred to as a mission statement. It is a concise and well-articulated outline of goals and the values for which a company stands. It is a statement that answers the question, "Why do we exist?" It serves to clarify what needs to be done and why.
A vision is less concrete than a mission and is representative of where the team is trying to go. It challenges people to help achieve a future state. It is about what the team or organization will become in the future.
The purpose of both a mission and vision is to help outline for people in a company or team to know and achieve their goals. Using both as a leader helps you to lead your team with both a vision of where they need to be and a mission on how to get there.
Answer explanation:
Part of the role of a leader is to be able to resolve conflict and have difficult conversations when they are needed.
In this scenario, it’s a good idea for the leader to hold a meeting in which both team members can state their points of view to reach a resolution. This also gives the leader a chance to provide additional insight or guidance to both team members about how they might work better together and achieve positive results for the team.
Doing nothing would fail to fulfill the role of a leader. While reassigning them to separate teams would be an unwise decision as the same issues could arise if they have to team on another project in the future. Avoiding the problem, while easier in the short term, can lead to long-term issues if not addressed.
Sending them to training is a good option, but it would be the second step in a situation like this. It would be done after a meeting, if felt needed, in order to reinforce what was discussed and as an effort to avoid future conflicts.
Answer explanation:
Learning to work effectively with peers is crucial to being a leader. It also enables a leader to be more effective in their role if they can work closely with leaders in other positions. When working with others, it is important to understand the other person’s perspective. It is easy to forget that people do not view the world and certain situations the same way that you do.
In this case, both Jeff and Luna should take time to share their perspectives with each other – how to stay on budget and how to keep the creative integrity of the project. While involving a third party might help bring perspective, if Luna and Jeff are both open to listening to each other’s ideas, then they shouldn’t need someone else to mediate.
Answer explanation:
While it may be natural to think that what most people want is more time off or to avoid being bored at work, what drives employee engagement the most is feeling like they are important, that their voices are valued and heard and that they are part of something greater than themselves. Being responsive to ideas and challenges shows team members that you think they are important and that once you make a commitment to them, you can be counted on to make it happen.
Examples of open-ended questions that can help increase engagement:
• What are considerations for this work we haven’t discussed?
• Who has an off-the-wall idea that we should explore?
• How can I help you/the team be more successful?
Answer explanation:
There should never be an assumption that just because someone has worked in a similar job or at a branch of the company oversees that they can transition without any help or support.
In addition to adjusting to a new workplace, Rena will also be making huge adjustments to her life outside of the office. This can be tiring and overwhelming at times and offering ideas for resources that can help her adjust will ultimately make it easier for her to do her job.
As a leader, it is crucial to make sure everyone feels comfortable and supported in the workplace. Having an understanding of cultural differences and how they impact interactions is considered an essential leadership skill in today’s global and ever-changing workplace. It is also important to share this awareness with Rena’s colleagues so they can also help her to adapt and to feel comfortable as an important member of the team.
Answer explanation:
Active listening is an important skill to have as a leader. Your interest in the people on your team is often communicated most by your small actions, like paying attention when they share personal information like Luis did.
If you focus on workload deliverables or how much of your time they’re taking up, you are communicating to Luis that he is not important. Neither of these will help you to build trust and rapport with Luis.
As a leader, it is important to be empathetic and responsive to those around you. However, this does not mean you have to comply with everyone’s demands. It is up to you to decide what the balance is between supporting employees during critical times in their lives and getting the work done. At times like this, supporting employees may require some creativity and flexibility. This helps to create a workplace that engages employees, as they feel that they are important.
Answer explanation:
When we call out all people for one behavior or attribute, that is stereotyping. In this case – thinking that all the French are lazy is a stereotype. Presuming that people from graduates from Harvard are better than others is stereotyping about education. While some may think that the comment about Yu Yuan being good at math (inferring as she is Chinese that she would naturally be good at math) is positive, it still contains the stereotype that all Chinese people are good at math.
It is important to identify when bias and stereotyping are occurring because they can negatively affect the entire workplace and many decisions being made. Bias can come in many forms. It can surface in decision-making like hiring someone just because they went to your same school or come from your same town.
“Good” stereotypes do not exist so they should never be used as an excuse. Inevitably, not everyone who identifies as a part of that group will be good at that thing, and so it is still causing harm and exclusion. In addition, you should always treat people as individuals and never reduce their identity to a larger group they may or may not be a part of.
Answer explanation:
Unconscious bias is a factor that you need to consider. If there is a diverse pool of candidates that are applying to positions, yet none of them are getting hired, then you need to ask what is happening in the hiring process. Are they not getting interviews? Are they not getting job offers? Are they not accepting the jobs? Depending upon the answer you find, this will impact how you work to address this issue.
"Culture fit" is a phrase that is often used to cover up biases, stereotypes, and excuses to not hire people who are different than what has been there before. When someone says that people weren’t a good ‘culture fit,’ asking them why often results in uncomfortable silence. When this happens, it is because they don’t want to say that they don’t want to hire someone because they have an accent, are older than 30, didn’t go to their school, etc.
Instead of ‘culture fit’, ask your hiring managers to look for a ‘culture add’. What is something that a candidate can add to a team that they didn’t have before? How can a new team member help to position the team for success in the future? This may require a very different skill set than what got your organization to where it is today. Given the evolving workforce demographics, the “culture add” approach is a benefit to the organization.
Answer explanation:
As important as it is to have a diverse team, it is just as crucial to create and maintain a sense of community and belonging for everyone. This is not the same thing as making everyone happy; it is working so that everyone feels heard and valued at work.
Being proactive with team members is a sign of quality leadership. Looking for ways to support people before challenges arise shows team members that you are paying attention and that you are thinking about them.
Diversity courses can be great foundational awareness and skill-building exercises, but generic courses can have limited impact and effectiveness. Augmenting a training program with team discussions on building an inclusive team culture, understanding what makes people feel respected, and other activities and discussions will help to build upon ideas presented in a diversity training so that it becomes practical and sustainable.
While it may seem that treating people equally is a good idea, in fact, you want to treat people equitably. Creating equitable opportunities for everyone is not the same as equal opportunities.
Answer explanation:
There are countless definitions, viewpoints, and levels of leadership. Technically, if you are in a hierarchical organization, and you are above someone on the hierarchy chart, you are a leader. Placement on a hierarchy chart doesn’t mean that you can really lead people from anything other than that power position.
True leadership comes from, as John Maxwell said, “The ability to gain followers.” You can’t be an effective leader if everyone is following you because they fear for their jobs. To acquire followers and to have leadership, there is no need for absolute control, authority, or obedience. This refers to more of a totalitarian or dictatorial approach. True leadership is about setting a vision, goal, and strategy for where you want to go and then helping the people you are leading to make the choices that will help them to accomplish what they need to accomplish.
True leadership is when people are willing to follow you because of how you make them feel. This takes practice and skill.
Answer explanation:
While the words ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ are often interchanged, there are indeed differences between the two.
• Leadership is about strategy, vision, and motivating others.
• Management is about the day-to-day work of getting tasks done and ensuring that deadlines get met.
Some managers are great leaders, but not always. Likewise, some inspirational and motivational leaders are not great managers.
Great teamwork often includes people who can see the vision (leaders) and people who can make sure that the vision comes to fruition (managers).
Answer explanation:
Being a leader does not involve having a specific title or position (i.e., CEO). If you think beyond formal leadership, which is when someone has a title, then anyone can be a leader, because anyone can have people who are willing to follow them.
Being a leader does not require exerting absolute authority or power over others. Someone who is appointed to a role or who is given a specific title may or may not be a great leader. They may simply command from on high, but they don’t actually lead people through vision and belief in their people. These types of leaders rarely have high-performing teams.
Leadership is ultimately about influence. Who can influence others? When seen from this perspective, then it is easy to see how anyone can be a leader. If you think about your organization, probably some of the people with the most influence don’t have an important title but they do have great power and influence.
Answer explanation:
The purpose of having leaders and a hierarchical structure is to ensure that chaos does not break out and that tasks are able to get done. The type of leader entirely depends on different fields and sizes of an organization, but the presence of leaders is required to maintain order in teams and in organizations. It is important to note that the person in a group that has the power may or may not be the person at the top of the hierarchy. Being a leader does not necessarily involve status or seniority.
The role of a leader is very situational and can differ depending on various positions and fields. In certain jobs, like the medical field, first-responders, and the armed services, hierarchy is crucial because there is not much time or room for flexibility. In fact, lives may depend upon a very structured and rigid hierarchy. However, in other jobs, there may not be a need for a rigid hierarchical system, and there is more room for negotiation between leaders and the people they are leading.
Leaders need to understand the culture of their teams and organizations and then lead with what works best for the type of job that needs to get done. In other words, great leaders understand the context of the situation that they are in and adapt their style or their form of hierarchy accordingly.
Answer explanation:
In abstraction, the phrase “servant leadership” could be interpreted in many different ways. In the leadership circles, it is a way of seeing leadership through a non-traditional lens. If traditional leadership is about obtaining a particular rank, using that rank to drive performance, and measuring success through metrics and output, then servant leadership flips these ideas around.
Servant leadership represents success through a leader who serves the needs of those they lead, while they cultivate and develop those teams. They seek to achieve results through encouraging diversity of thought, driving engagement, and listening. They have an unselfish mindset and believe that leadership is not about them, but instead about the team that they are leading.
One way that you can be a servant to your team as a leader is to be accountable. If you say you are going to do something, make sure that you do it. If others say they will then hold them accountable as well. Don’t take this too far (no stopwatches when deadlines are coming up), but holding yourself and others accountable shows that you respect your team enough to keep your word, and it also helps to build trust.
Answer explanation:
Both mission and vision are necessary to have a successful team. However, they are not synonymous and should not be used interchangeably. A mission is often referred to as a mission statement. It is a concise and well-articulated outline of goals and the values for which a company stands. It is a statement that answers the question, "Why do we exist?" It serves to clarify what needs to be done and why.
A vision is less concrete than a mission and is representative of where the team is trying to go. It challenges people to help achieve a future state. It is about what the team or organization will become in the future.
The purpose of both a mission and vision is to help outline for people in a company or team to know and achieve their goals. Using both as a leader helps you to lead your team with both a vision of where they need to be and a mission on how to get there.
Answer explanation:
Part of the role of a leader is to be able to resolve conflict and have difficult conversations when they are needed.
In this scenario, it’s a good idea for the leader to hold a meeting in which both team members can state their points of view to reach a resolution. This also gives the leader a chance to provide additional insight or guidance to both team members about how they might work better together and achieve positive results for the team.
Doing nothing would fail to fulfill the role of a leader. While reassigning them to separate teams would be an unwise decision as the same issues could arise if they have to team on another project in the future. Avoiding the problem, while easier in the short term, can lead to long-term issues if not addressed.
Sending them to training is a good option, but it would be the second step in a situation like this. It would be done after a meeting, if felt needed, in order to reinforce what was discussed and as an effort to avoid future conflicts.
Answer explanation:
Learning to work effectively with peers is crucial to being a leader. It also enables a leader to be more effective in their role if they can work closely with leaders in other positions. When working with others, it is important to understand the other person’s perspective. It is easy to forget that people do not view the world and certain situations the same way that you do.
In this case, both Jeff and Luna should take time to share their perspectives with each other – how to stay on budget and how to keep the creative integrity of the project. While involving a third party might help bring perspective, if Luna and Jeff are both open to listening to each other’s ideas, then they shouldn’t need someone else to mediate.
Answer explanation:
While it may be natural to think that what most people want is more time off or to avoid being bored at work, what drives employee engagement the most is feeling like they are important, that their voices are valued and heard and that they are part of something greater than themselves. Being responsive to ideas and challenges shows team members that you think they are important and that once you make a commitment to them, you can be counted on to make it happen.
Examples of open-ended questions that can help increase engagement:
• What are considerations for this work we haven’t discussed?
• Who has an off-the-wall idea that we should explore?
• How can I help you/the team be more successful?
Answer explanation:
There should never be an assumption that just because someone has worked in a similar job or at a branch of the company oversees that they can transition without any help or support.
In addition to adjusting to a new workplace, Rena will also be making huge adjustments to her life outside of the office. This can be tiring and overwhelming at times and offering ideas for resources that can help her adjust will ultimately make it easier for her to do her job.
As a leader, it is crucial to make sure everyone feels comfortable and supported in the workplace. Having an understanding of cultural differences and how they impact interactions is considered an essential leadership skill in today’s global and ever-changing workplace. It is also important to share this awareness with Rena’s colleagues so they can also help her to adapt and to feel comfortable as an important member of the team.
Answer explanation:
Active listening is an important skill to have as a leader. Your interest in the people on your team is often communicated most by your small actions, like paying attention when they share personal information like Luis did.
If you focus on workload deliverables or how much of your time they’re taking up, you are communicating to Luis that he is not important. Neither of these will help you to build trust and rapport with Luis.
As a leader, it is important to be empathetic and responsive to those around you. However, this does not mean you have to comply with everyone’s demands. It is up to you to decide what the balance is between supporting employees during critical times in their lives and getting the work done. At times like this, supporting employees may require some creativity and flexibility. This helps to create a workplace that engages employees, as they feel that they are important.
Answer explanation:
When we call out all people for one behavior or attribute, that is stereotyping. In this case – thinking that all the French are lazy is a stereotype. Presuming that people from graduates from Harvard are better than others is stereotyping about education. While some may think that the comment about Yu Yuan being good at math (inferring as she is Chinese that she would naturally be good at math) is positive, it still contains the stereotype that all Chinese people are good at math.
It is important to identify when bias and stereotyping are occurring because they can negatively affect the entire workplace and many decisions being made. Bias can come in many forms. It can surface in decision-making like hiring someone just because they went to your same school or come from your same town.
“Good” stereotypes do not exist so they should never be used as an excuse. Inevitably, not everyone who identifies as a part of that group will be good at that thing, and so it is still causing harm and exclusion. In addition, you should always treat people as individuals and never reduce their identity to a larger group they may or may not be a part of.
Answer explanation:
Unconscious bias is a factor that you need to consider. If there is a diverse pool of candidates that are applying to positions, yet none of them are getting hired, then you need to ask what is happening in the hiring process. Are they not getting interviews? Are they not getting job offers? Are they not accepting the jobs? Depending upon the answer you find, this will impact how you work to address this issue.
"Culture fit" is a phrase that is often used to cover up biases, stereotypes, and excuses to not hire people who are different than what has been there before. When someone says that people weren’t a good ‘culture fit,’ asking them why often results in uncomfortable silence. When this happens, it is because they don’t want to say that they don’t want to hire someone because they have an accent, are older than 30, didn’t go to their school, etc.
Instead of ‘culture fit’, ask your hiring managers to look for a ‘culture add’. What is something that a candidate can add to a team that they didn’t have before? How can a new team member help to position the team for success in the future? This may require a very different skill set than what got your organization to where it is today. Given the evolving workforce demographics, the “culture add” approach is a benefit to the organization.
Answer explanation:
As important as it is to have a diverse team, it is just as crucial to create and maintain a sense of community and belonging for everyone. This is not the same thing as making everyone happy; it is working so that everyone feels heard and valued at work.
Being proactive with team members is a sign of quality leadership. Looking for ways to support people before challenges arise shows team members that you are paying attention and that you are thinking about them.
Diversity courses can be great foundational awareness and skill-building exercises, but generic courses can have limited impact and effectiveness. Augmenting a training program with team discussions on building an inclusive team culture, understanding what makes people feel respected, and other activities and discussions will help to build upon ideas presented in a diversity training so that it becomes practical and sustainable.
While it may seem that treating people equally is a good idea, in fact, you want to treat people equitably. Creating equitable opportunities for everyone is not the same as equal opportunities.
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