I have been lucky enough to have participated in many international experiences that have opened my eyes to understanding social and cultural dynamics. These are experiences that have shaped the way I understand others and practice leadership. The most impactful of these experiences was participating in the first Interamerican Leadership Training (ILT). ILT is a week-long leadership development course with participants from all thirty-four countries in the Western Hemisphere. By working with this course, I learned how, at its core, leadership tries to achieve the same purpose across all cultures, even when the way leadership is perceived, and the way skills are applied may differ due to cultural nuances. Being the course leader for the pilot course meant that I had a lot to learn in a short amount of time to best tailor the program to meet the needs of participants.
The lessons learned at ILT have since helped me to be a leader in other multicultural environments. A few of these circumstances include representing the United States at World Scout Conferences in Slovenia and Azerbaijan, developing a cross-cultural exchange program with scouts from the United Kingdom, and attending a globally diverse school. By working with others from different cultural backgrounds, my view of the world has been broadened. In my coursework, I have been exposed to different ways to understand cultures such as the GLOBE model and Hofstede’s cultural value dimensions. It has been eye-opening to see how these models work in real life while attending international conferences, such as different cultural approaches to time orientation and high-context vs low-context cultures. Through these evets, I have become more aware and learned how to evaluate elements of my own cultural background that I previously took for granted. Most importantly, I have learned that there is value in difference, and, when valued, these differences can make a team stronger. As a leader, it is my responsibility to make sure that all members of the team are valued and that all cultures are appreciated.