Addressing the Diversity Gap in Leadership

Health care organizations face many unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Diversity is a major challenge that continues to overwhelm management teams. This challenge is noticeable in top leadership roles in health care where a lack of diversity exists in the areas of gender, ethnicity, and race. There is a documented need for diverse leadership teams with transformational leadership skills to successfully lead organizations. Remediation of this gap is critical to the advancement of health care delivery and systems. Senior management must consider the deficiency and develop a strategic process to invoke change.
Suppose you are the executive director of the hypothetical organization Better Health Today, LLC. The board of directors has informed you that the organization has missed out on major federal funding opportunities over the past three to five years. The grant reviewer’s feedback describes the organization’s lack of diversity and community support to promote social change. The board of directors has asked you to review the issues noted in the reviewer’s feedback and provide recommendations to improve the reputation of the company.

Instructions:
Write a 5–6 page paper in which you:
Based on your knowledge of leadership theory, specify two key competencies needed to improve community relations. Provide support for your rationale.
Examine the impact that the lack of diversity has on the community meeting national public health initiatives. Analyze two of the major challenges the organization faces in improving diversity.
As a senior level manager, compose at least two strategies designed to minimize the impact that lack of diversity may have on the organization. Recommend one approach for implementing each suggested strategy. Provide support for your recommendations.
Design the key resources and main communication efforts required to implement the minimizing strategies that you suggested. Justify your position.