Why Your Cultural Identity Makes You a Better Leader
- Daphne, FNDR of Tough Convos
- Oct 17
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Many leadership programs encourage us to adopt a model that often reflects Western norms, such as decisiveness, assertiveness, and individualism, while also asking people from non-Western backgrounds to mute or change what makes them unique. But what if the cultural identity we’ve been told to ‘leave at the door’ is actually our greatest leadership asset?
What if, instead of setting aside our heritage and values, we leaned into them? What if cultural identity weren’t a hurdle but the foundation of stronger leadership? That’s what we're going to explore here and determine if we're onto something grand.
Drawing from Indigenous wisdom, the African diaspora, Caribbean adaptability, Latin American relationship-centred approaches, and more, we’ll show you how culture enhances effective leadership.
Table of Contents:
The Leadership Gap in Traditional Training
Most leadership development programs assume one leader archetype. It tends to be based on Western-centric leadership skills and values: decisive action, linear planning, and direct feedback. Programs often treat culture as something to append, as with ‘diversity training,’ ‘developing cultural sensitivity,’ but rarely as integral.
Leadership training without cultural awareness has real consequences. Leaders who are asked to ‘fit the mould’ often feel compelled to suppress parts of their identity, leading to reduced authenticity, an emotional disconnection with their teams, and, in some cases, burnout. For culturally intelligent leadership programs, ignoring cultural identity means missing out on strengths and different perspectives.
We need leadership learning that allows us to draw from cultural values (from family bonds, ancestral wisdom, community successes), and also to learn from values outside of what is ours. Embracing both gives one flexibility, empathy, and a richer toolkit. That’s part of what cultural intelligence or CQ means: using your culture as a strength, not an obstacle or a blindfold.
Indigenous Wisdom in Modern Leadership
Indigenous leadership traditions offer frames that many modern leaders don’t often see in mainstream programs. One clear example is the Seventh Generation Principle, rooted in Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy: When you make decisions, consider how they affect people seven generations into the future.
What does this mean in practice? It means making decisions that are not just profitable in the short term but sustainable, just, relationship-based, and mindful of community well-being. Many traditional leadership curricula focus on quarterly metrics or shareholder return. Indigenous wisdom asks: What will this decision mean for our children's children?
People today can apply indigenous wisdom in leadership by anchoring strategy in long-term impact, putting community welfare ahead of immediate gains, and measuring success not only by financial metrics but by well-being, belonging, trust, and environmental health.
A modern example of this mindset is Elion Group’s Green Land Plan in China. The company transformed over 6,000 square kilometres of desert in Inner Mongolia into thriving green ecosystems by employing local herders and integrating traditional land stewardship with modern sustainability practices. Instead of measuring success by short-term profits, Elion focused on ecological health, community livelihoods, and long-term resilience—demonstrating that when business strategy aligns with environmental restoration and collective well-being, prosperity naturally follows.
Relationship-first leadership and consensus-based leadership practices put people and future generations ahead of short bursts of profit or immediate gains.
How Your Cultural Background Shapes Your Leadership Style
Your culture already contributes to how you lead, even if you didn’t get any formal training in it. Understanding that gives you awareness and allows you to lead with intention.
Here are a few examples of how leadership styles can be influenced by culture:
African diaspora: communal decision-making
Many African or diaspora cultures emphasize community and collective responsibility. In leadership, this can mean including stakeholders early, listening more broadly, and making sure multiple voices drive a choice.
Caribbean: adaptability and resilience
Caribbean culture tends to value creativity, improvisation, and coping under change (weather, migration, history). Leaders with Caribbean backgrounds often bring flexibility, the ability to adjust quickly, and resilience in times of uncertainty.
Asian: collective harmony
In many Asian contexts, harmony, respect for hierarchy, and indirect feedback are valued. A leader raised in such a culture may prioritize consensus and group cohesion and avoid confrontation. These traits can help with maintaining trust and minimizing conflict when applied wisely.
Latin American: relationship-oriented leadership
Latin American cultures often place a high value on personal relationships, warmth, and relational trust. Leaders with these backgrounds may excel at connecting with people, building loyalty, and bringing emotional intelligence into daily leadership.
Becoming aware of your cultural background helps you see which leadership skills or diverse leadership traits are part of you, not by copied training, but through heritage. That self-awareness is a core component of inclusive leadership: you know your natural strengths and can also see where you may need to adapt or stretch.
Cultural Identity as Leadership Advantage
Your cultural identity is not just who you are. It can become what you lead with. This is where cultural intelligence (CQ) comes in: identifying, integrating, and adapting your identity while engaging other ways of being.
CQ involves a few skills you can build:
Empathy across difference: Because you see the world through your cultural lens, you can also learn to see others’ lenses. What feels like indirect feedback might be polite respect; what feels like lax structure may in another culture be flexibility that sustains relationships.
Adaptability: Using parts of your culture in leadership when they serve, and adapting behaviour when people from other backgrounds need a different style. A direct feedback style might work in some contexts. In others, softer approaches help maintain trust.
Inclusion as action: Choosing practices that draw in diverse voices. For example, in meetings, inviting input from people who are less likely to speak first, creating space for feedback in different formats, and being explicit about communication preferences.
By leaning into cultural identity, you sharpen your ability to connect, to lead in complex global or diverse settings, to build trust. It isn’t about losing identity; it’s about using identity as an advantage.
What This Means for You Now
If you lead a team, manage people, or want to grow in leadership, here’s how to start:
Reflect: Leveraging cultural identity for leadership involves considering which parts of your heritage (e.g., values, habits, or preferences) shape how you lead.
Share: Be open with your team about your leadership style and background. That invites others to do the same and builds more authentic relationships.
Learn from other cultures: In your team or organization, observe how people from different cultural backgrounds lead. Ask questions. Be curious.
Practice adaptability: Test small shifts. If your style is very direct, try a softer approach in some contexts. Or invite feedback in ways that suit different cultural styles.
Link CQ in leadership: As you become more aware, build your cultural intelligence intentionally through courses, coaching, peer feedback, and assessments. That’s what will make the difference between occasional insights and lasting leadership change.
Cultural Identity Is Your Leadership Strength
Leadership programs that ignore cultural identity ask you to trade parts of yourself for conformity. But your heritage, values, and lived experiences are powerful assets and cultural influences on leadership.
When you embrace your identity, you lead with more empathy, adaptability, inclusion, and trust.
If you want tools and strategies to lean into your identity, use it to lead more strongly across difference, and build CQ that actually works. Discover how to leverage your cultural identity with the 2 Stages 2 CQ framework. Ebook launching November 2025.
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