I have been reflecting on what inclusive leadership means to me.  My leadership philosophy is based on creating an environment to support a lifelong learning circle of planning, action, reflection and learning, my I hope is I am helping to create an environment for an engaged, positive workforce, who continually ask questions and learn.

I think my leadership philosophy is firmly rooted in my generation and the privilege of the experiences I have had in my life.  Let me tell you a bit about my experiences. I am 29 years old, which means I am a Generation Y or Net Gen (Tapscott, 2009).  I went to elementary school in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a port city, Halifax has a large immigrant population. Additionally, the elementary school I attended happened to have a program for students with disabilities. So students with disabilities were bussed from all over Halifax to attend our elementary school. They had a resource program where each student had a teacher’s assistant assigned to them. The model at that time was the students with disabilities were placed in classrooms with students their own age. For certain course work they left and did their own separate classes, but all students were generally involved in class group. The high school I attended was in Bedford, Nova Scotia and again had cultures from all over the world represented.
Hill Collins (2009) stated:
Schools do more than teach. They control access to jobs, sort people into groups, attempt to control what we think and say, attach privilege to some and not to others, and via these activities, perpetuate inequalities or, on the other had foster fairness (p. 4).

I have had experiences that foster fairness. I have learned that no matter your age, race, gender, religion, physical or mental ability you should be included in the world. Hill Collins (2009) speaks about people treating her as invisible unless she was sufficiently “whitened”. I have never experienced nor practiced this. Although, I am aware that someone is of a certain race, it does not register as anything more than the color of their hair does.
I have never applied for a job where I did not receive because I was a woman. My pay is equal to my male peers. The only prejudice I have encountered has to do with my age.  I am perceived as too young to have had enough experience to have a certain level of knowledge, which I certainly can agree with.

We can never teach in ways that do not involve hidden lessons especially hidden lessons that reflect the oppressive norms of society (Kumashiro, 2009). What I learn everyday is that racism still exists and I am shocked. My ancestry is Aboriginal, but when people see me, they see a “white” woman. Many people assume I am a white woman and say racist remarks around me.   Although this hurts, all I can do is control my own actions and ensure I am living and acting in a respectful way.

Kumashiro (2009) points out the cycle that anti-oppressive teaching can be; the same can be said for leadership. At what point do you stop questioning - is my leadership oppressing or including someone? The question I ask myself instead is - am I being respectful in my actions? If I can answer yes, then I am working towards inclusive leadership. I am not sure I will ever attain it, but I certainly know I am striving to be a good leader.
After reading Hill Collins (2009) and Kumashiro (2009) I am aware that the government can have an effect on schooling and perpetuating oppressive behaviour in society. How can I, as a manger for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, demonstrate an inclusive democracy to help improve schools in our region? I want to ensure that children in my community have the opportunity to experience fairness.

Currently the Municipality is going through what our Chief Administrative Officer has said called “Beginning with the End in Mind: A Cultural Transformation”. The senior leaders want to change our “culture” to open and transparent organization “successful in all that we do”. Although we have a young female mayor, our senior administrative leaders are predominantly white males. The Transformational Steering Committee is made up of 8 people. With everyone a generation X or older; 1 “visible” minority and 2 females. When I look at the group I manage there are 14 people with the following demographics: Generation Y to Baby Boomer; Countries of Birth including, Canada, Jamaica, Pakistan, India, China, and Russia; 5 females and 9 males. I wonder how my employees perceive this committee.

I personally think the committee is confused about what they are trying to transform. I think they actually want to change the climate.  Based on Bishop’s (2010) discussion, I think that the climate of an organization is the “feeling” of the organization, whereas culture is the underlying beliefs of the organization.  Currently the leaders are seeking to engage and communicate with the organization without giving credit to the cultures that exist in departments. For example the Fire Hall is a very militant culture and Information and Communication Technology is very casual.

The values of the RMWB are powerful and inclusive: Deliver Best Value; Empower Our People; Engage Our Citizens; Champion Innovation; Collaborate Effectively. The Transformation Steering committee wants to promote a climate that allows for these values to be lived every day. An inclusive climate based on these values will impact the citizens of the Municipality in the way we deliver citizen centric service. The way in which every employee behaves should inspire citizens to want to live and invest in our community. Hopefully this will reflect in higher voter turn out and more community centric citizens.  I can help work towards an inclusive culture by inspiring people to achieve a goal. I can remove barriers so that those same people can achieve a goal. I can encourage people to be a team. My individual behaviours have the opportunity to effect a citizens perception of fairness in their local democracy.

Bishop, P. (2010). School Culture [elluminate recording]. Retrieved from Blackboard course site: https://blackboard.ucalgary.ca .

Hill Collins, P. (2009). Another kind of public education: Race, schools, the media, and democratic possibilities. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Kumashiro, K. (2009). Against common sense: Teaching and learning toward social justice. (2nd ed). New York, NY: Routledge Falmer.

Tapscott, D. (2009). Grown up digital: How the net generation is changing your world. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.