Making a Case for Culturally Humble Leadership Practices through a Culturally Responsive Leadership Framework

Abstract

Fluctuations in cultural and racial demographics of communities require leaders to consider the changing needs and expectations of stakeholders. Combining systems theory, theories of organizational change, and the literature on cultural humility and competence, this paper proposes a culturally responsive leadership framework (CRLF) for public sector and human service leaders to improve organizational outcomes equitably. Central to this framework are three elements: considering the socio-cultural aspects of an organization; creating inclusive environments to help facilitate distributed decision making; and a leader’s willingness to learn from all people to mitigate gaps in service delivery that are inadequate and inequitable.