Sondra is the leader of a nonprofit organization with about 40 full- and part-time employees. She is

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Question:

Sondra is the leader of a nonprofit organization with about 40 full- and part-time employees. She is proud of her organization and its very dedicated staff. Sondra has been with the organization for 10 years, having worked her way up through the ranks into the director role, a position she finds equally challenging and rewarding. She describes her leadership style as highly collaborative and empowering. Furthermore, Sondra views herself as a leader who values diversity and does all that she can to create an environment in which everyone feels comfortable and supported.

Antonio is a Hispanic male employee who has been with the organization just eight months but shows promise as a highly dedicated employee and future leader. However, he has missed the last three days of work, which seems to have caused some speculation among his coworkers about why he has been absent. While walking past a cubicle in the office building, Sondra overhears two of her direct reports (both white) talking about Antonio. One employee, Terry, says, “I heard that Antonio was undocumented, which wouldn’t surprise me.” The second employee, Pat, responds, saying, “Maybe he’s been deported. Or maybe he just left town for fear that he would be deported.” Surprised by what she overhears, Sondra decides to just keep walking by, as it seems no one noticed her.

However, when she returns to her desk, she lets out a sigh and looks out her window. She feels conflicted about what she should do. On the one hand, she considers doing nothing because Terry and Pat were only speaking to one another. On the other hand, she is concerned that other colleagues may be speculating about Antonio’s absence as well and jumping to false conclusions since Sondra knows that Antonio has not been deported but instead is battling an illness. She decides to take a walk to try and clear her head so that she can decide what to do, if anything.

Questions
1. Why do you think Sondra is conflicted in this situation?
2. Do you believe Sondra has a responsibility, as an inclusive leader, to do something? Why or why not?
3. What inclusive leadership behaviors from the Model of Inclusive Leadership (Figure 12.1) could Sondra use to deal with this situation?
4. Why do you think Terry and Pat jumped to the conclusion that Antonio had been deported? What is your opinion about them discussing this with one another?
5. What do you think Sondra should do if anything?