Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Adichie Analysis

  In “Danger of a Single Story”, Chimamanda Adichie says that people should not judge others based on one single story. Believing this, people should remember different stories about each person rather than a single tale, each person having to overcome different situations should be predominant when learning about someone and their needs, because no two people are alike. To understand this way for others, we must go past only experiencing their single story about another area or another culture. To only remember the single story about a given area or society is naive, our individual stories are about our society, people, and even our skin color.

We often think our culture is within countries and ethnic groups when for most of us it is just the normal things our families partake in, the way we think, feel, and act. In my family, we have certain values and expectations that we hold ourselves accountable for. Having these values, for example: loving everyone the same, being true to our word and ourselves, and always doing the right thing, even when no one is watching, helps mold us into the adults and leaders we become. My family and how we live has played an important role in how I grew up and what I have become so far.

Learning about other cultures has never really seemed like something my family cares about doing, I think it would be fun and interesting to learn about how others do things and what they may do differently from us, potentially seeing if there is anything we may want to start trying or learn more about within their specific cultures. Churches help all of us understand the many different types of culture throughout our world, and almost forces us to learn about them, everyone in the church may have a different set of values that they believe in how they are raising their families. Being in a small, close-knit church we know at least 75 % of how the people within raise their families and live out their beliefs, and it has been a beautiful experience learning the different ways about these people that we have such a love and passion for.

As we have learned throughout our book and in the class, among many things, being a leader takes open-mindedness and compassion for everyone. As a leader, if I didn’t take into account each individual’s cultural surroundings and beliefs, I could potentially fail at my role and create an environment that person didn’t want to be in. Seeing the world from a narrow perspective would not help someone become a better leader, if you aren’t open to everyone around you and what they believe, then you aren’t doing your job with the integrity and compassion that leadership demands. Understanding cultural diversity as a leader is incredibly important to make everything run as smoothly and effectively as possible. If you are leading a group of people and you are unable to change how you see the world and understand someone else’s values, it could have a detrimental effect on your leadership abilities and potentially that person if they don’t know how to speak up for themselves.

Making it known to an individual that you respect their values and what they need to be the best person they can, and helping them grow in that the best way you know how most likely has a bigger impact on them than we realize. Utilizing one person’s culture could make whatever group you are leading that much more fun, and could even help add credibility if it is a specific organization relating to them. Having the ability to see the world from an outgoing and optimistic perspective can impact your leadership in many different ways, it will help someone be a stronger, well-rounded leader and can even make them want to dive deeper into other cultures.  

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