I’ve seen diversity at work in many different ways, in some it’s worked well and given a group or an organization an advantage and in others I’ve seen it work against a team trying to come together. We know how important diversity is but do we understand how to recognize and utilize it.
There may be plenty of reasons why teams are assembled. They include people with different backgrounds and experience, people who think differently, people who are conservative and others who are crazy and take risks. I worked for someone who made it a point to make sure her team stayed diverse by hiring leaders from different parts of the organization with different skills and people from outside of the business and even different in their leadership approach. Although we were a very diverse group, we didn’t really feel that different and I never realized it until I really began to think about how much we are truly aware of. We knew we were all different but now that I look back on it, I don’t think we fully took advantage of it.
What good is anything if you’re not aware of it? Diversity especially. I’ve been part of a diverse group that recognized it and took advantage of it. Knowing that others offer a different perspective because of their unique experiences changes you. It forces you to ask more questions rather than give more statements. It allows information that might not otherwise be shared to be a contributor to the final decision or result. In one of my previous blogs titled Social Learning; Turning Off Autopilot, I talked about how our brains operate on autopilot and because of this we lack awareness and the ability to search for more information using an example of a puzzle. We operate with a quarter piece of the puzzle and need to collect other pieces to accurately see the picture. In the case of diversity, it’s important to know that different people with different experience and information hold those puzzle pieces. By truly understanding the diversity of a group, you know that you can collect more relevant and important information that could lead you to achieving your goals.
If each person in a group, different from the other possesses a unique strength, the sum of all of those strengths is greater than each individual, if you realize it and share them. But if the group doesn’t know and they don’t share then what is diversity doing for you? In some cases, it may work against you. I’ve seen a leader with passion and focus on the employees hire and team up with a leader who’s passion and focus is on the business and operational structure. You would think that the two of them them could use their strengths to positively impact both areas but we saw the exact opposite. The leader with focus on the operation neglected the employees and engagement went down. Just because diversity exists doesn’t mean that its advantages will automatically take hold. The diversity needs to be recognized.
I created this illustration to help make my point. If each letter represents a different skill that each person brings to the team the lines represent the lack of awareness. What we have here are silos. A silo in business is essentially a symbol for management’s inability to communicate and engage with others.
Now if we were to add awareness and let everyone in the group know what each person diversely brings to the team, this illustration then looks like this. Together in one room with the opportunity to share what they each bring to the table.
So while diversity is important, I believe that it is equally if not more important to be aware of those that are different. Recognize their strengths and what advantages they bring to the group or to the organization. Take time to ask questions, seek information form those that have it. Break down the walls that silo you from others and create a stronger, smarter, more effective team. It starts with being diverse and works with recognizing it.
sjb5292 says
I find your silo approach very interesting. I think it is important to point out the differences between surface-level diversity such as age, sex, and ethnicity versus deep-level diversity such as attitudes, beliefs, and values (Moran, et. al., 2011). The surface-level diversity is easier to spot and the negative effects brought on by group members’ stereotypes will most likely decrease over time (Moran, et. al., 2011). It is the deep-level diversity attributes that are more difficult to overcome. It is then when leaders need to be responsible for educating the group on how to cohesively deal with differences that arise. In this case, a synergistic leader would be necessary for the success of your group.
Reference
Moran, R. T., Harris, P. R., & Moran, S. V. (2011). Managing cultural differences: Leadership skills and strategies for working in a global world. New York: Elsevier.
Ian Elkins says
I think the problem with diversity is what you said, people fail to recognize it or just chose not to realize it. Having diversity on a group can be very beneficial. By bringing in people with different backgrounds or from outside of your company, you can get many different perspectives. The problem though is getting people to want to see other ideas and ways of doing things. People hate change and with diversity it normally means that there is going to be a very good chance of there being change.