On the Issue of Diversity

To start off with, I need to issue a caveat to this article. I am by no means a writer nor do I claim to be. What I am though, is an avid reader, a people watcher, a person fascinated by team dynamics - what makes for an ‘A’ team and above all a lover of all things leadership, marketing, and advertising related (amongst other things - let’s be real here, I’m a lover of ‘things!’). I by no means profess to know it all, despite what my family might tell you. But I do, on occasion, offer my opinions. Which is exactly what this is.

So, I thought I’d start off by talking to you about diversity. Now I know it seems so cliche that I would write about diversity at the start of what’s termed as Black History month here in America. But no, it’s mere coincidence, really. It might be a timely coincidence but a coincidence, nonetheless.

2020 was a trying year and not just because of what’s happening globally from a health perspective, also, not because of the racial inequalities that were highlighted quite significantly within America and other parts of the world but for me because personally, having left a country, job and people that I loved and moved continents - diversity has meant a lot more than just race - particularly in my quest to find my place in this new world. To be fair as a non-South African living in South Africa – this same issue plagued me there too.

Over the years, but more recently, I’ve had it highlighted to me in so many off the cuff conversations both in my professional & personal spheres. For the purposes of this discussion though, I’m going to speak to diversity in the workplace. It often presents itself as an innocent comment – a blatant blind spot. Well-meaning people, so oblivious of their own lack of understanding, lack of acknowledgment of its importance and the actual meaning.

So, let’s start with defining it, shall we! Diversity is beyond just race. It speaks to ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic, geographic, and even academic/professional backgrounds. It’s a reality created by people from a broad spectrum of demographic and philosophical differences.

Why is it important in team dynamics? Well, crudely put, it’s because we need to check each other’s biases. But for the more scholarly, I’ll put it this way - it makes us better. It champions excellence, creativity & innovation. A 2019 study in Harvard Business Review found that diverse teams are able to solve problems faster than teams of cognitively similar people and as McKinsey & Co put it, more diverse businesses are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability. And a more ethnically, and culturally diverse team results in a 33% increase in performance.

Now I could go on and quote a barrage of stats from BCG, Deloitte, PWC, and others about how it results in higher employee engagement, gives you a better reputation as a business, helps you attract top talent, reduce staff turnover which in turn reduces your recruitment and training costs, et cetera, et cetera, but I won’t.

I said all of that to say this, the bottom line is that as leaders in businesses, if you want to avoid the costly pitfall of conformity, we need to stop hiring people that look like us, talk like us, walk like us and have the same voices & opinions to us. Opening your mind and employee pool will only increase your team’s intellectual potential.

As I continue to navigate these new waters and learn about new cultures and ways of being, my sincerest hope is that I am met with a similar level of acceptance, curiosity, open-mindedness, and bravado. But above all, an understanding that we are richer together in our differences than we are as copies of each other.

#diversity #effectiveleadership #humanresources