LEVERAGE DIVERSITY
WHY IT MATTERS
There is safety in having a wide diversity of people, thoughts, and approaches. Diversity creates clarity. The more diverse an organization is the more likely they are to uncover every issue, see every angle, perceive both sides of every story, make the right decisions, and take the right actions. Leaders that leverage diversity by surrounding themselves with people who have differences in their thinking, experience, personality, background, and expertise provide the organization with the security it needs to step confidently into the future without getting trapped by its own ignorance. Leaders that fail to leverage diversity put their organization at risk of being overpowered and overcome by its own uniformity.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that leverage diversity respect people’s differences. They believe there are advantages that come from harnessing differences to work towards a united good. They see diversity as more than just a nebulous organizational ideal. They know that creating and leveraging a diversified workforce doesn’t just happen by itself. They plan, think, and take concrete steps to create the level of diversity in their workplace their organization demands.
Leaders that leverage diversity staff their organization with people from different backgrounds, experiences, and walks of life. They implement diversity through employee branding, recruiting, and hiring strategies. They know they will benefit by having people as unique and varied as the challenges their organization is sure to face. They find safety in the breadth of their employee’s cultures, education, background, experience, age, nationality, gender, and education.
Leaders that leverage diversity want to hear from people who think differently than they do. They take their problems and ideas to all corners of the organization to hear other’s perspectives and harvest their insights. They know the nuggets of understanding they need to make good decisions are likely to come from the most unlikely origins.
Leaders that leverage diversity purposefully form diversified teams. They study the work that has to be done, identify the array of skills and experiences that are needed to do the job right, learn the strengths and individuality of their people, and place them into strategic working groups.
Leaders that leverage diversity know not everyone will immediately recognize the value of diversity in the workplace. They ensure regular instruction and conversation is had with employees regarding the value of individual differences. They provide coaching for how to thrive because of differences, not in spite of them. They feel it is their responsibility to create a culture that seeks understanding, open-mindedness, acceptance, and appreciation for dissimilarities.
Leaders that leverage diversity act with immediacy to put an end to prejudice or intolerance towards others in any form. They ensure it is understood that ethnicity, gender, age, or any other form of bias, discrimination, or prejudice will lead to immediate disciplinary action. They sever employment ties with individuals who show intolerance for others.
BELIEFS
SELF-REFLECTION
There is safety in having a wide diversity of people, thoughts, and approaches. Diversity creates clarity. The more diverse an organization is the more likely they are to uncover every issue, see every angle, perceive both sides of every story, make the right decisions, and take the right actions. Leaders that leverage diversity by surrounding themselves with people who have differences in their thinking, experience, personality, background, and expertise provide the organization with the security it needs to step confidently into the future without getting trapped by its own ignorance. Leaders that fail to leverage diversity put their organization at risk of being overpowered and overcome by its own uniformity.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that leverage diversity respect people’s differences. They believe there are advantages that come from harnessing differences to work towards a united good. They see diversity as more than just a nebulous organizational ideal. They know that creating and leveraging a diversified workforce doesn’t just happen by itself. They plan, think, and take concrete steps to create the level of diversity in their workplace their organization demands.
Leaders that leverage diversity staff their organization with people from different backgrounds, experiences, and walks of life. They implement diversity through employee branding, recruiting, and hiring strategies. They know they will benefit by having people as unique and varied as the challenges their organization is sure to face. They find safety in the breadth of their employee’s cultures, education, background, experience, age, nationality, gender, and education.
Leaders that leverage diversity want to hear from people who think differently than they do. They take their problems and ideas to all corners of the organization to hear other’s perspectives and harvest their insights. They know the nuggets of understanding they need to make good decisions are likely to come from the most unlikely origins.
Leaders that leverage diversity purposefully form diversified teams. They study the work that has to be done, identify the array of skills and experiences that are needed to do the job right, learn the strengths and individuality of their people, and place them into strategic working groups.
Leaders that leverage diversity know not everyone will immediately recognize the value of diversity in the workplace. They ensure regular instruction and conversation is had with employees regarding the value of individual differences. They provide coaching for how to thrive because of differences, not in spite of them. They feel it is their responsibility to create a culture that seeks understanding, open-mindedness, acceptance, and appreciation for dissimilarities.
Leaders that leverage diversity act with immediacy to put an end to prejudice or intolerance towards others in any form. They ensure it is understood that ethnicity, gender, age, or any other form of bias, discrimination, or prejudice will lead to immediate disciplinary action. They sever employment ties with individuals who show intolerance for others.
BELIEFS
- Diversity is a strategy that brings real results as it allows people to push, grow, and benefit from their differences.
- If everyone thinks and acts the same then who can you ever trust to say you are doing something wrong?
- With an array of differences among people comes the ability to leverage those differences to see reality more clearly.
- If you can match the right diversified team of people to the right work the limit of what they can achieve is endless.
- The world is naturally diverse, and if your organization is not you will ultimately lose touch with the world around you.
- It is the work of a leader to ensure everyone is treated with equality, acceptance, and tolerance.
- You have to create diversity. It does not naturally create itself. You need to target efforts at creating a diversified workforce.
- Never make a decision without asking people who are different than you what you are missing.
- Seek for different points of view.
- Create a feeling of inclusion at work.
- Hold managers accountable for diversity.
- Do not show unfair advantage to anyone.
- Interact with people from all races and cultures.
- Choose the safety that comes with diversity.
- Protect the workplace from discrimination.
- Be fair and equitable in the treatment of people.
- Create a culture that embraces diversity.
- Do not discriminate in the hiring process.
- Fosters acceptance for people’s differences.
- Teach others to prize individual differences.
- Hire people from various backgrounds.
- Build a workforce more different than alike.
- Seek after diverse perspectives.
- Identify what makes people distinctly unique.
- Leverage people’s individuality.
- Put diversified teams together like a puzzle.
- Help people take advantage of differences.
- Bring together people of different backgrounds.
- Set the example of being accepting of all.
- Terminate people who discriminate in any way.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I have respect for the differences that exist between people, or do people’s differences make me uncomfortable?
- Do I believe diversity invites strength and safety, or do I believe diversity invites risk and complexity?
- Do I purposefully work to create a culture that values diversity, or do I leave diversity to chance?
- Do I create a workplace that is enticing to a diversified workforce, or does my workplace dissuade diversity?
- Do I surround myself with people different than me, or does everyone think and act like me?
- Do I purposefully design teams to be as diverse as possible, or do I allow teams to be unbalanced?
- Do I teach other people how to benefit from each other’s differences, or do I fail to give them proper training?
- Do I move quickly to eliminate intolerance or discrimination as soon as it appears, or do I accept and tolerate it?
- Don’t start to inadvertently practice reverse discrimination against those of the predominate cultural where you live.
- Don’t assume people embrace diversity as much as you do and fail to give them the needed support and training.
- Don’t focus so much on the topic of diversity you potentially draw too much unwanted attention to the minority.
- I go out of my way to hire people that are different from our current team members.
- I go out of my way to meet people who aren’t like me.
- Learning about other cultures is an important business practice.
- I never have a mental picture of the kind of person I want to hire for a specific position.
- I can easily lead a group of diverse people.