Leveraging Diversity

Put simply, diversity is a source of creativity. Without it organisations are going to struggle to innovate and adapt in an increasingly fast-paced and ever-changing world. So says Groysberg and Connolly in the article “Great Leaders Who Make the Mix Work”, HBR, Sept 2013. From interviewing the CEOs of global companies that had a reputation for “inclusiveness” they concluded that advancing diversity was a business imperative (staying competitive) and a moral imperative (value-driven). So how is diversity leveraged within an organisation? The answer lies in moving from “diversity” to “inclusivity”: diversity is about the mix of people; inclusiveness is about making that mix work. Here are the practices which have been the most effective at “harnessing” diversity:

Leveraging Diversity

Of the 24 companies that had most successfully leveraged diversity (measured by employment statistics, leadership attitudes and third-party recognition), the CEOs cited the following 8 practices as the most effective in leveraging diversity:

<1.       <Measure Diversity

What gets measured gets done. This is not just about diversity targets; this is about inclusion sentiment that can usually be measured through employee engagement surveys.

<2.       <Hold Managers Accountable

Not just about numbers, this is about actions. Each manager should be able to demonstrate that they have done something to leverage diversity (e.g. mentoring, training, sponsoring events).

<3.       <Support Flexible Work Arrangements

For both males and females, balancing personal and professional commitments was considered the biggest barrier to diversity. Flexible hours and working-from-home can help break this barrier.

<4.       <Recruit and Promote from Diverse Pools of Talent

Not just at the entry level; promote diversity from within otherwise senior diversity will never change. Extend quota systems to ensure a diverse pool of candidates to choose from for any post.

<5.       <Provide Leadership Education

Not just at senior levels, leaders should be developed at junior levels where there is generally more diversity. Diversity training should be for the “norm-group”; not just for the “diversity”.

<6.       <Sponsor Employee Resource Groups and Mentoring Programs

With a senior business sponsor, resource groups can provide structured professional development opportunities e.g. internal think-tanks and mentoring programs for affiliation groups.

<7.       <Offer Quality Role Models

Diversity at the top promotes diversity throughout the organisation. One thing is the “talk” but it needs to be seen to be “walked” at the very highest levels.

<8.       <Make the Chief Diversity Officer Position Count

A “CDO” position “institutionalizes the process and the intent.” Once formalized, it can be the anchor to develop metrics and subsequent follow-up (see point #1…).

Et alors?

Some leaders remain undecided about the merits of diversity. Ironically, this can be because the diversity is present in the organisation but it is not yet considered to be “delivering”. Leaders would be right to reflect on their own moral imperative for diversity and their particular business imperative relative to their project; however “diversity” cannot be relied on to “deliver” on its own – leaders cannot stand back and ask diversity to “prove” itself since this will set a new standard for measuring diversity i.e. do the “diverse” talent deliver as good as or better than the “majority” or “norm-group” talent? In such a case, not only is diversity not leveraged but this puts a barrier in place since to “prove” themselves, diverse talent would have to assimilate into the “norm-group” culture thereby losing all the benefits of diversity! Diversity should be included so that all talent can deliver to their maximum potential whilst remaining authentic (and not being measured by “norm-group” references). In short, if a leader is open to diversity, there is a chance that it will succeed; if however the leader is sceptical about diversity, the outcome is already known! In the context of the above 8 steps, it all starts with the leaders’ attitudes…