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Part One: Gaining Conceptual Clarity on “Diversity”
One point from his book sticks with me, “Action-oriented managers, reluctant to spend time to explore and understand concepts, often go forward without conceptual understanding. Action without conceptual clarity will hamper implementation.” I could definitely resonate with that sentiment just two years later when our HR team was talking about how to move forward with diversity and inclusion initiatives. The action-oriented members of the team just wanted to take action…but what we really needed was more conceptual clarity. We needed to stop and ask ourselves, “What action should we take? Why?”
Thomas points out that “diversity” includes everyone—it’s not something that is defined by race or gender. It extends to age, personal and corporate background, education, function, and personality. It includes lifestyle, sexual preference, geographic origin, tenure, exempt/nonexempt, and management or non-management. Ultimately, according to Thomas, Diversity = Complexity. Therefore, “the compelling case for managing diversity lies in the fact that diversity is a reality—or soon will be”.
In managing diversity, Thomas describes how many organizations position themselves as “a family”. That perspective can lead to a rigid definition of loyalty as childlike obedience and emulation. It can also be more exclusive—if you don’t feel a part of the family—than concepts like team and community.
Part Two: Beyond Traditional Approaches Towards Managing Diversity
Traditionally, the American approach to diversity has been assimilation. You join the organization and you figure out how to “fit in.” That approach works well when the workforce is not very diverse. James Preston, CEO for Avon said, “We were inviting minorities and women to join and blend into our corporate culture. But most people, no matter what their background, don’t want to blend into anything.”
Managing diversity takes a different approach, assuming that adaptation is a two-way street—a mutual process between the individual and the company. Managing diversity asks, “Given the competitive environment and the diverse work force we have, are we getting the highest productivity possible? Does our system work as smoothly as it could? Is morale as high as we would wish?” Thomas points out that managing diversity will take several years to implement.
Part Three: Implications for Leaders
Thomas describes several best practices in diversity management. Here were three that stood out to me. First, many organizations offer “Requirements for Success” courses to all employees—white males as well as blacks, women, Hispanics, and Asian Americans—to help them understand what they have to do to achieve upward mobility.
Second, the Defense Applications Lab of Culberson Industries established these 3 practices to ensure that no viable candidates for promotion are overlooked:
- Set numerical goals for promotions of minorities and women
- Managers meet annually and create a development list of minorities and women with upward mobility potential
- Senior management meets annually and discusses and tracks the progress and experiences of minorities and women
Third, Avon recognized that its management practices were very informal for selection, promotion, and development. Career development discussions were informal and infrequent. Discussions were inadequate to “know where one stands” in terms of career potential. They made adjustments to incorporate more transparent selection processes and development discussions.
Thomas also tackles the difficult question of “how does meritocracy—the presumption that ‘cream will rise to the top’—fit with the concept of diversity?” He points out that his research suggests that merit promotions have these three dimensions:
- Task merit: Demonstrated capability to perform a task effectively
- Cultural merit: Demonstrated capability to conform to the major requirements of the corporation’s basic assumptions or roots
- Political merit: Demonstrated capability to attract the endorsement of someone with sufficient clout to minimize doubt about an individual’s qualifications.
People who are “different” from the selecting official often meet the first condition but not the second or third. All employees—even “self-made” individuals—benefit from political assists. This is the nature of organizational reality.
Moving beyond race & gender toward diversity management is difficult. One manager, confronted with the necessity for cultural change, said, “I like the roots of the company; they work for me.” That is fine, but it misses the point. The issue is whether they work for those who are not like you—whether they allow you as a manager to enable people who are different from yourself to be successful.at about your organization? Does it enable people who are both like you and different from you to be successful? If not, see what changes are needed to help everyone shoot for the stars today!