Diversity Smarts

I’ll bet you remember eating Smarties™ as a kid.  Maybe you still enjoy them on occasion.  Like, how about when you rob the left over Halloween treats.  Now, I know you’d never think of sneaking a few treats out of your son or daughter’s bag of loot.  Ha!

 

We all have our favourite colour.  Mine is red.  Yours is likely different.  It doesn’t matter the colour.  The real value, and enjoyment, comes from having a mix of colours and a sense of choice.  A single colour would be, well, boring.

 

The same is true in our workplace.  A single approach, perspective, talent mix would not only be boring, but redundant.  A diversity of styles and talent is what makes for a stronger, more creative, productive and profitable team. That’s a good thing because whether you welcome a diverse workforce or not, your stuck with it.  And if you haven’t yet learned to truly value the array of differences in the people around you, I’d say you’d better get yourself into diversity boot camp pretty darn quick.

 

There are several different ways to look at the diversity equation and its impact on you.  Diversity in values, behavioural styles, skill sets, intellect, generational and cultural norms to name only a few.

Did you know that in 2003 there were approximately four million people in Canada – 13.4% of the population – that are visible minorities?  By the end of 2016 that percentage will grow to about 20 percent.

 

With this demographic shift alone, valuing diversity takes on a new challenge.  One that requires us as leaders and managers to take the conversation beyond being mostly an academic, feel-good exercise to a full-blown, inherent component of organizational values.  From a strategy that we dust-off once in a while to something we invest in heavily.  Why?  Because without a complete embracement of the concept, you’ll never be able to fully maximize the talent of your entire staff.

 

Do you understand the current day trends resulting from key generational differences and how those differences are spreading up and throughout your organization?  Do you have a plan in place for embracing and leveraging this change? 

 

What about the impact of behavioural diversity and your team’s ability to communicate effectively?  Have you plotted the differences and conversed openly as a team about how your communication styles work for and against each other? 

 

Or, how about the hierarchy of values and underlying motivators among your direct reports and/or the people with whom you work and influence?  Do you know how to test for these and leverage them into personal and organizational success?

 

If you can’t answer a resounding “yes” to each of these questions, it’s time for a tune-up.  Where do you start?  With your own understanding of course.  And by understanding, I mean knowing your own unique style and expectations and how you impact those to whom you sell products and ideas, inspire and motivate, manage and mentor.  I mean knowing what you need to do to model the way, at any and every level in an organization, or family for that matter.

 

Once your understanding of self and how that jives with other styles and approaches is solid, it’s time to look around you.  How does your overall organization or department fair?  If that isn’t so hot, then a team or organizational event where diversity and differences is the focus will be a worthwhile investment. 

Without question, make sure that you focus your attention on building managerial knowledge and skills.

 

Supervisors must learn to deal with and accommodate the needs and expectations of an increasingly diverse workforce.  Immediate supervisors are now the most important people in the workplace when it comes to increasing commitment and retention.  They provide the day-to-day oxygen that fuels the passions and engages the minds and souls of your highly diverse mix of people on the front line, bringing in the customers and dollars.

 

Coupled with good leadership, here is the payoff.  Better all-round results from better communication patterns.  Higher levels of employee engagement and commitment resulting from people feeling better understood and respected, increased innovation and creativity from more people recognizing and leveraging differences, more productive and effective project teams from having managers better equipped to select a diverse group that adds additional value.  More productivity, profits and retention.  Less turnover, wasted cash, and lost time.  Fewer headaches and more time doing what matters.

 

If you and/or your organization will benefit from any of the foregoing payoffs, let’s talk about optional approaches for kicking things into gear for you. Don’t let your competition beat you to the punch.  Kris or I will be happy to meet with you for a free consultation and we’ll even bring the Smarties™!