Do You Have Diverse Leaders?

If you’re not already practicing diversity leadership, it’s not too late to start.

Why Every Organization Should Practice Diversity Leadership

“In one of our concert grand pianos, 243 taut strings exert a pull of 40,000 pounds on an iron frame. It is proof that out of great tension may come great harmony.”
-Theodore Steinway

My kids look forward to sleepaway camp all year. It’s the one time of year when they aren’t reminded to pick up their room, unload the dishwasher, or complete whatever chore I’ve asked them to do. What they don’t know is that being away from home also builds character. It teaches them resilience and self-confidence, where they can celebrate their own victories as well as learn to self-soothe when something goes wrong.
A few years ago, they had the opportunity to build their character while struggling to recognize and accept a returning camper. You see, this camper had recently come out as a boy. With transgender issues coming into the public discourse, it’s important to acknowledge that our children are growing up in a different world from the one we experienced—one that requires us to be attuned to differences, especially in the workplace.
Our workforce in the United States is transforming demographically. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, from 1980 to 2020:

  • The white working-age population is projected to decline from 82% to 63%.
  • The minority portion of the workforce is projected to double (from 18% to 37%).
  • The Hispanic/Latino portion is projected to almost triple (from 6% to 17%).

Furthermore, the exodus of Baby Boomers continues as Millennials and Gen Xers represent the growing majority of the workforce, and Gen Z is entering the workplace for the first time.
Being an effective leader for increasingly diverse organizations is no longer sufficient. Rather, we must engage in diversity leadership, embracing and harnessing everyone’s differences. Diversity leadership directly impacts the bottom line and is good for business. It’s the tool that enables organizations to capitalize on the strengths of each employee.
Want to start practicing diversity leadership to benefit your organization? Here are three tips to guide your efforts.

Recognize your own biases.

We all have biases that are deeply ingrained from the time we are born. These early beliefs shape our perceptions about how we view situations and respond to them. As leaders, it is important that we’re aware of our biases, so we’re able to promote the creativity and morale of our team members. Leaders who are not tuned in to their own biases risk loss productivity, low morale and confidence, wasted time, and sometimes even discrimination lawsuits.

Focus on flexibility.

Being an effective diversity leader means adjusting your communication style to those who are different from you. We tend to relate better to people who share similar backgrounds, expectations, values, and perspectives. Learning how to consider and understand a different point of view is a learned behavior, but the studies show that it’s well worth it. When you have a meaningful relationship with another person, you work more effectively together. You have a common goal and a consistent purpose. Your efforts are channeled toward the same common outcome. You trust each other.

Exercise moral courage.

Many of us tend to avoid confrontations. The reality is, conflict is a normal, natural, and inevitable part of maintaining relationships with others. Many people don’t really accept this fact and can feel surprised (or distressed) when conflict emerges. Yet, authentic communication can actually turn tension into creativity and harmony. So don’t be afraid to foster dialogue when you feel tension. Learn to appreciate the complexity of the perceptions and intentions involved, the reality of joint contribution to the problem, the central role that feelings play, and what the issues mean to each person’s self-esteem and identity.
Our world will continue to become more diverse, so how will you effectively lead? How will you embrace differences to maximize creativity, morale, and overall performance? A great start to becoming an effective diversity leader is to recognize your biases, be flexible, and exercise moral courage.

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<strong><a href="https://tier1performance.com/author/e-margol/" target="_self">Elise Greene Margol</a></strong>

Elise Greene Margol

Elise Greene Margol is a Principal in the Atlanta office. She is a passionate problem solver with a proven track record of helping organizations optimize and build talent solutions. She specializes in designing holistic solutions that align strategic business needs with talent priorities that create value for the organization, the team, and the employee. Making sense out of the complex and helping people come to their own conclusions. Elise loves using stories and examples to explain concepts in a clear and concise manner that engages and inspires.

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