Last month I talked a lot about Executive Presence and how to make sure you are perceived as a leader. While it’s important to be viewed as a leader, it’s not important enough to totally lose your authentic self. It’s also important that we not expect others to conform so much to what we think a leader should look like that they don’t feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their unique ideas. Diversity is crucial to an organization’s success, especially organizations that value innovation.
A study done by BCG earlier this year found that when organizations increase the diversity of their leadership they also increase their innovation and improve their financial performance. This study found that “people with different backgrounds and experiences often see the same problem in different ways and come up with different solutions, increasing the odds that one of those solutions will be a hit. In a fast-changing business environment, such responsiveness leaves companies better positioned to adapt.” It’s often said that the most dangerous phrase in business is “we’ve always done it that way” – diversity is a great way to combat that.
Diversity is far more that race and gender, organizations need people who think differently in order to flourish. Diversity itself is not enough. Organizations must ensure that people who think differently are not just hired, they have to feel like they have a seat at the table and that their voice is heard. That is the only way an organization can truly harness the power of diversity.
So, what does all this mean to you as an individual leader? In order to truly drive diversity, each leader within an organization must integrate diversity into everything that they do. Too often, leaders make other leaders in their own image. They teach them how to think like them, talk like them, lead like them. Leaders must resist the urge to develop the people on their team in their own image. In order to cultivate diversity, leaders must build it into everything they do and encourage their teams to think differently rather than driving them to conform.
If you are struggling with how to cultivate diversity on your team, I have you covered. Below you will find my top three tips for cultivating diversity on your team.
- Get a really good understanding of what diversity is. As I mentioned previously, diversity is so much more than what is visible on the surface level. Deep diversity, diversity of thought and skill is often invisible. As a leader you must understand that true diversity brings together people who think and approach challenges differently. Invest in getting to know how your people think and actively recruit and promote different types of thinkers. Be intentional about pulling diverse thinkers together, it can really drive your success.
- Make sure everyone has a voice. It’s not enough just to have people who look and think differently on your team, you have to make them feel like their voice is valued and give them the opportunity to speak up. Actively give your people opportunities to contribute and pay attention when people don’t. When someone stays silent, dig in deeper to understand what their silence means.
- Support your employees and treat them equitably. While we often think that as leaders we need to treat everyone exactly the same, that just doesn’t work. The idea here is to value and care about your employees equally but realizing that what it takes to motivate or encourage them may not always be the same thing. Think about how you’re approaching each member of your team; not treating them different, but tapping into their individual and unique strengths. Try to understand your employees’ long-term goals, talents, and passions outside of work. Acknowledge employees’ contributions to make them feel valued.
Diversity can be a game changer for your team and your organization, but only if you are willing to do the work it takes to make diversity effective.
How has diversity helped drive success in your organization?
