ten things

1

diversity means

difference

For many people, “diversity” tends to bring very specific issues to mind.

People often assume that a diversity conversation is going to primarily be

about one or some combination of these things; race relations, gender,

affirmative action, quotas, harassment and compliance. While these

issues are certainly a part of the larger conversation, “diversity” does not

mean any of these things.

Diversity means difference…that is what the word means. We cannot

expect our conversations around issues related to diversity and inclusion

to be actionable and relevant if we are not clear and consistent with our

language.

“Words do matter. Language is messy by nature, which is why

we must be careful in how we use it. As leaders, after all, we

have little else to work with. We typically don't use hammers

and saws to do our real work. The essence of leadership -

what we do with 98 percent of our time - is communication. To

master any practice, we must start by bringing discipline to the

domain in which we spend most of our time, the domain of

words.”

-Peter Senge

2

difference takes

many forms

There are many ways in which we can be different and here are some basic

categories for thinking about difference, each with different implications for work:

Identity Diversity (differences in who we are) including, but not limited to:

• primary dimensions such as orientation, gender, gender identity, race, physical ability, etc.

• secondary dimensions such as marital status, level of education, military experience,

religion, hobbies, geography, income level, etc.

• organizational dimensions such as tenure, department, management status, etc.

Cognitive Diversity (differences in how we think) including, but not limited to:

• perspectives: subjective evaluation, point of view, how things appear to a person

• heuristics: problem solving approach, rules of thumb

• equifinality: openness to other approaches, perspectives

Affective Diversity (differences in how we feel, believe) including, but not limited to:

• emotions: affective state of consciousness

• beliefs: opinion or conviction, confidence in the truth of something not immediately

susceptible to rigorous proof

• values: what is considered to have worth, excellence, usefulness, or importance

Behavioral Diversity (differences in how we behave) including, but not limited to:

• work style: natural patterns for getting our work done

• communication style: natural patterns for communicating with co-workers

• work-life balance: natural patterns of balancing priorities and demands

3

difference is

relational

Difference (diversity) is a relational thing. Diversity exists within the

context of relationship…and that is the only place that it exists. You

can only be different from someone else…the relationship is inherent.

That is why this work is largely about relationships…who we have

relationships with and the nature of those relationships. Diversity does

not exist in people, it exists between people…and it exists between all

people. Anytime there is more than one person present, diversity is

also present. This is one of the reasons why the “diversity vs. talent”

debate that bubbles up from time to time is fundamentally

misinformed…talent is an individual attribute, diversity is not. Diversity

(difference) is a relational attribute, shared and social in nature.

You think that because you understand “one,”

you must understand “two,” because one and

one make two. But you must also understand

“and.” -Sufi saying

4

difference is

generative

Difference (diversity) generates change…it is a natural catalyst. Any time

that you introduce additional diversity into a social group or pay more

attention to existing diversity, you will change the dynamics and the

patterns of behavior in that social group (whether it be a family, a

community, a team or an organization), because you are introducing

additional tension into that social group. Whether those changes lead to

positive or negative outcomes depends on the capacity of that social

group to include difference. If you introduce additional difference without

increasing that capacity, you are likely to get outcomes like these:

• increased us vs. them mentality

• increased stereotyping

• increased in-group favoritism

• increased inter-group conflict

• decreased employee satisfaction, performance, and retention

Unfortunately, when this happens, organizations and communities (and

organizational and community leaders) often misdiagnose what has

happened and conclude that diversity has caused these outcomes,

whereas it is actually a product of the container that the diversity has been

introduced to. This is why understanding inclusion is so important.

5

inclusion is the

action you take to

include difference

All social groups (families, communities, organizations, etc.) are

inherently conformist. They have a natural resistance to difference

and change. Organizations do things (intentional and unintentional,

explicit and implicit) to keep difference out, and they do things

(intentional and unintentional, explicit and implicit) to reduce or

remove the difference of what “gets inside.”

Inclusion is the actions that you take to include difference. Some

organizations are more inclusive than others, the key is to have an

accurate understanding of how inclusive your organizations is so

that you can be intentional and deliberate about the direction you

are moving. Inclusion is incredibly important, as it is one of the

characteristics of an organizations culture, that determines its

ability to utilize the resources that it has access to, especially the

human resources and the associated intangible assets such as

perspectives, experiences, ideas, curiosity, etc.

How much and what kinds of difference can your team, community

organization include? And what evidence of this do you have?

6

inclusion is dialogic

To truly include difference requires sharing power, in a relationship

of equals.Unless an organization is aggressive and deliberate

about minimizing them, power and privilege dynamics make

inclusion very difficult. When power is not shared and one party

has to do all of the accommodating, the relationship is not dialogic

and inclusion is not happening. What was different is forced to

conform, rather than naturally and organically interacting with the

existing culture, changing it and being changed by it, with both

parties doing some of the accommodating. Again, difference is

relational and diversity and inclusion work is largely about the

nature of our relationships…so what kind of relationship are you

inviting difference into? Who does the accommodating?

Companies that learn to harness the value of

decentralized power will win against those that

simply exploit their people to perform specific

tasks. -Nilofer Merchant, The New How

7

inclusion is creative

The more difference that you include, the more intersections you

create…whether they be intersections of different people, politics,

or professions. Intersections give life to new things. Sparks are

thrown at those intersections where perspectives, assumptions,

cultures, ideas and questions collide and this is what lights the fires

of creativity and innovation.

While there is great creative opportunity at these intersections,

there is also tension. Anytime you bring difference together

(regardless the kind of difference) you create tension. If you want to

include more diversity and actually reap the rewards that diversity

offers, you have to be willing and able to work with and through the

tension. This determines whether the natural tension gives life to

conflict or creativity.

Our time is a time for crossing barriers, for

erasing old categories, for probing around. -Marshall McLuhan

8

inclusion is activist

Inclusion of something or someone that is different is proactive and it

is disruptive tothe status quo. It is a constant struggle against our

social drive toward conformity. It is also a struggle against our own

human nature, because even if we aspire to be nonjudgmental,” we

can easily end up with skewed perceptions and interpretations of the

behavior of others, especially those we believe to be different from us.

Regardless of our good intentions, our level of education or our level of

professionalism, we are all very susceptible to being unintentionally

and even unconsciously influenced by things like assumptions,

stereotypes, implicit associations, attribution errors and cognitive

biases. We are actually very ill equipped to reach accurate

assessments of others and this is part of what makes it very difficult for

us to actually be inclusive. If we are not proactive, intentional and

deliberate about including difference, we will unintentionally be

exclusive.

We do not see things as they are, we see things

as we are. -Anais Nin

9

diversity and

inclusion can be

rich sources of

value

Don’t believe the hype! Contrary to what you might have heard, the “business case for

diversity and inclusion” is stronger than ever. A few of the reasons why this work can be so

valuable to our organizations and communities:

1. survival: one of the characteristics of organizations that outlast their competitors;

“…openness to the outside world, tolerance for the entry of new individuals and ideas, and

consequently a manifest ability to learn and adapt to new circumstances.” (Arie de Geus )

2. competitive advantage: for many organizations the great opportunity for competitive

advantage is innovation, and diversity and inclusion are what innovation is made of.

3. generational transition: we are on the front end of an unprecedented generational

transition and organizations will need to understand generational differences to successfully

navigate.

4. workforce demographics: the demographics of the workforce have changed and

organizations not good at attracting, engaging and retaining women and people of color are

going to be competing for an increasingly small portion of the talent available.

5. new consumer profile: the profile of the decision maker is changing and organizations

wanting to capture emerging markets will need to be able to partner with and truly

understand those markets.

6. better problem solving: diversity, especially cognitive diversity has been shown to

improve a groups ability to explore a broader set of options and to solve complex

challenges

7. conformity kills: too much conformity can be a really bad thing allowing small technical

issues to develop into large scale tragedies. A focus on diversity and inclusion helps

minimize conformity.

10

clarity is your friend

Diversity and inclusion may be the most poorly understood set of

issues in the world of work today. Many organizations and

communities struggle to even have effective discussions about issues

related to diversity and inclusion often due, at least partially, to a lack of

common language and shared understanding of core concepts.

Everyone is using the same words, but talking about very different

things. Organizational diversity and inclusion work faces a number of

challenges today, but the greatest challenge before us may very well be

lack of clarity.

We do not need universally agreed upon definitions and priorities, but

the mistake that organizations nearly always make is deciding to do

some diversity and inclusion work without clarifying, within that

organization, what diversity means, what inclusion means, why those

things matter and how the plan of action is aligned with and builds

upon that foundational understanding.

What looks like resistance is often a lack of

clarity. -Switch, Dan and Chip Heath

the value of difference joe gerstandt is a speaker and facilitator helping

organizations and communities deliver on their

promises…

authenticity | diversity | inclusion | innovation

joegerstandt.com joe.gerstandt@gmail.com

@joegerstandt 402.740.7081

Be good to each other.