Five Good Ideas about the power of diversity
We are in an era of tremendous change, where everything is being disrupted: governments, institutions, personal lives and the workplace. Innovation expert John Seely Brown calls it the Cambrian Moment. Things are thrown up but they eventually settle down. It is during that time of settling when small moves – smartly and intentionally made – can make a big difference. Hamlin Grange believes this is the Cambrian Moment of diversity and inclusion. We need to rethink our positions and attitudes about old concepts and approaches to create more inclusive workplaces, livable and workable cities and productive and relevant institutions. It’s a time when we need to stop asking old questions to new audiences. Leaders must be more inclusive, individuals must get out of their comfort zones, and we all must become more interculturally competent.
Five Good Ideas
- Take an integrated approach to diversity and inclusion
- Become more interculturally competent
- Culture trumps strategy
- Nurture Tempered Radicals
- Lean into your discomforts
Five Good Resources
- Roosevelt, Thomas Jr. (2006). Building on the Promise of Diversity. How We Can Move to the Next Level in Our Workplaces, Our Communities and Our Society.
- Page, Scott E. (2007). The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools and Societies.
- Hofstede, Geert, Gert Jan Hofstede, and Michael Minkov (2010). Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind: Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival (Third Edition).
- Hollander, Edwin (2009). Inclusive Leadership: The Essential Leader-Follower Relationship.
- Meyerson, Debra (2001). Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work.