Real-world diversity issues are a reality of any workspace. Fresh from academic enlightenment, I’ve got a new approach to the touchy subject.
I should say politics and agendas are right next to rashes and gravity on my list of productivity inhibitors. Diversity in its pure form is a great principle, but has been enlisted as a buzz-word promoting anything ‘progressive’.
So, to strip away suspect motives from an important business concept, we’ll need to go to the cognitive level. After all, science is objective - more or less. So, two points:
The brain simplifies our lives through a process called warehousing or labeling. Our brain recognizes a pattern and applies a rule. An example: a stop sign. When is the last time you read one? Your brain applies a recognition rule and you stop without thinking.
The problem here can be the ‘without thinking’ part. People can be categorized as easily as road signs, however stereotypes are often inaccurate. What’s more is the consequences of applying a rule on a person. The result is inadvertent but very real bigotry. And that’s not fair or good.
The take-away? Well, once you’re aware of the process, you can police it and make better judgments of people on an individual basis.
Now, part two. Humans have an inborn safety mechanism which causes us to associate with people similar to ourselves. The effect dictated by these ‘comfort levels’ can be catastrophic to creative thought. The problem is that for true ideas to emerge from a working group, ideas must be challenged. However in an environment of homogeneous thought, there is no system for refinement.
So, what do we do with this? I think that you’ll find that you have or will gain more from associations with people different from you. Truly good ideas will survive criticism, and your team or organization will benefit from the idea-fertile atmosphere.
Now that wasn’t so bad. It’s funny that after extracting politics from a principle, it actually seems to mean something.
Thanks for reading!
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May 23rd, 2005 at 1:08 am
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