Develop a team that reflects, at all levels, the markets you sell to.

Managing Diversity in the Workplace is one of the most important issues that many organizations are facing currently. By Managing Diversity, we mean creating an environment in the workplace that allows all employees to do their best. This of course entails recognizing and dealing with differences such as gender, age, ethnic culture, physical ability, religion, and personality traits. While all of these differences are important, the areas of most concern for most organizations are cultural differences and women in the workplace.

The focus on diversity is a reaction to a number of changes that now face the leaders of America's institutions (corporate, social, government, and religious). The Department of Labor reported on workplace trends in a document entitled Opportunity 2000, prepared by the Hudson Institute (1988). Among the facts reported were:

FACT 1. There will be a shortage of skilled workers.
FACT 2. The average age of workers will rise.
FACT 3. More women will be on the job.
FACT 4. Fully one-third of new workers will be minorities.

Add to these facts that the markets that make up America are more diverse, and that competition in the global economy is growing, and we have to ask ourselves: What are we supposed to do?

First, we must recognize that these changes did not occur overnight. They have been steadily evolving for years. It is only in the past few years that we have begun to take note of these changes and their implications for the way we do business. No one requested these changes. They just happened. We are all responsible for making sure our organizations manage these changes effectively. Our ability to manage the diversity brought about by these changes will have a profound effect on our ability to compete globally.

Diversity represents both a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge to adjust our management assumptions and change the culture of our organizations to accommodate difference. It can, however, be just the opportunity we need to tap into new ideas and to use our uniquely diverse people resources to capture our place as the leader in the world marketplace.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
I believe there is a lot of genuine interest in doing the right thing when it comes to diversity. There is an equal desire to do it in a way that doesn't distort the goals and strategies of the organization. One CEO of a major corporation framed the issue: "I'm concerned that the curve of progress (from Affirmative Action) has started to flatten relative to the effort we've made. I need to [learn] how to be successful in moving up competent and diverse people who are not clones of those above them."

I conclude that executives and managers are seriously looking for a way to make diversity work, but they don't necessarily know how to do it. For example, the first reaction by many executives has been, "Do something! (And make sure everyone knows that we are doing something.) "

Another common reaction is, "Let's quickly educate everybody about this new thing! (That will fix it!) " Still another reaction is to go back over affirmative action (AA) plans and results and "make sure we are doing enough." Unfortunately, most executives lack the skills and knowledge to deal with diversity, and will choose the most common reaction: "Let's just wait and see what happens."

The danger of each of these approaches can be seen in the results they produce. Many organizations that approach diversity with these reactions wind up wasting time and resources and having to do "damage control" because of the negative response and backlash it creates. BUT THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

DIVERSITY AS A STRATEGY
The approach I recommend is more of a proactive strategic approach. It, in fact, capitalizes on the basic strengths of senior executives and general managers, and thereby increases the company's chances of being successful in their efforts by setting and implementing corporate strategy. In short, this approach requires that Leaders Take the Lead.

Principles of Leadership.
Vision and strategy determine what an organization will be in terms of products, markets, resources, and capabilities. It involves translating the strategic direction, formulated at the top, into reality at the production level. Implementing strategy requires broad participation down through the organization. And strategic change can be very threatening.

So, what has this got to do with Managing Diversity? Unless we can answer that question, any efforts at developing an organization where diversity is valued and effectively managed will be ineffective. Each organization must come up with its own reason for addressing diversity issues, and those reasons must be consistent with the strategic direction of the business.

But, how do you take strategic direction, formulated at the top, and translate it into reality? It requires broad participation down through the organization. And how do you go about achieving the participation necessary to implement the strategy? Again, it takes effective communication of the vision down throughout the organization.

The problem with all strategies is that you've got to bring the people along with you. If you want strategy implemented, you've got to have the people who conceived the strategy in the first place involved in and committed to its implementation. And you must make sure that people at all levels understand not only what is expected, but why it makes sense.

Most strategic thinkers agree that there are five basic principles for communicating strategies within an organization.

1. A common strategic language - Does everyone know what we mean when we say diversity?
2. Simplicity and specificity - Can everyone understand what we are doing and why we are doing it?
3. Testing for understanding - Are we sure everyone really understands what the new expectations are?
4. Repetition - Are we consistently and regularly paying attention to the issue of "diversity?"
5. Relevance - What does this have to do with our success as a business?

As with any strategic issue, consultants can play a role in making sure the organization is asking the right questions and coming up with good answers.

The Approach The process of implementing a diversity strategy involves four phases.

PHASE I. First, SEE WHERE YOU ARE. In this phase, an environmental scan is conducted to determine what the current attitudes and behaviors are regarding this issue; what hurdles need to be overcome; what gaps in skills and understanding need to be filled?

PHASE II. Next, you must DECIDE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. Clear objectives must be established and agreed to. We ask key questions such as, "What will it be like when we succeed?" and "How will we know if we are making progress?" A clear, concise statement of philosophy is drafted and leaders go on record in support of the culture change required to achieve the objective. A critical element of this phase is Acknowledgement. Leaders must begin by acknowledging: 1) that diversity is an important strategic issue, and 2) that we have not done a very good job with it so far.

PHASE III. Then, we must COMMUNICATE WHERE WE ARE GOING. Strategy is conceived by leaders and implemented by the people in the organization. To do it well, the people must understand clearly what is expected and, more important, why it is the right thing for the company to do. Strategic training (rather than off-the-shelf training) is a useful means of getting the message out in a way that is effective.

The purpose of strategic training is to give everyone a common understanding of the new strategy. It communicates not only what is expected, but why it makes sense for the company. But training alone cannot sustain the long-term changes needed to deal with Diversity. Leaders must also communicate strategic direction by addressing the practices of the company, modify the structure where appropriate, and most importantly, monitor their own behavior to make sure that they are consistent in paying attention to the issue of Diversity with just as much frequency and fervor as any other key strategy.

PHASE IV. Finally, we must MONITOR OUR PROGRESS TOWARD THE GOAL. Whatever objectives have been set to define the success of the Diversity strategy must be reviewed regularly to determine if we are moving in the right direction. Follow-up is essential. Otherwise, everyone will soon realize that the focus on Diversity was just an event or a short term fad.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS
1. The good thing about Managing Diversity using a strategic approach is: There are no bad guys. It does not assume negligence or malign intent on anyone's part. It does not give special consideration to one group over another. It does not seek to correct past social injustices. The issue is not about who is right; it's about how we can all be more effective.

2. To become effective at Managing Diversity requires a change to the culture of the organization. The goal is to develop an environment which embraces difference and in which all the players are comfortable being who they are and contributing to common goals from a base of difference.

3. Managing Diversity must not get confused with Affirmative Action. Affirmative action is an externally driven process to hire and retain more nontraditional workers. Its goal is to increase the number and percentages of specific groups of people, sometimes at the expense of other groups. Unfortunately it creates bad feelings in everyone involved. Some feel excluded from preference; others resent having their achievements labeled as preference. No one wins. The company's goals are not well served.

4. Many senior managers have become quite complacent in their view of diversity issues. They have begun to assume that there is no problem in the organization based on cultural differences. For instance, they have become convinced the African Americans and Whites have effectively melded into an assimilated group simply because they hear nothing to the contrary. Unfortunately with this issue, no news is not necessarily good news.

5. Generally, people don't see any problem with differences in their organizations because they have not asked the right questions. Employee surveys seldom address attitudes regarding discrimination or feelings of racism/sexism/ethnocentrism. One of the reasons for this is that most corporate cultures do not encourage open discussion of such issues. It makes people uncomfortable.

But there may very well be undertones of discontent within the organization which need to be addressed. The only way to get at these undertones of discontent (what we call silent saboteurs) is to conduct an organizational scan that deliberately focuses on feelings and perceptions that may be causing people to contribute less than maximum effort to the group's goals. This information, when reviewed with senior management, will often open some eyes and raise some questions which otherwise may have gone unasked.

The trends in both customer and employee expectations are pushing business leaders to focus more on Quality, Innovation, Creativity, and Empowerment in the workplace. Long-term success will come only to companies that effectively develop loyal, satisfied customers and highly motivated (and empowered) employees. A Diversity strategy must be part of the plan.

About the author
James O. Rodgers, CMC is president of The Diversity Coach™., in Lithonia, GA. The CMC designation (Certified Management Consultant) is awarded by the Institute of Management Consultants and represents evidence of the highest standards of consulting and adherence to the ethical canons of the profession. Less than 1% of all consultants have achieved this level of performance. For further information, call 770-482-9452 or visit the company's Web site at www.thediversitycoach.com.