WHEN ETHICS AND PROFITS GO TOGETHER
Increasing numbers of companies are awakening to diversity’s tremendous value. Diversity studies repeatedly demonstrate that a problem-solving team that is comprised of diverse people tends to deliver a superior solution when compared to a team of similar people. Fundamentally, the reason for this is that dissimilar people think differently and can spot each other’s blind spots.
Human nature is such that we tend to gravitate to people who are similar to ourselves. This is natural and there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. However, when thinking about the bigger picture of organizational development, corporate growth, and group effectiveness, we must force ourselves to look for diversity. The benefits will always reward us.
Some companies have progressed faster in diversity best practices than others. Unfortunately, social change in general always tends to happen slowly. Ultimately, we must recognize what is best for society and be willing to nurture those dynamics that will bring the greatest benefit to all. Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook’s COO) does a good job summarizing what our stance should be (Jeff Bercovici “Inside the Mind of Sheryl Sandberg” Inc. , October 2015, pp. 76–80):
“ Let’s be clear: Our numbers [demonstrating diversity] are not where they should be. The whole industry’s numbers aren’t where they should be. This just changes slowly. . . . It’s not that we want equality just for equality’s sake, even though we do, and it’s the right thing to do. It’s that we also want diversity and equality because it will make our organization and other organizations perform better. ” (p. 80)
Diversity is not only an ethical imperative. It is a profit generator.
