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Managers Letter
Mining the Gold in People and Cultures
by Rick Griggs
How do you make the most of the value different people have to offer? Can you mine this talent as if you were mining for gold? Why would a corporation spend millions to acquire a smaller company and then treat its people badly? What is the reason a team will recruit heavily for someone with urgently needed competitive skills only to have members of the team shun that person?
These are the precise issues that routinely arise during my Diversity-Growing Together Successfully sessions with public- and private-sector clients. Let's explore some of the changes shaping our world and see how they affect teams, acquisitions and the people that make things happen.
Big Changes
The world around us keeps changing whether or not we like or even notice it. Groups of all kinds continue to evolve and adapt to societal changes. Consider these recent developments:
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For the first time in the United States, the number of births to Hispanics has surpassed the number of births to blacks. Hispanics will surpass blacks to become one of America's largest racial and ethnic groups in 2005.
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The overall number of births in the United States is projected to decline slowly until 2000, as women born during the baby boom leave their childbearing years.
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By the year 2030, minorities will make up the majority of births in the United States, according to Census Bureau projections.
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Thirty-four percent of births in 1994 were to women aged 30 and older. These mothers are more likely to be college educated and employed, making them a sought-after consumer target. The birth rate for women aged 40-44 rose 5% between 1993 and 1994, and the number of babies born to these women increased 8%.
"My Dad's a Bigot"
It becomes serious business when diversity affects people personally. Reactions vary widely. But managers can help resolve conflicts that might arise.
There are two methods of pulling groups closer together: an open airing of opinions, attitudes and feelings and a balanced approach strategy.
People make progress when they express their opinions. One man gave one of my diversity sessions a boost when he openly said, "My dad's a bigot, and that's how he raised us kids. I know it's wrong and I'm caught between loving my parents and doing what's right on the job." The discussion that followed was very productive because it
facilitated an open discussion of ideas and experiences among the group.
The balanced approach strategy is an equally useful tool. Since no one emotional story or threat of punishment will motivate all employees or change everyone's behavior, leaders, managers and diversity consultants must use a variety of methods to get results. Many employees just want the demographic and census facts they will then make up their own minds about diversity issues. Other workers need exercises and simulations to get a feel for the concepts of multiculturalism and stereotypes. Still others, unfortunately, need coercion and strict measures to get them to behave properly. It's like a vegetable garden where many elements combine to make a successful harvest seeds, soil, water, fertilizer, pruning, sunshine and pesticides. The best gardeners select and then balance the top-priority items. Leaders can do it too!
To get over the fear that invariably comes with change, managers and their staffs should consider the following ways to incorporate diversity into their workplace:
12 Diversity Tips
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Recognize that each person has a different background, set of values and unique view of the world.
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Talk to people from other cultures about their backgrounds, values and principles. Get to know them! Any fears you may experience when new people enter the group will subside as you get to know them.
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Recognize your own attitudes, biases and stereotypes. Sometimes they come from parents or family, other times from limited experience, but in any case, they exist and all people have them. Admit the situation and deal with it.
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Think back to a situation where you were different than others in a group and recall any negative emotions or confusion you felt. These emotional memories will remind you of what others experience when feeling isolated or different at work.
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Separate your expectations of each person from your stereotypes of his or her group. Now is the time to dissect those old attitudes and replace them with more balanced, productive assessments of individual behavior and performance.
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Provide support and resources based on job-related and individual development needs not on personal/group traits. Avoid assuming that all people from a group have the same talents or drawbacks.
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Set standards for job-related requirements. Be clear that your organization's standards of performance are directly related only to the job at hand.
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Attribute success to effort and ability; what matters is getting the job done.
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Attribute failure to lack of training, insufficient effort or poor resources but not to low innate ability. Never let poor performers use racism or discrimination as a smoke screen to hide their inability or unwillingness to do the job. Good performers cringe with embarrassment when badly performing people make the excuse of victimization where none exists.
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Never make, repeat or accept jokes or comments demeaning to people based on their unchangeable traits or characteristics. If you stay in the audience, you are a part of the joke or debasing situation. Either say something to put an end to the situation or leave.
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Find opportunities to celebrate the complex backgrounds of your work group. People thrive when they share their ethnic backgrounds and experiences.
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Remember that a diverse workforce is today's reality and how we manage it will determine our success.
Protecting Yourself
Some people accuse the armies of consultants and lawyers (and some of us writers) of creating a nation of paranoid and politically correct robots who can no longer show any human emotion or discuss anything personal. Perhaps that is why employees often avoid acquisition transfers or new team members they're afraid of saying something wrong or getting sued. It's much more productive when you know the rules and then allow yourself to be human. Here are a few ideas for protecting yourself from accusations or charges:
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Understand and review company policies and guidelines.
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Listen to and show respect for all employees.
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Document instances and issues that may be questioned.
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Base feedback, praise, etc., on job-related issues.
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Base criticism and reprimands on job-related issues.
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Don't say or do anything you wouldn't in front of a spouse, prosecutor or judge.
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It's still okay to be human and to show human concern and emotion.
Today's definition of diversity is broad. Among other things, it includes women, minorities, ideas and acquisition transfers. Diversity issues involve more than ethnicity. Women's issues relate to more than gender. Acquisitions involve more than products and money. Any effort to build functioning teams works better with a balanced attack on the top five priorities. As with a gardener or gold miner, single-focused attention to one area alone rarely nets tasty vegetables, gold nuggets or lasting results. People who are smart enough to work on the side issues and on the weak links in the chain produce startling results that last.
As in life, the balanced approach takes more time, but yields higher profits.
Rick Griggs,
author/coauthor of
Professional Balance, Quality Angles
and
The Road to Optimism,
writes and teaches about corporate achievement and maintaining employee humanity and balance. He founded Griggs Achievement in 1983 and Manfit Press in 1989. For more information, contact him at (510) 831-2420.
The
Managers Letter
is published throughout the year by Olsten Corporation. For editorial inquiries, write Olsten Corporation, Marketing Communications Department, 175 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, NY 11747.
Material from the
Managers Letter
may be quoted or reproduced, provided appropriate credit is given to indicate that the material was taken from the
Managers Letter,
a publication of Olsten Corporation.
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