We continue to discover that DIFFERENCES have taken on a new SIGNIFICANCE, have you noticed? I'm not talking about the strife over race, political views, and reactions to change that hit the headlines. I mean the overwhelming number of organizations and individuals that are turning DIFFERENCES into notable achievements and business advantage all over the world. These distinctive leaders and innovators are proving again and again that putting our differences to work is the most powerful accelerator for generating new ideas, creating innovative solutions, executing organizational strategies, and engaging everyone in the process. Did you notice these are important "renewable energies" that fuel the engine of growth: INNOVATION.
What's new? The undeniable RESULTS are helping us learn the importance of SEEING DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY --- to take a fresh look at our previous limiting beliefs about ourselves and others. The traditional labels we paste on one another and sometimes on ourselves, don't begin the tell the complete stories of who we are, where the value lies in what we know, what we've experienced, how we think, the view of our generational perspective, how we solve problems and make decisions, and much more.
While writing my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, even after years of extensive work and practice across cultures with the aim of closing the gap between mainstream business practice and diversity and inclusion, a new picture of our many dimensions of difference became clear. It was different than the traditional side-by-side interlocking puzzle pieces or mosaic motifs we often use to name our various diversities --- or even the interwoven tapestry idea symbolizing our integrated and interdependent realities.
What came to life was something complementary to these valued traditions --- let's call it a zoom-in view of the individual in the form of a wheel. This idea actually came with a sense of relief. As a business leader, I had always defied being pigeoned-holed into the one label of woman; especially when I knew many of the differences I brought to the table had just as much to do with leadership experience, thinking-style, how I solved problems, and the "culture" from which I was raised. Somehow I'm imagining most of you could tell a similar story of being labeled in some way.
We Are All DIFFERENT
Each of us has many facets to our knowledge and know-how. Frequently, we work to minimize what's different---- "Look at all we have in common." "We are more alike than unalike." "Let's put our differences aside." These remain valuable truths, but when we stop there, we diminish all that makes us unique and different ---- and we often MISS the most important qualities and skills we possess as a whole innovative package -- a whole, wonderfully unique person. It is our broad set of DIFFERENCES that holds the "pot of gold." It is at the intersection of our many dimensions of difference where possibilities are rich, ripe for INNOVATION to emerge. Futurist and filmmaker, Joel Barker affirms this truth in my book and also in his new film, Innovation at the Verge. In both our collaborative and independent research and practical experiments together for over a decade, we've witnessed it and history has recorded it. ...and there are advantages for everyone!
A Global Business Leader's View
Recently, I received an unexpected letter from Wendy Luhabe, Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. She wrote to express what she saw in concept of Dimensions of Difference presented in my book. Because her opinion comes from a unique vantage point, which includes academia, business, corporate, and entrepreneurial global business leadership, I share her impressions with you:
"Putting Our Differences to work illustrates beyond any measure of doubt that the world has completely misunderstood Diversity--- that we are all unique and different for a purpose; that it is not traditional thinking or a particular intelligence or logic that will rescue us from the current morass; that the world needs leaders who both recognise that and who have the ability to tap into these differences --- to bring their own humanity to activate the same in others." Case In Point:
Concepts are best understood in practice and through the power of story. Sonia Melara crossed my path some years back. At the time, Sonia was executive director of the City and County of San Francisco, Department on the Status of Women. She had a powerful spirit and deep conviction to her mission. I spent a meaningful afternoon with her learning about her important work. What is most memorable about our time together was what I learned from her experience. She adds to this discussion through her story by putting the spotlight on why it is critical for us to learn to SEE DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY in each other. [Excerpt from Putting Our Differences to Work, Page 145]
"We are such a “melting pot”—and perhaps this is part of the problem of how we view ourselves. While we are a “melting pot” in terms of race, each of us is very unique as individuals, too. Sometimes, I think we forget that each person represents a distinctive part of our individual cultures. We are all different.
When I came here from El Salvador, I came with a belief I owed it to myself to succeed—and the best of all possible worlds here in the United States was where I could do it. In the process of pursuing my goals, other people from my own community would say, 'You don’t really know about prejudice. You don’t really see it.' Maybe I did experience it, and for a time I didn’t look at it. Over time, I have learned prejudice takes many unexpected forms. For example, when I was nineteen, I applied for the Teacher’s Corps to work with farmworkers’ children. I was interviewed and later received a letter that the reason they could not employ me was because I was not of Mexican descent and had no experience of the life of the farmworker. I remember thinking, 'What? I am a role model.' However isolated this example may seem, I think we might all be surprised to find we have common experiences similar to this, where we have been excluded by our own communities, regardless of our race."
KEY TAKE-AWAYS for YOU
1. Putting our differences to work is the most powerful accelerator for generating the "renewable energies" we need to fuel the engine of growth: INNOVATION.
2. Perhaps we have long misunderstood diversity. Maybe seeing ourselves as a “melting pot” is part of our problem. When we see ourselves "melting" into sameness, we overlook that each person represents a distinctive part of our individual cultures and everything that makes us individually unique. The change we need today is to take a closer look at one another, valuing both our sameness and common ground, as well as, developing a curiosity that leads us to discover true value in our differences.
3. Mastering how to SEE DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY is the new collaborative advantage for leaders and innovators at all levels in the twenty-first century. Putting Our Differences to Work is both a personal and practical guide for leaders and aspiring leaders at every level. BOOK OVERVIEW [PDF]
Are you ready?
What do you see from your unique vantage point?
What insight or story can you share?
Best...
Debbe
Buy a Copy of Putting Our Differences to WorkDebbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
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