In most organizations and institutions, there is typically a group of people who are the predominant group, and who are usually in most of the leadership roles or positions. We refer to this group as "In the Norm." There are always going to be others who differ from this group in a variety of ways. We refer to this group as the "Out of the Norm" group.
As differences increase between people in these groups, barriers to inclusion also increase. It is important to recognize that these barriers operate on both sides. For the "In the Norm" group, they operate in terms of less experience, fewer skills, and lower motivation to include others who are UNLIKE them. Likewise, for the "Out of the Norm" group, they also operate in terms of less experience, fewer skills, and lower motivation to include SELF.
For example, a White male in the U.S. would still, more often than not, find himself "In the Norm." As a member of the dominant group in society, this White male may be challenged at times when it comes to including someone different than himself.
On the other hand, if this same White male is transferred to China or Japan, he finds himself suddenly being "Out of the Norm," and may realize that he has less experience, fewer skills, and lower motivation to effectively include himself.
The decline in the quality of work relationships impacts three critical areas: informal training, resource utilization, and task effectiveness.
Informal TrainingIf managers have lower expectations of an individual, they are less likely to invest much of their time in informal training. They are less comfortable giving stretching job assignments and tend to withhold negative feedback. Most managers are more comfortable giving stretching assignments to employees who are most like themselves. The manager´s intent is rarely to discriminate, but this process can have that systematic impact because meaningful assignments are the vehicles to growth and development in most organizations.
Resource Utilization
Those who are "Out of the Norm" often suffer from increased "protective hesitation." If they believe that those "In the Norm" have negative assumptions and perceptions of them, they are not likely to ask all of the questions they really need to ask. They fear that asking questions will reinforce the negative perceptions of them ("See, we knew she didn´t deserve this position....she doesn´t know what to do!"). Under-utilizing many of the available resources impacts their learning curve, and has a negative impact on their growth and development.
Task Effectiveness
As differences increase among team members, it is often more difficult to accomplish tasks efficiently. Research has shown that less diverse teams are more effective in the short term, however, if a more diverse team works through the barriers between team members, in the long run they will be more innovative and more effective.
Employee Development & Organizational Productivity
As resource utilization, task effectiveness among peers and direct reports, and informal training by managers declines, it decreases employee development and organizational productivity. It is important to understand that no one has to do anything by design -- this dynamic is inherent in the process of increasing diversity. Thus, we refer to it as the "unintended consequences of increasing diversity."
Breaking the Cycle
How do we break this cycle? It begins with increasing awareness and understanding of the barriers to inclusion, and developing the skills necessary to reduce these barriers. As barriers are reduced, the quality of work relationships increases. This results in more informal training by managers, increased task effectiveness among peers, and increased resource utilization. This, in turn, leads to a higher rate of growth and development, and ultimately to increased organizational productivity. In the process, we literally reduce the social distance that operates among us - not by requiring people to conform inappropriately or trying to change who they are, but by providing a substantive opportunity for those "Out of the Norm" to make contributions. The "organizational we" will then be viewed in a far more diverse and inclusive manner.
All content contained in this article is the sole and exclusive property of Myca-Pope, Inc. and Pope & Associates, Inc. You can learn more about the impact of diversity within the workplace by viewing The EDGE Advantage, an innovative e-learning course series designed to reduce barriers and improve productivity in the workplace.