cultural agility unlocks the force of global diversity

“Diversity creates high-performing, innovative teams that lead to profitability and a strong brand reputation” - words you’ve likely heard or read from many DEI consultants. But does it? It depends. Diversity in isolation does not guarantee efficiency or creativity, matter fact studies show diversity on teams can create challenges, leading to lower productivity, lower engagement and greater cultural conflict. I’m noticing an urgent call to action for organizations to start to increase the number of diverse employees. If organizations do not build the capabilities to utilize diverse perspectives, foster inclusion and increase their cultural intelligence first, diversity won’t work. Diversity without cultural intelligence (CQ) will lead to poor business performance. When CQ levels are low, diverse teams underperform homogenous teams. But when CQ levels are high, diverse teams outperform homogenous teams on measures such as productivity, engagement, innovation, etc. Cultural Intelligence is the capability to function effectively in culturally diverse situations. Without it, diversity and inclusion initiatives often fail to bring in results and thus lose funding due to their perceived ineffectiveness.

As I pursued my Bachelors in Psychology, I started to become particularly interested in culture and decided to minor in Asian Studies and Culture. The study of Cultural Psychology bridged the two together. I recently completed an Intercultural Studies certificate. I continue to study culture, because we live in a globalized world. Migration and digitization has created an environment where you are interacting with people with multicultural identities. Many of us operate from an ethnocentric point of view. We unconsciously judge others based on our frame of reference which centres around our culture. Culture feels omni-present and it is difficult to see our own culture as our understanding of culture is often below the level of conscious awareness and we tend to become only aware of it when others do not behave how we expect.

• Encouraging ‘whole-self’ and valuing differences. For something to be different, there needs to be a reference point, something for it to be different from. We psychologically divide our world into an in-group (those similar to us) and an out-group (those different from us). The problem with this lies in when we define those who are different as being inferior to our group. Such inferiority is expressed in terms of -ism (i.e. racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism and ageism). Certain group differences are relevant at work. It is true that we do share some universal characteristics and needs that are basic for all human beings. Looking at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we all have basic physiological needs, needs for love, safety and self-actualization. But what we eat, HOW we connect with others, and gain self-actualization in achieving our full potential can differ based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, disability status, age, etc. Valuing differences means celebrating people’s full, whole selves so that they can live into their full potential. Social rejection lights up the same parts of our brain as a headache or a hangover, if we don’t create a psychologically safe environment that people feel valued and included, you are essentially having everyone come into work with a headache and hangover unable to perform at their full potential.

• What is diversity and culture? Often people immediately associate “diversity” with racial and ethnic differences, however diversity is broader. The Diversity Wheel framework is a tool often used in D&I academia to speak to the all the dimensions of diversity that exist. And similarly there are layers to culture beyond ethnic groups (Greek, British, South Asian, etc) which is what we tend to associate culture with. There are three layers to culture, outer (explicit aspects of culture such as food and language), middle (norms and values which are rules of behaviour informing right and wrong) and core (underlying assumptions on which the whole culture is based). One of the key assumptions that almost every cultural group has is that their in-group is better than out-groups, therefore inclusion requires a change in a core assumption of ALL groups.

• We judge and interpret others behaviour through our own cultural lenses. When someone behaves in a certain way we understand them by asking ourselves what that behaviour would mean in our culture. This can result in misinterpretations at work, for example if someone does not look us in the eyes during a job interview we may perceive them as being dishonest when in many cultures not looking someone directly in the eyes is a sign of respect. Cross-cultural conflict develops because the same behaviour can mean different things across cultures. We can mitigate this by becoming culturally literate allowing us to “read” differing cultures within today’s diverse workplaces. We can start by becoming culturally literate in reading our own culture and once we have done that we can start to become more literate about other cultures. Understand you may never truly know the depths of another culture but the goal is to “read” other-culture and stop using our own culture to interpret the behaviours of others.

Journal excerpt: how to understand my mind when it frustrates you (clashing cultures)

I do not think the way that you
you do,
with your graphs
and lines and numbers and
answers that are always right.

I think in songs and light
and colour and emotion.
I think in correct spelling
and punctuation and capitalization,

but I will never think in x = z squared
like you do. The solution to a riddle will
occur to me long, long after you realize it.
I think in cups of strawberry lemonade
that spill over and get everything sweet and sticky.
You think in black coffee at the same time every morning.

You think in files, and I in messy journals.
You always wear
a watch set
to military time, but I
will forget what
day it is. I
lose track of time.
A lot.
But
I will always remember your
birthday, your favourite ice cream flavour,
how you smile,
and all the small details.

let’s talk about corporate culture

Corporate culture is refers to “shared beliefs and values established by leaders and then communicated and reinforced through various methods, ultimately shaping employee perceptions, behaviours and understanding”. Infusing inclusion into organizational culture is not easy because culture by it’s nature is exclusive, drawing boundaries between in-group and out-group. What’s important is that the out-group is not defined in terms of gender, race, age, ability, etc. Rather the out-group should be those who do not share desire to contribute to the core mission of the organization.

The strength of organizational culture refers to the extent in which norms and values are enforced. The ideal formula for diversity to thrive is to have a greater pressure for conformity on core values and norms but not on peripheral norms and values. For example, your core value may be integrity or safety, there is an expectation that employees act in accordance to this core value but a wide-range of work styles and behaviours are defined as appropriate and right within the constraints of integrity and safety.

We know there are benefits to increasing diversity, but what will be the costs to get there? For one, time. Diverse groups need more time to gain competitive advantage. This is why this is diversity is not an overnight fix, results happen gradually. It takes longer to communicate, resolve conflict and generally to operate in a diverse environment because of cross-cultural misunderstandings, incorrect interpretations and less accuracy in predicting behaviours from those who are different than us. Discomfort is another, and particularly rising from from those in the power structure who are typically being asked to change the most, because the workplace has been systematically designed to take only their needs into account. To reimagine a workplace that now takes everyone’s needs into account, including those who have already been in power, requires change. For groups who have been disadvantaged this looks like improvement but for those already in power this can be confusing and uncomfortable because for them things have been fine to begin with. And the greatest cost is conflict, cultural clash and cross-cultural conflict exists especially in climates where there is interdependence such as workplaces. There are also differences in cultural norms regarding how to best resolve conflict - some cultures value confronting conflict while others rely on non-verbal behaviour and reciprocal sensitivity. However one of the hidden benefits to this conflict is that some forms of these cultural clashes increase potential for creativity.

Ultimately, inclusion is a process. It’s work. It’s not easy and there is no end-state. Similar to Marketing, D&I work will never be finished, it will continue to evolve. Since it requires that things be done differently and in ways that work for everyone, it is impossible to reach the goal without making some mistakes along the way. Typically there can be anger among certain groups, and this anger often comes out when mistakes are made that hurt their group. Over time, as trust is built, it is hoped that the expression of anger may decrease and mistakes are recognized for what they are - part of the process. Don’t forget to celebrate successes. Achieving inclusion is a long-term process and momentum is helped by enjoying the journey.

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References

1. Driven by Difference - David Livermore 

2. Cultural Diversity in Organizations: Theory, Research and Practice - Taylor Cox

3. Building an Inclusive Organization: Leveraging the Power of a Diverse Workforce - Stephen Frost