It's Not Complicated by Richard Ronald Nason

Author:Richard Ronald Nason
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781487514785
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Published: 2017-04-27T04:00:00+00:00

Encourage and Seek Diversity

One of the ways to avoid being stuck on local maxima is to intentionally introduce diversity into an organization or into one’s thought patterns. Developing diversity in a workforce is a well-established “best practice,” but like many good ideas it is easier said than done. The biggest impediment to organizational diversity is the “hire like me” syndrome. It is well known that managers like to hire those whom they believe they will like. In turn, similarity in traits, education, and background are the key components of increasing the likeability factor. As a result, “hire like me” can create a self-reinforcing spiral of diminishing diversity until almost complete conformity is achieved.

Complexity only exists in the presence of diversity. Complexity arises in a competitive environment of diverse agents. It is thus a good idea to intentionally introduce diversity into the management structure. Too little diversity leads to groupthink and an inflexible organization. However, too much diversity can lead to chaos. There is an optimal amount of diversity to have in an organization, just as there is an optimal amount of complexity. Determining this ideal amount is more an art than a science. Furthermore, the amount likely changes over time and as business conditions change.

Organizations are social structures, and the hiring process does as much to form the corporate culture as any of the other deliberate or unintended actions of management. Smart organizations (and smart potential employees) know that a candidate’s “fit” with the organization is as important as the candidate’s skills and knowledge. Great potential employees will look for organizations and positions that are slightly outside their comfort zone, places where they will be stretched and have the opportunity to learn, take on new challenges, and develop new skills and attributes. Organizations rarely think this way, particularly when it comes to hiring from outside the organization.

It takes discipline and conscious effort for an organization to introduce the right amount of diversity into its workforce. One way is to consciously experiment with hiring from different sources (schools and geographic areas) but also from different educational and experiential backgrounds. While technical skills may not be transferable (a surgeon may not make the best computer-chip designer, and vice versa), managerial skills such as a complexity mindset for the most part are transferable. Again we are brought back to the dichotomy between complicated and complexity skill sets. Skills in complexity are adaptable and transferable, and this transferability should be exploited more. There is no reason to suspect that sales skills in the pharmaceutical industry cannot be transferred to the marketing of packaged consumer goods, yet that is not the common mindset of either employers or people who are looking for work. It is part of the assumption that business is complicated.

A lack of organizational diversity leads to groupthink – the quick forming of consensus within a group around a specific idea without considering a wide range of potential ideas. Groupthink kills good ideas and stifles creativity, leaving a company vulnerable to rapidly changing competitive environments and unable to spot new opportunities.

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