E Pluribus Unum is our country's motto; it means "out of many, one," or "many uniting into one." Our founding fathers believed that the key to our success would be in our ability to collaborate...to unite; to bring 13 colonies together with one government. They did not encourage us to lose our individuality, but rather to bring our personal best, united, to achieve a greater good. Call it collective genius or collaborative power, it united a very diverse country into a unified international leader, innovator and inspiration to others.
E Pluribus Unum- "many uniting into one" - is also a great vision for today's businesses. In today's workplace, we have a diverse mix of gender, race, ethnicity, religion and perspectives. We are a mix - and from this mix we must learn to take our best and bring it forward. We are no longer a melting pot (where we all blend); we are now a mixed salad where each component retains its identity and adds to the total - "from many, one." And the more diverse, the greater the salad.
There is true performance power in a diverse workforce in today's workplace because our business world has changed. We have moved from manufacturing to service, from industrial to intellectual, from brawn to brain. As author Seth Godin states, "we used to make food (agrarian society), then we made things (industrial age), now we make ideas" (service economy). Much of manufacturing moved offshore and left us with a service economy. Service is an intellectual and thinking environment. Employees must think through each service event to maximize the effect with the customer. How an employee thinks is more important than what an employee looks like. The "inside" of the employee matters more than the "outside."
In today's workplace, we hire an employee for her talents and thinking; the external "diversity" is a bonus. Gender and religion do not matter. Age and ethnicity do not matter. Thinking matters. And the right thinking that drive results may show up in an extraordinary employee whose age, gender, religion or ethnicity is not one that you expected. It is today's manager's role to find, hire and encourage the best thinking employees (from whatever backgrounds) and unite them into a performance powerhouse. E Pluribus Unum.
Diversity is great for business. It expands our thinking, connects us to our world and encourages great individual contribution. Review the following ways to create a more diverse workplace and benefit from the expanded perspectives and greater innovation that happens when employees who do not all look or think the same work side by side:
1. Diverse workforces represent the true population of the country. We have gone global; we communicate minute by minute with the rest of the world. We buy their products, they buy ours. Our workplace must represent our population - mixed and diverse. Our products and services must reflect the markets that are served. Selling to women without a feminine perspective is shortsighted. Selling to Hispanics without understanding their language and culture leads to failure. A diverse workforce more fairly represents its customer base so that decisions made at all levels are more appropriate and successful. By 2042 minorities will account for more than half of the US population. Nearly sixty percent of university graduates are women. By 2050 it is anticipated that Hispanics will account for 30% of the population. Understanding diverse perspectives allows you to compete more globally and more effectively. How well do you understand your customer population? Does your workforce connect to your customers? Are you open to diverse perspectives, experiences and ideas?
2. You have a greater population to choose from when searching to hire the "right" employee. We are in an intellectual workplace; thinking matters most. Today, we must hire for talent and that talent is represented by the "inside," not the "outside" of the employee. We hire thinking - and the right thinking for a job may show up in the form of a man or woman, Greek or Italian, Muslim or Christian, old or young. When we consider the entire population of workers to assess the talents needed in a particular role, we improve the possibility of finding and hiring the "right" employee, one who has the right talents, skills and attitude to be successful in the role. What is your process to hire employees for their thinking and talents? How do you insure that you consider every qualified candidate without bias? What is the benefit to you of having the right employee in each role in your workplace?
3. Diverse workplaces add value, color, energy and tradition. Diverse workplaces benefit from the mix of cultures, experiences, attitudes and life stories. This adds energy and vibrancy to the workplace; it also forces people who don't naturally see the world in the same way to learn to work with each other, solve problems together and collaborate for success. Using the power of their mixed backgrounds consistently yields greater responses and greater results. How do you openly support and celebrate the diverse mix of employees in your workplace? How can you use employees' diverse backgrounds to expand your solutions to problems and business opportunities? How can you encourage employees who are different to appreciate and respect each others' differences?
Organizations are learning to celebrate, instead of fear, diversity. Diversity offers businesses the ability to hire better, invent more significantly and connect to a broader view of the world. It takes time to change our perspective to willingly work with or for someone who doesn't look or sound like us. But when we realize that each of us is first a talented person with a colorful story and experiences, we can then develop the confidence to share our many stories to create one that is yet even grander and more compelling. We are no longer a melting pot; we are a mixed salad. We have our unique attributes that add great value when maintained and united. E Pluribus Unum - out of many, one - it works in a country and it works in a company.
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