September 24th, 2009
Because we all want the sweetness.
My last post considered what we might learn from the world of chemistry about diversity and inclusion. Sweetness is an emergent property that is created when some specific atoms come together in some specific ways. If we want the sweetness in our organizations and communities, if we want creativity, innovation, and vitality we have to be willing and able to create more intersections. To bring together more people, ideas, and perspectives that are “different.” Creating intersections is important, but there is more to it than that.
When you increase the diversity in a social unit (family, neighborhood, team, community, organization, nation) you are creating space for two properties to emerge from the sparks thrown at the new intersections; creation and tension.
Regardless of what kind of diversity we are introducing or increasing, these are always the potential by-products. They are both important and to some degree intertwined, but too much tension or disagreement, or the inability to deal with it in a healthy, mature way can lead to dysfunction. (see Congress)
We can take some simple, yet powerful actions to make sure that we do not get to that point in our team or organization:
- Clarify, consistently, for everyone involved the value of diversity
- Reinforce the common interests or goals of the group
- Focus on and support higher level communication skills (dialogue rather than debate, ability to disagree, empathy, active listening, self-management, self-awareness, etc.)
And we can of course, Be Good To Each Other.