The Power of Difference: Where the Complexities of Diversity and Inclusion Meet Practical Solutions

Description

Good intentions are not enough - real diversity is about change. This book explains why it's our differences and how we combine them that creates true diversity and generates innovation, fresh thinking and ultimately, success. With clarity and wit, The Power of Difference brings together the author's own experiences with the latest research to explain why inclusion is more than just being nice to people, why unconscious bias training isn't the fix we need and why listening to all individual voices, not just assuming that one viewpoint represents a group, is key. Offering insight, analysis and practical solutions, The Power of Difference is a must read for all managers, leaders and HR professionals as well as anyone looking to engage with the topic, who doesn't know where to start. Exploring how to confront bias, question assumptions and avoid generalizations, this book illustrates why diversity should be part of the overall business strategy, not separate from it. It shows how for innovation and diversity to flourish, we must create spaces that are safe for disagreement, not from disagreement. Written in an engaging yet practical style, this book courageously tackles some of the most significant issues at work today. Praise for The Power Of Difference Title Page Copyright Page Contents Some Thanks Dedication Dedication Introduction Creating alliances through difference The value of conflict: turning it positive The complexity of our differences Why inclusion needs to include all voices Tricky situations are personal A way you can change minds 01 What is diversity for? What Abraham Lincoln can teach us about achieving diversity Passion can be your worst enemy Why we need to do more than make gestures Good intentions only get you so far Diversity deficits and dividends aren’t the same thing The right thing to do The representative thing to do The smart business thing to do 02 Inclusion is not just about being nice to people A model for inclusion: difference not similarity First a bit of history If that’s the history, what does it mean for the present? Echo chambers What’s inclusion for? Inclusion must embrace disagreement Being yourself at work matters, so no one should have to ‘cover’ 03 Diversity is not a minority sport Differently different Why norms too often aren’t norms at all Diversity’s contradictory problem with minorities The flaw in flexibility More traps set up by the labels Minorities shed light on the bigger questions How ‘merit’ is by and large not actually merit 04 Unconscious bias is an excuse What happened when we legislated against bias? How business thought unconscious bias training was the cavalry We need to do the work, not beat ourselves up How unconscious bias training lets everyone off Why RAGE helps Bias is damaging – but it’s not a character flaw, it’s history Engage employees to listen to each other and find solutions Change the context for your people to interact more deeply 05 Ditch the superhero The ‘hero’ CEO Murderous chickens and open heart surgery Complexity needs diversity Creating diversity doesn’t happen accidentally It’s good business to be nosy: so, go on, find out the differences between you and others Stoves, codes and bankers: how diversity saved cooks, almost won the war and could have prevented the crash The Virtuous Circle of Selection What’s the team for? What’s the job for? What combination of difference enhances team performance? Or why more diversity keeps us safer in our beds Who have you got? So, who do you need to add to achieve the team’s goals? We have to design out the bias: it won’t happen on its own 06 Diversity isn’t harder to manage From Shabbat supper to managing difference Diversity perceived as conflict How diversity might have saved RBS from collapse Guerrilla warfare, tanks, and fast and slow thinking Technology: HMV and Covid-19 Why ‘safe spaces’ damage diversity Start from how it might be, not how ghastly it is References Index