(More On Diversity Cont. 1)

Introduction

Improving an organisation's culture takes time.

"...Culture refers to 'the way things are done around here'. It includes the unwritten rules of behaviour about what is acceptable and unacceptable..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2023f

However, moving from a healthy to an unhealthy culture can occur more quickly than imagine, eg when an effective leader is replaced by a less effective leader.

As tribal animals, humans tend to adapt quickly to behaviours of those around them. When going to a new environment, we try to adapt to the new cultural and behavioural norms of that environment. Otherwise, we can become isolated as we are seen as different, and because we are social animals, we do not like this.

This can help explain why diversity and inclusion are hard to achieve.

Diversity

"...Organisations with greater leadership diversity at 2.4 times more likely to outperform their competitors. Companies which are ranked in the top 10% among their peers in financial performance have at least 5% more leaders who are women and from minority groups those of below-average performance..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2023f

As similarity makes any person feel comfortable, you tend to hire people like yourself, ie similar background, experiences and thought processes.
"...This homogeneity can negatively impact how decisions are made. The more alike people are, the more likely they are to think along the same lines, and therefore, there is less room for debate, discernment and disagreement..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2023f

Research has shown that a diverse team makes better decisions; diversity includes gender, ethnicity, age, experience, background, etc.
"...the diverse groups outperform more homogeneous groups not because of an influx of new ideas but because the diversity triggers more careful processing of discussed information..."
Michelle Gibbings, 2023f