Diversity and Inclusion – key to growth!

The words diversity and inclusion are not rare in the vocabulary of corporations today. These are more than buzz words or words that address compliance related issues; these words reflect a growing realization of the full potential available to corporations especially those with a global reach and which are expanding their business overseas each year. At times is hard to comprehend how it is that companies with operations in many parts of the world achieve the results that they do, because there are many obstacles that can get on the way. Behind the success of many companies is a lot of work in dealing with different, regulations, different kind of customers and accounts as well as government regulators This work gets done by people that understand that flexibility is key in dealing with multiple cultures at the same time. So growth is about continually improving how things are done and to ensure maximum business results. Growth depends on our diversity and how we manage inclusion
I have had the good fortune to travel the world for work and have met people from many different cultures, backgrounds, and races. And I learned that we each see the world and interact with other people differently based upon our unique mindsets, traditions, and customs. This creates both the opportunity and the challenge regarding our global diversity as we get our work done through both personal and business relationships. The key to navigating in the global marketplace is to determine how we can develop and grow our results by embracing our diversity and creating an inclusive culture. An inclusive culture being one where different opinions matter and people are expected to contribute different viewpoints and insights, even if these are out of the norm.
Diversity is each and every one of us. It is the whole picture, which means that you are part of “diversity” no matter who you are. Diversity is ensuring that each team together has every piece that it needs to maximize its possibilities – to create better product ideas for a global marketplace and to execute these ideas for the maximum benefit of the company. Our different backgrounds, be it where you were raised, where you went to school, your family traditions, your gender, your friends, your beliefs, all contribute to who we are as individuals. We might each connect to different things and see different possibilities because of our unique background.
Inclusion is how to ensure that the group can harness its diversity to work well, and that everyone feels that they can be themselves and are able to be an integral part of the team. Imagine being part of a team, and not being given a chance to share an opinion or provide feedback about an idea, just because your ideas or your communication style don’t seem relevant to some. This might be because you are perceived as “different” from some teammates. “Different,” however, is not “wrong” and may be the source of the innovative idea the team needs most. Inclusion is about more of us asking for more information, pausing and listening well, and being open to the “crazy” ideas of others. We are in many ways creatures of habit and it is human nature to feel more comfortable with people who have similar backgrounds, be the same gender, the same school, degree program, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other shared aspect of identity. We relate more readily based upon similarity and develop a natural human connection immediately. We all want to be part of a group and feel that we belong. We see things with similar lenses, we like similar things, and our preferences are aligned.
But reality is that diversity brings differences and the greatest challenge and opportunity is to ensure that we don’t dismiss others just based on our preferences. The opportunity is to create a group were differences abound and that it works together for maximum benefit for the organization.
The real business opportunity of diversity & inclusion, however, rests more with exploring our differences. It is our different and varied thoughts, perspectives, and ways of thinking that may provide the next innovative and creative idea that becomes our next global success. This is why corporations that are focusing on global business results need to rely more and more on the employees becoming more adept and comfortable working with coworkers of all different backgrounds. This is the real importance of inclusion.
Consider the successes that a diverse and inclusive team might have when developing a product or concept for a “different” consumer or customer who does not fit within the established cultural norms of the team members. These successes may come from the team’s own members or because the team intuitively reaches out to people who provide the needed insights. For example:
We would more confidently:
 Design and develop products so that they will be widely accepted by our increasingly-diverse consumers.
 Create a new brand that serves to grow our business in a new market.
 Enter a new market where you have not had prior experience.
Because we would routinely:
 Check possible styles, consumer preferences packaging messages and product names with the diverse employee population or with or employee resource groups to avoid making inappropriate assumptions.
 Recognize that their different consumer behaviors, buying power of consumers and preferences and we appropriately understand these and create the insights needed for success.
 Engage team on learning key customer and consumer behavior, laws and regulations, cultural nuances and do and don’ts of the country.
These are examples of how an inclusive mindset will help a global company excel in meeting customer’s and consumers’ specific needs. We know that consumers are most loyal to those products and companies that have done this type of careful research and have incorporated these insights into their products. In these ways, an inclusive mindset will help produce an ever more positive reception in the marketplace and make us ever more successful. And customers want to be understood and their “needs” need to be met, to achieve this right, teams need to be in place, both in terms of training and mindset.
One key goal for us is to have a workforce that represents all possible consumers groups that have significant buying potential for our products. Think of the marketplace and the possible consumer groups as representing the range of perspectives and insights that we need in order to be successful with the right products in the right places at the right time. The right workforce representation could mean the difference between good and great. And the right culture of inclusion means that each team member feels comfortable in bringing their experiences into the mix, without the concern of being viewed as different.
In a fiercely competitive global marketplace, senior executives understand the importance of diversity as a key element of business strategy to the success – or failure – of the company. They understand that by building diversity and inclusion platforms, they will have a deeper understanding of our customers and consumers, as well as relevant insights for the teams. This will in turn allow them to build a multi-cultural workforce that can drive revenue growth and ensure that we maximize every single market opportunity.
Diversity in the workplace is a reality, Inclusion is making that reality work its magic!