Global Diversity – My experience as a Global Leader

I like to define global diversity as the richness of differences and similarities that exists amongst all people. It is all the attributes that makes us human and individuals. From our gender, the place where we were born and raised, our cultural ties, our education and the individual experiences that each of us has experienced in our lives. It is this multitude of backgrounds and experience that makes us similar and different from each other. Similar because we can share many things in common with others, but at the same time different because we have each experienced it individually.

For Mattel, the world’s largest toy company, a diverse global workforce simply makes good business sense. Our diversity is an integral part of our business strategy that serves to foster better business results. It is also a global initiative as we continue to grow our business outside the United States. Because of this global focus, it is important that we have a balance in our leadership and talent, which will help ensure our success in every country in which we operate.

No company is global in everything they do, and it’s finding the balance in what to do globally versus locally that is the key for success. That balance is found through choosing the right talent and ensuring that there is a representation as part of that talent. Thus, as companies become more global, diversity and multicultural management become critical to one’s success. It has been our experience that companies operate more effectively by emphasizing local, culturally relevant management and operations while training and developing a strong corporate culture that transcends borders. It is the balance of the local and global management that ensures success.

At Mattel, we understand that a culture of diversity is key to business success. With operations in more than 45 countries around the world, Mattel’s workforce is diverse by any measure, be it ethnicity, race, religion or gender. This diverse workforce allows us to identify and appreciate the business opportunities in each market and develop products and programs that resonate with children of all ages around the world.

Now more than ever we understand the business strategy for diversity, as we look to ensure that diversity is an integral part of every business decision. We must manage our business with a global mindset, and to achieve this we must ensure that we have global diverse talent. Every day we work to ingrain the importance of diversity into Mattel’s corporate culture, because workforce diversity ensures that we have the best global talent with diverse viewpoints and ideas.

But it also requires that all of our people, around the world, have the skills they need to excel in their careers, while helping to keep Mattel a leader in our industry. It is through diversity that we will ensure that we have the talent pool and the mix of thoughts and experiences that will give us the competitive edge to continue leading the toy industry and living our vision, which is “Creating the Future of Play.” I am proud to work for a company that recognizes the importance of diversity and is committed to encouraging diversity at every level of the company, here and around the world.

In the world we live in today where so many barriers that were common a few years back have been broken and there is so much more trading and sharing of information at all levels, addressing the topic of global diversity is no longer an option but a must for companies that want to grow in the global marketplace. I have heard comments throughout my career that it is better for teams to focus on their similarities and not their differences and that it is the way that teams get along and are best able to work together. I would agree, but only somewhat. While it is important for a group to focus on similarities, the richness of the contributions and insights depends on ensuring that the differences can also surface and be present in the discussions. It is by being able to share ideas and thoughts from our own experiences that we become more creative in solving problems and more adept at creating new opportunities, especially when dealing with situations or markets that are new to us.

Global diversity is the richness of experiences and cultural backgrounds that come to the table when a global team sits together on a project, on a company, or any organization. It is not limited to race or ethnicity or gender differences. It is all the combined experiences that make a group better and richer so that they build on each other’s experience and knowledge. But along with the richness of differences and experiences also come the challenges of learning how to work together and ensuring that there is balance and the right culture.

The best way to avoid mistakes and errors is to ensure that you have teams in place that are knowledgeable and adaptable to local nuances and also have the experience from central office to bring the essence of the company or organizational culture. It’s also essential to be certain that there is strong representation from both the central culture as well as the local culture, in addition to enough sharing of ideas and concepts to ensure that all points of view are considered before critical decisions are made. This type of team would be ideal for any organization. The other key factor to consider is how you will bring such a team together and promote the management of differences so that all feel they can fully contribute and perform up to the expectations of the organization. Managing global diversity is essential for success, and finding leaders that are good at doing this is a necessity.