December 2004
By Vincent M. Cramer
Leadership Challenges in the Age of Diversity
Diversity Asset Management™ Expands the Leader’s Role
In a world of instantaneous communication, intercontinental transportation and global migration, we have entered the Age of Diversity. The dynamics of diversity have redefined the corporate landscape. In turn, the methods that are employed in leadership and team collaboration must be reassessed and redefined. The greatest Organizational Development challenge of the new millennium is leadership and leadership training.
In the past twenty years corporations, government agencies, universities and the military have increased the degree of diversity within their organizations. We refer to this process as Diversity Attainment. These organizations have also strived to increase the influence and impact of that diversity through the efforts of their Diversity Officers, Diversity Councils and Affinity Groups. From this initiative has come the realization that the traditional methods of Organizational Development and workgroup behavior must be reanalyzed and updated. At the Organizational Development epicenter is the challenge of leadership training.
Leadership provides guidance and direction to a team and is comprised of both personal qualities and acquired skills. The dynamics of diversity does not change these core elements, but it does require that leaders acquire additional skills.
From a historical perspective, leaders have the ability to assess the team, focus its energies, execute a plan and accomplish an objective. That remains the same. Once it becomes apparent that diversity is not a program, but an asset, it is incumbent upon a leader to maximize the return on that asset. The means by which the leaders can reach maximum asset realization is through the creation of a dynamic environment within which the leader can evaluate asset potential. Through these new skills, the leader can then apply those assets to refine the team’s focus, sharpen the plan, or even alter the objective. One process for accomplishing this is to employ Diversity Asset Management™. This is a comprehensive program with Cramer’s Cube as its embedded engine that enables an organization to communicate, collaborate and contribute—thus manifesting all of the assets embodied in its organizational diversity.
By supplementing leadership skill training, organizations add a degree of team dynamics not normally associated with firm and decisive leadership. The leader strives to ascertain and leverage the team’s assets in the execution of his or her duties. This approach might appear to be more circumspect than one would expect of a leader. The reason is that the assessment of these assets and the subsequent leverage of the assets may not be obvious or observable. The asset potential is embedded in the individual team members and the leader must create an environment that will reveal the individual assets and potential contributions of each member of the organization.
Since we are claiming that leaders must develop additional skills, you can conclude that we are putting forth an initiative that is evolutionary and additive. The qualities and skills that traditionally define leadership remain intact.
Knowing a Great Deal About Relatively Little
Leadership ability has been valued for centuries. For that reason, Leadership Skill Training is probably just as long in the tooth. It would appear that the qualities and skills required for effective leadership are universally known and recognized. Simply studying the great leaders of the ages would seem to provide us with a composite of all that needs to be known about leadership and leadership development. That assumption is valid, but the conclusion is unfounded. New leadership requirements are constantly emerging. How can it be said that subject matter as mature as leadership requires reassessment when it is understood in such detail and depth? The possible answer can be illustrated with a couple of analogies from two very mature fields - medicine and astronomy.
DNA is where the detailed information of an individual resides. Ironically, every human on the planet shares more than 99% of DNA. As the Genome Project attempts to pinpoint the commonality of qualities, characteristics and dispositions of humans, scientists are more intrigued by what DNA is not telling them than what it is revealing.
The study of the cosmos is generating the same type of intrigue. The body and the cosmos are both universes, but of a different magnitude. With advances in space probes, telescopes and precision measurement devices, scientists have made quantum leaps in astronomy and astrophysics. However, the universe for which scientists have deep knowledge is defined as the Observable Universe. Recent studies have informed us that it only comprises 4% of the total universe. Another 23% is composed of Dark Matter, and the remaining 73% has been given the name Dark Energy. Therein lies the intrigue and mystery. Scientists cannot actually define Dark Matter and Dark Energy, but they do have a clear understanding of their effects. The database of knowledge that deals with the observable universe is a natural extension of the knowledge passed down from the scientists of previous generations.
If scientists focus only on the observable 4% of the cosmos, the knowledge gained will be limited. Scientists must pursue the study of the Observable Universe without losing “sight” of the unobservable 96%. Measuring effects, in addition to observing causes, will accomplish this. This same premise applies to leadership training and the dynamics of diversity.
Humanity’s Dark Energy
It is refreshing to see that we no longer fear the unknown. In fact we are intrigued by it. Medicine and astronomy will leap to the next plateau by gaining insight into what is beyond our ability to define or even imagine. This contrasts sharply from the historical advancement of knowledge whereby we would build on the previous knowledge base. Knowledge is no longer separated into descriptions of the “known” vs. the “unknown.” The cosmological “unknown” now has categories, such as Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Just as the precision of mathematics is complemented by the apparent imprecision of chaos theory, one must have knowledge of both, to have an understanding of either.
Follow these analogies from the “exact sciences” of medicine, mathematics and astronomy to the “inexact science” of human behavior. Anthropologists tell us that even the most primitive of men attempted to create order and logic out of the universe, principally because it is the human thing to do. Humans are curious, but also intellectually tidy. That predilection motivated mankind to constantly create order from chaos. Whether it be the creation of astrology or pop-up menus, humans feel comfortable with organization, classification and compartmentalization. Astrology is the ultimate in human tidiness because it contains 12 classifications and everyone belongs in one of those 12 groupings. The common traits aid astrologers in defining the entire species by grouping individuals into a finite number of predefined classifications.
Humans never truly accept imprecision, disorder or ignorance. Even when we go into such chaotic waters, the first tendency is to take what is observed and put it in an acceptable order and genus. We cannot help it. We are only being human! Humans even go to the level of cataloguing themselves. So that we can understand ourselves, others and our interpersonal behavior, we tend to create groups of commonality based on characteristics or behavior. After all, we are only being human!
Drawing upon the insight of DNA and astrophysics, just suppose that classifying humans only dealt with a small percentage of the totality of the person. It would be incumbent upon us to investigate the unknown regions for they may contain deeper human insight and understanding. As with astronomy, what we learn will come from the observation of human kinetics as opposed to the typecasting of human potential.
Behavioral Typecasting
As we enter the Age of Diversity, the dynamics are such that we can no longer feel secure and confident that we have “typed” people correctly and grouped them precisely. Such typecasting may only accommodate a small percentage of the known universe of human individuality. The true measure of individual uniqueness may lie in areas where we have yet to look. The insight to this statement comes from our recent understanding of diversity and the deployment of Diversity Asset Management™.
If a cataloguing is done on anything, or anyone, it not only defines the parameters as to what it is, but also what it is not. A Capricorn cannot also be an Aquarius. An extrovert is unique from an introvert and a left-brainer is quite different from a right-brainer. There is really no problem in classifying people by type, but if that is where the journey ends, then typing becomes typecasting and the classifications become very limiting. What is required to better understand human behavior and interpersonal dynamics is the addition of kinetic diversity. If all individuals are predefined and catalogued, then there is a channeling of our observations, analysis and judgments. We begin to move in the direction of predetermination and its ugly byproduct…predestination. It may be a slope that is just as slippery as the one that takes us from judgment, to pre-judgment to prejudice.
What makes us the same is our humanity and what makes us unique is our individuality. Behavioral scientists and anthropologists will continue to advance our knowledge of what makes us similar, but leaders in Organizational Development may have the greatest practical insight to what makes us the unique individual that we are. The arena where this will most likely take place is in Leadership Skill Training.
From Leader to Navigator to Leader
Leadership provides guidance and direction. That sounds simple enough, but whose guidance and what direction? Leadership in a hierarchical and autocratic organization is quite simple and straightforward. The military and organized religions are both examples of this structure. Leaders lead and subordinates follow. Period. It is a command-based structure. In a less autocratic organization, there is a softer side to the leadership. The strength of leadership is tempered by the skill to influence and gain acceptance, in contrast to a command and control structure. These leaders posses the requisite leadership qualities and are schooled in leadership skill development. Paramount to a leader’s success is the ability to establish group identity, exert influence and build confidence. That will facilitate the completion of the objective. To reduce the complexity of that task, a leader must have knowledge of his or her personal traits as well as the traits of the groups of individuals that are being led.
The interpersonal dynamics in this setting can be quite stifling. Since the leader intends to lead, he or she has a game plan, which requires deployment. Inputs are solicited for the purpose of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the leader. The more that a leader knows about the type of people on the team, the greater will be his or her ability to guide and direct them.
This form of leadership presumes that the requisite information, strategy and objective reside with the leader. In most situations that is the case. In today’s dynamic and challenging world, the information may be lacking and the strategy may not be optimum. As a practical matter, even the objective may be open to revision. In such cases, leadership ability may require the addition of navigation skills. A navigator is always in pursuit of data, information and perspective. In this Age of Diversity, there may be a vast amount of data, information and perspective embodied in the members of the team. The leader could gain significant advantage if that data could be captured and applied. A dynamic environment and an applicable methodology are required to facilitate the process and maximize the contributions from each team member. Cramer's Cube is the embedded engine within Diversity Asset Management™, which generates the dynamics required by the leaders.
An individual can possess the qualities of a leader and acquire the skills to become an effective leader. However, an individual cannot possibly possess the vast potential that exists within the ranks of the organization. One can learn the skills, but one cannot possess all of the team’s attributes and insights. Therefore, the leader must learn additional skills that will enable him or her to extract the potential that resides in the team and transform it into a kinetic force. The process for doing this will not convert the current leadership process into a democratic process. The leader still leads and the team still follows the guidance and direction of the leader. The difference lies in the formulation of the objective and the strategies. This is the result of Communication, Collaboration and Contribution.
Diversity Asset Management™Leadership training must now expand its scope and curriculum. Leadership skills must be augmented in order to focus on the vast assets and potential that lie within diverse organizations. Diversity must be recognized and leveraged as a tactical and strategic asset.
As illustrated above, Cramer's Cube is the embedded engine that drives the dynamics of diversity, within the Operational Groups. Each individual is no longer behaviorally typecast into a predefined group but is given the power of Involvement. Groups that operate using the methodology of Cramer's Cube have the ability, rather the responsibility, to provide his or her unique Insight and Influence. Capturing those results will assist in the formulation and execution of the assignment.
The objective of all organizations should be to maximize the contribution and impact of its key assets. With the adoption and deployment of Cramer's Cube, corporations will leverage those assets and gain significant competitive advantage, under the guidance and direction of its leader(s).
Vincent M. Cramer is the author of Cramer’s Cube. He is also the founder of The Winchester Consulting Group, an Organizational Development and Training Company specializing in the principles of Cramer's Cube and its application to Leadership, Innovation and Diversity Asset Management™. www.cramerscube.com
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