What do you imagine when you think of diversity? Do you think about race, gender, age, ethnic origin or sexual orientation? For me, diversity is not defined by the checkboxes on a form, but the differences that arise from the compilation of each of our lives that make us who we are today.
When I was born, I had no thoughts, no preconceived ideas about the world, no prejudices and no stereotypes. I had not yet experienced human interaction and therefore had not experienced the joy of acceptance or the disappointment of rejection. No one had told me yet how I was supposed to think or act around people who were different from me. I had not yet formed opinions about what made people better or worse than me.
As we’ve each traveled along our paths, we all have experienced the world in a different way. Our horizon of experience is unique to each one of us. Events in our lives have shaped us. Regardless of where we were born or what subculture we were born into, we all have experienced unique events that have changed how we view the world.
For some, those events were traumatic, like the loss of a loved one, a debilitating illness, a dysfunctional family or being a victim of violence or bullying. For some, those events expanded their world like traveling, or reading or listening to stories from past generations. For many, the events involved personal tragedy, personal triumph, failure and success. We can all look back on our horizon of experience and identify those major, life-changing events, but it is also the quiet influences on our path that have changed us. Those events were barely noticeable, yet they shaped who we are, like observing kindness among strangers or discovering new music or new food.
Two people can be put in a room and, on the surface, have absolutely nothing in common. However, start exploring their horizons of experience, and more than likely, they will find they have experienced some of the same events in life. For all of our differences, we have connections that bind us together.
If you looked at my resume, you'd see that I have a lot of the same education and work experience as many other people. You could stand me next to other women my age, my race, my religion and my socioeconomic background and you might think we are the same, but no one has my horizon of experience, which makes me uniquely who I am. This is my definition of diversity. It is not what is seen on the surface, but what life has molded me into and what life has molded each person around me into.
Therefore, you should never assume you know a person by looking at them. Each person should be judged on their individual characteristics. If you surround yourself with people who are vastly different than you, your horizon will expand, and you will become a much more interesting person.
In The Workplace
In order for diversity to work in your organization, you have to take advantage of the experience that is present in your workforce. It is not just about hiring a diverse workforce; it is about accepting and utilizing the skills that are brought to the table by every employee, who each brings their own unique horizon of experience.
Consider how you motivate your employees. Are you asking them to provide a high level of output, yet telling them exactly how you want it to be accomplished? It is natural to assume that our way is the best way, but your employees may have experiences that have taught them different approaches to accomplishing those same tasks in a more efficient manner. Don't discount your employees based on your assumptions of them. That young man who you think is "just a millennial" may have traveled the world and learned techniques that you have not yet heard of. That elderly woman who you think is just working to pass the time may have once managed a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
You should not only be listening to your employees, but you should also be actively soliciting their feedback. Ask your employees how they think the organization can improve on the challenges that it faces, whether it be production quotas, processes or customer service scores. There are many ways to get employee feedback: establish improvement teams or focus groups, provide a web-based suggestion system, incorporate organization-specific questions into the annual employee survey or set up a reward-based suggestion program. The bottom line is you can't tap into the wealth of diverse knowledge if you don't provide an avenue for the employees to share that knowledge.
Can you imagine how strong your organization would be if you expanded your horizons and fully utilized all of the experience and knowledge that you have available to you?
