This will be the year for defining diversity. For some diversity hasbecome a shibboleth of political correctness, for others it defines acivilised society but for many it is a paradox where values, behavioursand attitudes often conflict. While until recently the many haveaccepted the ambiguities and relied on goodwill and good manners toresolve these potential conflicts, the increasing militancy of bothsides of the argument will force those of us leading organisations toconfront the issue and stake out what we believe to be the parameters ofa cohesive culture.
For many years the agenda has been driven by gender and race. Latelysexuality, disability and age have been included. However, what drove itinto the maelstrom of tabloid scrutiny was the even more difficult andcomplex issue of religion. For an increasingly secular society, it hasnot just been those whose attachment to their religion can mark them outas different. Even those attached to the state church can feelthemselves under threat.
At the heart of the media mayhem at the end of 2006 was ostensibly theright to dress as one chooses: to wear a veil in the presence of men ora cross around one's neck such that it is visible. In neither case,however, is this choice of dress a requirement for devotees of Islam orChristianity, unlike the Sikh turban. At the heart of these disputes isa far more significant issue: how far can anyone impose theirfundamental principles on others with whom they live and work and atwhat stage does that imposition become dysfunctional?
At any level, we have to be able to address the question of the balancebetween conformity and diversity. As a society, we have redefinedconformity endlessly over the centuries. There have been times ofgreater and lesser tolerance for diversity of religious belief,political belief, sexual relationships, immigrant communities and humanrights. At the other end of the scale, we define it for ourselves withinour families. We do this by defining who we will and will not mix with,what we do or do not accept from our partners, our children and ourfriends and how we choose to live our lives.
In organisations, we have avoided debates around these fundamentals byexcluding from the working environment many of the things that candefine who and what we are. We discourage talk of religion or politicsas it causes conflict. We manage individuality through having dresscodes, ways of working, behavioural standards and peer pressure. We haveanodyne values to which the vast majority could subscribe without havingto think about them and we try hard not to make personal style an issueunless it is way outside of accepted normality.
In this, we may have made a significant mistake. While diverse styles,thinking, approaches and attitudes can make far more effective teams,diverse values can destroy them. Diversity in values does not come fromyour gender, your race, your sexual orientation, your age or your levelof ability. It doesn't even come from your religious or politicalbeliefs. It comes from the way you see the world around you and at thecentre of this issue is fundamentalism.
There are fundamental values around which the vast majority of us wouldcoalesce: the belief that murder is wrong, for example. However, wherewe take that belief and the degree to which we uphold it would varyconsiderably: pacifism versus the concept of a just war, for example, orthe right to life at any cost versus those who believe in abortion oreuthanasia. Most organisations try to avoid forcing their people to makea stand unless they are specifically associated with one or otherposition.
Underpinning this is a positive value that I believe will need to beexplicitly endorsed and adopted if organisations are going to avoid thecurse of the fundamentalists: that of tolerance. Defining what we willand will not tolerate and then expecting compliance with how we dothings from those who join us will be essential if we are to avoid beingdragged into expensive, and ultimately futile, disputes with those whowish to impose their rights on all of us, regardless of theconsequences.
- Chris Bones is principal at Henley Management Collegechris.bones@haynet.com.
