Life must imitate art as pop culture learns the magic of diversity at the top
Pop culture is usually the first to pick up on zeitgeists. Take Disney, and its front-of-house overhaul. Once upon a time, a Disney heroine would be found longing wistfully for a knight in shining armour to come to her rescue. But Disney princesses are now nuanced individuals with ideas and ambitions of their own. This is one reason why the Frozen franchise, with its strong female leads, is such a cultural phenomenon.
Or on British screens last month was a duo of South Asian women at the forefront of Bridgerton. Historically inaccurate, sure. Tapping into the need for representation on our screen? Yep.
By rethinking fairy-tales and happy-ever-afters, creatives are rewriting social norms in front of our eyes. Without representation across all levels of an organisation, you simply won’t get the best out of your human capital. For all the focus on pipeline talent, budding Elsa’s need someone to look up to.
Organisations tend to focus on the “what” and not the “how”. Instead of recognising entry-level recruitment as a starting point for rethinking talent, it has been viewed as an end in and of itself.
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are often viewed as a drain on resources because of the time they can involve. But this is a short-term mindset which sees these schemes as “feel good” ESG narratives, rather than valuable from a business perspective.
The notion of “psychological safety” is well-known and widespread in management circles. Coined by Amy Edmondson, a Harvard business management scholar, the phrase intuitively describes the type of environment where people feel able to thrive.
Beyond the more obvious motivational benefits that flow from a sense of belonging, ideas are rarely driven by one person. A recent article by McKinsey summarised this best, saying “when employees feel comfortable asking for help… organisations are more likely to innovate quickly.”
Good managers focus on day-to-day operations and tactical fixes. However, truly great leaders focus on their people. They become adept at spotting their employees’ “why”.
Allowing a degree of freedom within roles should also ensure individuals have enough time and space to experiment and to follow their passions, interests and curiosities. Not only is this likely to lead to higher engagement and fulfilment, but it will also allow them to better identify their strengths.
There is a simplistic and unquestioned belief in meritocracy when making hiring decisions: “Hire the best person for the job, always.” But this logic isn’t simple or accurate.
The first – under-appreciated potential – should not come as a surprise. The second relates to optimal team dynamics.
Imagine you have a team all capable of achieving seven out of ten on a test. Unfortunately, due to cultural similarities in their education and lived experiences, they all get the same three questions wrong.
You are now faced with two candidates for a new hire. One gets the same 70 per cent score, along with the same three incorrect answers. The alternative candidate only gets 30 per cent on the test, but the three questions she gets right are the ones everyone else got wrong.
Although every individual is smart and has impressive knowledge, they create what Matthew Syed dubs a “team of clones”. Within this, “they are also homogenous. They know similar things, and share similar perspectives”. Diversity characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background and neurodiversity are all proxies for the “difference” we should seek.
Let’s get back to Disney. The importance of its public role models and re-wiring of stories is perhaps best summed up by the phrase “You can’t be what you can’t see.” For all their power and truth, there is another, deeper issue at play.
Senior leaders routinely miss talent because they cannot see it. This is because their way of looking at the world is rarely fit for the future. The World Economic Forum estimates 50 per cent of all employees will need reskilling by 2025. If we’re looking for people to serve today’s needs – they might not serve tomorrow’s.
When plotting out our future leaders, managers look for the wrong characteristics, behaviours and skillsets. The implications for succession planning and hiring should be clear: instead of valuing “difference” and “potential”, many fall back on deep-seated notions of “fit” and “polish”.
Disney’s whole business is built around storytelling. Though far from perfect, having only recently just appointed its first female chair, Disney’s – and other entertainment groups – efforts to shift perceptions and correct biases is inspirational.