Managing diversity
Featured in the Using Emotional Intelligence at Work training manual
By Mike Bagshaw
Category: Emotional Intelligence
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
The customer base of most organisations is growing more diverse, both nationally and internationally. Managers have to learn to use this diversity of background to bring innovation, productivity and growth. An organisation that doesn’t reflect the community it serves may not provide the highest customer service. Perhaps more importantly, to get the best out of people we need to value differences as well as encourage commitment to a shared sense of purpose. If we try to create clones, we are less likely to be adaptive to the sudden and unpredictable changes that take place in the market. We are also less likely to be aware of the subtle changes that could undermine the business. Sometimes the arrogance of groupthink prevents us from seeing what we need to see – there’s no one to challenge the status quo. We need diversity of viewpoints to enable us to find creative solutions and to explore new possibilities. Such diversity, based on differences in background, culture, ways of learning and thinking, offers the organisation a richness of possibilities, but also presents new challenges and tensions.
This training activity opens with an introductions exercise that focuses on similarities and differences. This leads to an exploration of the benefits of valuing difference and a culture of diversity. You then conduct a session on the assumptions we make about each other and how these can lead to prejudicial decisions. A pair-working exercise on the origin of our assumptions, attitudes and feelings about people who appear different from us is followed by a small-group exercise on personal experiences of exclusion, with particular emphasis on how it feels. You then present a model of communication, which is helpful in the context of diversity. The training activity is rounded off with a self-assessment exercise on inclusive leadership, and each of the participants says how they propose to manage diversity more effectively. You summarise the training activity by asking the group to remember a relevant acronym.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to enable participants to manage diversity, focusing on the emotional issues associated with diversity.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:45:00 |
| No of Pages: | 24 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers on most management development and teamwork programmes.
Download the training activity, Managing diversity as featured in the Fenman training manual; Using Emotional Intelligence at Work