A couple weeks ago, I attended a Diversity, Inclusion, and Fairness conference at my school. Honestly I went because it was a requirement, but I found myself interested and thankful within minutes of the opening speaker beginning the conference.
The opening speaker, Justin Jones-Fosu, began by showing the crowd pictures of celebrities and asking the question, "Do you like me?" The crowd responded to each picture by shouting "boo" or by applauding. The final picture of the slideshow was a picture of Jones-Fosu's father, which was greeted by silent hesitation. The point to be made here was that we as a society judge famous people based off what we see in the media and often judge every day people less quickly, but we know each about the same.
Jones-Fosu went on to define diversity in a way more simple and more easily understandable than I have every heard it defined before. Diversity = Difference. Everyone is diverse. Just because a group or an organization is comprised of members of the same ethnicity, the same economic class, etc. does not mean that the group is not diverse. Likewise, just because a group or an organization is comprised of members from multiple ethnicities, multiple economic classes, etc. does not mean that this group is any more diverse than another. Each member comes from a different family, a different background, and has been through different life experiences. Therefore, each group is diverse.
Where a lack of diversity becomes an issue is not when a group looks the same on the outside, but it is when the group becomes identical on the inside, mentally and behaviorally. Jones-Fosu discussed the "herd theory," which is the idea that when there is an impending danger, a group tends to go in the same direction. This becomes a problem when one member of the group leads the other off a cliff. He then asked us if we thought that our herd was leading us in the right direction and reminded us that "we can emulate others while not becoming copies."
Diversity is about understanding people. Jones-Fosu proposed four personality styles: Expressives, drivers, and analytics.
Expressives are those people who love the spotlight and being the center of attention. They are creative and innovative, but their biggest weakness is that they can often shut down if their work is not recognized by others.
Drivers are those who are task oriented, great at getting the job done, and handle stress well. However, their weakness that they are often perceived by others as manipulative and bossy.
Amiables are those who seek closeness to others. They love hugs and put relationships first. These people truly care about how you are and tend to hide from conflict to preserve relationships. Their weakness is that they will often put relationships before work so much so that they work suffers.
Analytics are the great thinkers. They make plans and want to get it right. They can often be hard to read, but their weakness is that they can often plan so diligently that they actually fail to execute their plans.
Each of these types are essential components of any one group. Having each of the four is key to making sure that a diverse group can work together. Jones-Fosu proposed two pairs of "sandpaper styles," which balance one another out, the drivers with the amiables and the expressives with the analytics.
More importantly than how to balance a diverse environment is the meaning of true diversity. Jones-Fosu brought up Diversi-ME vs Diversity. Diversi-ME is what makes you different from others, which is not always the best way to look at it. True diversity is recognizing and is being able to stand up for somebody else's differences because you know it's what is right.
