Flatline Diversity Is An Inconvenient Oxymoron
Posted: Thursday, February 12, 2009
by Michael Gaffley
flatlinetochange
The world we live in has pretty much lost its moral high ground. More and more nations are cutting corners. Resultantly their leaders lose integrity and corruption and fraudulent activities become the norm. History has taught us that dynasties, kingdoms, empires and civilizations decline from within and eventually disappear in the wake of moral decline.
No-one needs to feel uncomfortable in confronting diversity. Anyway, the world is in such a mess right now. Chilling economic crises, global warming crises, burgeoning human rights crises and personal crises are spiraling out of control. It seems that these crises are growing in intensity, severity and frequency. The world is experiencing the worst economic crisis since the great depression. Blaming or pointing fingers at one person or group does not undo the mess. No one person or group is going to put our precious world together again. We will have to learn to work together or to surrender asunder.
So many trivial things keep us from reaching out to each other in order to find solutions. What is it that prevents you from working with your fellow worker? Have you ever thought that that which you are finding deplorable in his or her life might simply be the reflection of what is deplorable in your own life? I suggest that you try to imagine the situation, differently.
I define diversity as the cooperative of real people who bring a variety of biological, spiritual and social backgrounds, styles, perspectives, values, and beliefs as assets to groups, and organizations in which they have to work together relationally in order to energize and enact the organizational mission. The elementary act of recognizing diversity helps us to connect the great variety of gifts that people bring to the work and service of the organization. Diversity allows each of us to contribute in a special way to make our special gifts and talents a part of the collective effort.
Diversity efforts and programs in the workplace should be underpinned by the awareness that each one of us comes to this nexus of our personal lives and the lives of others in the workplace, for different reasons. We come to this nexus on different runways. We may have been socialized, shocked, and shaped by a series of different events on this runway of life. Like the pilot of an aircraft in final approach you have to take orders from the air traffic controllers in the tower even if you do not like it, you have to submit to their directives in order to ensure a safe landing. This is often a problem for us in the workplace. We do not want to take orders. When staff interacts with staff they advertise themselves and the runway experiences of their lives.
Staff members have formal education and degrees. They have orientation training in the work place. They get on the job in-service training. They are supervised, rewarded and follow career paths and promotions. However, organizations are often not effective, efficient, and productive. Why, because the greatest organizational asset, its human capital, is misunderstood and underutilized. We have to learn to understand our own behavior and relations in interactive-intensive organizations. We are okay while we are in bed asleep, but the minute we wake up and interact with others we often go from peaceful existence to conflicted coexistence. Our abilities seem to be affected by interaction with others. The ability to make effective choices and live an authentic life depends to a great extent on our capacity to be self-reflective. Self-reflection is the greatest asset that you have for living a fulfilling life that provides a sense of direction and influence over what happens to you. If you do not understand your own feelings, your own fears, your own values, your own intentions, and patterns of behavior, your life can be like a floater bobbing on the ocean, and going nowhere. Think about the gates that opened and the gates that closed on the journey of your life. You know how you felt at the time. Have you thought of the possibility that for some or other unresolved reason you have remained at that gate spiritually while you are trying like hell to make it physically, mentally and emotionally. Your energy is being sapped. Your body is here with me but your mind; well in fact you are where your mind is. Your attitude, your behavior reflects your thinking. What are you thinking? You come to work, you go home, you do your chores, you take care of your roles, tasks and responsibilities but it lacks passion. Why? It just does not make sense. It has no meaning, no purpose, and no spark. You are just not motivated anymore. Now you blame the manager. Blaming others robs you of energy, eventually you will be absent in your presence, fatigued by your own devices and constant defeats. Remember that that which you want to conceal most, is most revealed. I know that if people do not get what they need they take what they want, anyway, anyhow. So do not let your past and the halo of your professional arrogance dim the relevance of your humaneness.
The workforce needs to understand themselves better and relate to others more effectively. We all need to imagine our time at work as an adjustment of our lives in order to live our dreams. We do not have to agree with others in the workplace; but that it sure helps.
Thank you for your time . Please feel free to comment or to contribute your own article.
This is an excerpt from my book: Flatline to Change
www.flatlinetochange.com
www.cultureal.com
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