Frank and I have designed and proposed a diversity process for Tshwane. Barrie and Keith are lecturing on Diversity in Hawaii every year. Graeme is busy proposing a Diversity process to Tiger Brands. Are we all talking the same language when it comes to embracing diversity? Can we learn from each other on this topic?
I would love to know, for instance, what exactly Barrie and Keith are focusing on in Hawaii in order to enrich my own thinking on the topic.
Here is a broad outline of Frank and my process with Tshwane:
When you talk embracing diversity, you first need to understand that diversity goes way beyond black and white. Black actually refers to Sotho, Tswana, Zulu, Venda, Xhosa etc while white includes English, Afrikaans etc. Except for cultural / racial diversity we also need to be aware of diversity in terms of age, gender, professions, personality, social background / class etc.
If you want to get a diverse group of people into harmony, you have to move with the group through three “spaces”:
Space 1: Accept, acknowledge, understand and be proud of your own unique background, culture, heritage. No need to throw this way. No need to be ashamed of this.
Space 2: Explore and understand the other person’s culture, background etc. Acknowledge the differences which might be worlds apart. Do not downplay the differences.
Space 3: Explore values and needs that you share. Work towards a shared culture shaped by everyone involved to work in the specific context. You thus end up with a contextualized culture that still gives every individual the opportunity to be congruent to him/herself.
Final thought on organisational culture. Remember culture grows from norms which grows from values which grows from really getting to know, respect and trust each other.
Barrie, Keith: How does this framework differ from what you are doing in Hawaii?
