Critical Mass in teams: the data behind true inclusion

Critical Mass in teams: the data behind true inclusion

What you’ll find below:

  1. The Magic Third
  2. Finishing the year strong
  3. A follow up watch < 10 min on common referents
  4. Free screening of The Hello Girls: sign up!

The Magic Third

In a recent conversation between Malcolm Gladwell and Harvard Business Review editor Ali Ignatius, they discuss the idea of the magic third: the idea that when the percentage of a minority in any organization or neighborhood or other community rises to a third. Gladwell references the legendary paper by Rosabeth Kanter (Men and Women of the Corporation). Kanter was a consultant brought into analyze why the new women on a sales team were not performing well. She assessed that the women were perfectly talented, but that there weren’t enough of them. Group proportions matter.

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“When the number of outsiders or newcomers reach a certain threshold, they can be themselves,” she writes. “When they are below that threshhold, they are not themselves. They are under tremendous amounts of pressure. ..intellectual diversity is extremely important to the success of a team. If you want to have four different kinds of voices, you need to be sure that each of these different voices is represented in sufficient numbers that they can be themselves.”

I’ve had the suspicion for some time that this is one of the reasons for the differences in perceived success of integration of women into submarines, and integration into attack aviation. In the latter (my experience) we were dripped one at a time into large all-male units. In the former, due to bunking requirements on the crowded boats, women were integrated in small groups on each submarine.

“Our work is to focus on those areas and those things over which we have control, and make them the best that we can.” -Shannon Huffman Polson

The Night Witches and their sister pilots, who flew every kind of attack aircraft for the Soviet Union with astonishing audacity and success in WWII, flew primarily in squadrons of exclusively women. The Night Witches themselves were all women. Some women flew in other units that were mixed were often present in groups (though not all) within the fighter units.

The Night Witches, one of several all women aviation regiments which flew for the Soviet Union in WWII

A decades old consideration of this idea looked more specifically at what happens when there are very few women in particular (as opposed to other minorities, and how not only do few numbers hinder the contribution of these leaders, but there can also be an additional challenge resulting from sometimes subconscious competition or sabotage.

Related though separate research looks at women in backcountry pursuits. The findings are fascinating: the safest teams which get into the fewest accidents are the groups made up of all women, followed by groups made up of both men and women. The groups made up of all men suffer the highest number of accidents. Similar studies have like findings in industry.

All of this is worth considering as DEI efforts seem to be on the wane, markedly so in certain companies and industries. One thing we know for sure is that a diverse workforce benefits the bottom line— and it’s the right thing to do. It also needs to be done in the right ways. Leaders must educate themselves on the nuances of making inclusion work for the benefit of their employees— and their companies.

Lest any of us become complacent, the 10th anniversary McKinsey Women in the Workforce report shows several areas where progress has stalled or in fact reversed. I give an overview here, but to sum up: still at play is the broken rung effect: men are promoted more than women are promoted in entry level positions. While women are achieving more senior positions, the pipeline seems to be clogged. What do you do about this?

This question came in the midst of a senior leaders meeting recently. You start with understanding the issue, I suggested, and then move into training leaders, putting processes in place, and setting up systems of accountability. All of this is best done, of course, with holistic cultural considerations as well. As with any significant effort, the leadership must be fully invested.

What do you do to ensure your workplace benefits from the best candidates for a given job?


Finishing the year strong:

It’s the last quarter of the year. Our U.S. national election is now only a week away. This may be the biggest election of our lifetimes, the election that will determine the future of our country.

I know there are readers from around the world, and I’ve heard from several of you how important our election is for you, too. There is a lot of emotion in this polarized society we live in, and some incivility. This will affect every one of us— and every office and workgroup, too.

But how we finish the year should not be tied in any way to the outcome of the election, or our thoughts about it, or how there people may be acting badly. Regardless of the results, the most important thing for each of us to do is to continue working in those areas and on those things over which we have control, and make them the best that we can. Look for places to make a difference, and invest time and resources to make it happen. Ensure fair treatment for those around you. Speak up for those whose voices may not be heard.

The most important change in our world will come from each of us in our respective areas of life and influence.

Follow up on the need for a common referent:

A couple of newsletters ago I wrote about the need for a common referent, and then came across this spectacular video connecting perhaps the greatest musician of all time to all subsequent music. Watch it— I won’t spoil it— other than to say, we do ourselves a deep disservice not connecting to or teaching ourselves and our kids the classics as a point of reference and as foundation for how we work in the world.


Love it when clients are thrilled with our Grit Factor work together!


Did you know that women served in support of the Great War (World War 1) as telephone operators? They swore the Army oaths, wore the uniform, did the work— and then returned after the war to be told that they had not served. Sign up for a free screening of The Hello Girls on November 6 in honor of these servicewomen and Veterans Day.

With my best, always, and to your grit,

Shannon

PS: I’ll be speaking at Seattle’s upcoming Ikigai Summit in November, and would love to see you there.

PSS: Who needs to be a part of the work at The Grit Institute? Forward this on to someone who could use it!



Christina Curtis

Best Selling Author + Business Coach featured on ABC, FOX, FORTUNE, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Psychology Today

3 周

Thank you, this is so interesting!

David Billstrom

Advisor to Leaders, Passionate about Making in the U.S.A.

4 周

Fascinating... I'd heard of the Magic Third... you've explained it so well and succinctly! Thank you.

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