Join forces: DIAL it up!

Many hands make light work! It was like a lightbulb went off as I saw this quote framed on the wall of a coffee-shop.

I had been preparing for 3 events this month – each related to a slightly different aspect of my role. First, was an interaction with BIPOC high-school students, in my role as a scientist and an advocate for diversity in STEM fields, (Learning to Lead program, sponsored by Accenture and Achieve Twin Cities’ Step-Up) hosted at 3M. The second was a keynote at an event hosted by 3M for Global Women’s Connect (CWGC) of the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management (CSOM), and I was to share perspective on innovation and the role diversity plays. And the last event was a taping for a podcast, discussing a world been shaped by megatrends that bring opportunity for sustainable innovation, and the role of leadership.

It may seem obvious now, but it hit me as I saw the quote – I am advocating for science and vocal about diversity in STEM fields, I work on science-based, scalable, and sustainable innovation as a corporate scientist, and I am a passionate proponent of inclusive leadership and a culture of empowerment - and how deeply intertwined and all these topics are! Diversity is, after all, integral to sustainable innovation and inclusive leadership. The diversity advocates, champions for sustainable innovation and those who are advocating for inclusive leadership skills, all need to join hands. This was exactly the reframing I needed after my recent dive into the topic of Diversity Fatigue. This sense of exhaustion is impacting those advocating for diversity and those who are feeling tired of hearing about diversity initiatives.

There is a great recognition currently for the need for sustainable innovation given the megatrends. Also, the relationship of increased diversity with increased innovation has been well documented. Moreover, it is also recognized that to foster the spirit of innovation and embrace diversity, inclusive leadership is a much-needed skill, especially as workplace expectations and worker demographic evolve. The recent applications of Generative AI may be highly innovative – but they have clearly shown the bias that can creep in, given the content used to train the models and the inequality it can continue to propagate. The AI tools respond to questions such as who can be a CEO, what are leadership qualities and show me an engineer with stereotypical responses perpetuating bias against women and minorities in science, and in leadership roles. This should be a call-to-action.

Dial down

Just as the need for innovation is growing with threats to human health and wellbeing,?national security, and grand challenges such as climate change, experts have shown that in many ways innovation is getting more and more incremental – this, when we need it to be transformational in nature. The number of research papers is growing but these tend to be on the same topics discussed before, and typically do not foster disruptive, new or novel ideas. Others have suggested that the research doesn’t appear to be helping to improve performance, build scale and lower cost despite the need for breakthrough technology and products. The authors propose that the system must move from the current publish mentality to an actual practical improvement mindset. This could be done in alliance with corporations. However, the authors acknowledge that this also has become difficult given that the corporate R&D has also been systematically weakened, with not many large labs left to conduct basic or applied research. A wholesale change is warranted and a move away from simplistic and bureaucratic metrics that help “bureaucrats retain power and position” in turn distracting from real challenges in commercializing new technologies that are useful and transformative. A renewed vision and a revision of leadership qualifications is required.

Dial in

Inclusive leadership can be defined as the ability to build and lead a highly diverse workforce. In recent years it has emerged as an imperative leadership skill and considered critical for organizational success. Diversity and inclusion drive optimal organizational performance and foster a culture of innovation. Building a diverse workplace helps retain and engage diverse talent given the diversity of markets, customers and ideas. Inclusive leadership can have a direct impact on innovation by positively impacting employee self-efficacy, confidence and optimism. Inclusive leadership behaviors facilitate group members’ perceptions of inclusion, which in turn lead to “psychological empowerment, and positive behavioral outcomes (creativity, job performance, and reduced turnover) in the pursuit of group goals. Thus, inclusive leaders can enhance employees’ psychological capital to promote their innovative behavior by recognizing, encouraging, and respecting employees and tolerating employees’ failures.”

Social scientists have conceptualized inclusive leadership being at the intersection of diversity management and leadership studies and a highly effective management style for garnering competitive advantage. Researchers propose that inclusive leadership goes beyond fostering employee uniqueness and strengthening a sense of belonging within the team. The analysis also reveals two additional aspects: showing appreciation?and supporting organizational efforts?around diversity and inclusion as a dimension of inclusive leadership. The leaders support for organizational initiatives towards diversity and inclusion may reduce or alter the impact of organizational efforts. Due to its strong relation to diversity and inclusion, inclusive leadership is highly relevant for today's increasingly diverse and global organizations and multifaceted working environments.

Innovation is the need of the hour – given the megatrends shaping our future – the impact of globalization, the pace of technology, and issues such as climate change. Even though efficiency is essential for business success, in the long run, innovation is the imperative and it warrants visionary leadership. Despite stock market and shareholder pressures, a myopic focus on efficiency over innovation cannot sustain business growth.

Touch that dial

Research has also shown that diversity of teams positively affects firms’ innovations. Meta-analytic studies have affirmed a tendency for mixed-gender groups to outperform homogenous groups. Several empirical studies have specifically validated that gender diversity promotes innovation and creative thinking by generating informational advantages. In addition, gender diversity also yields social benefits to organizations by introducing different value systems and behavioral modes. On the contrary,?some studies show that diversity on teams can lead to conflicts and hamper team cohesion and interaction, as individuals prefer to form relationships within similar social groups and exclude dissimilar members.?However strong inclusive leadership with structural and cultural components can overcome these challenges.

Given this context, and interdependencies: Can we advocate for sustainable innovation without talking about diversity and leadership? Can we advocate for inclusive leadership without talking about innovation and diversity? Can we advocate for diversity without talking about leadership and innovation? Above all, can we afford to have a maze of parallel and intersecting roads when we can pull roadmaps together for a faster highway?

So, advocates, band together and DIAL up your advocacy... full force:

Diversity is not about differences – it is a competitive differentiation

Innovation is not optional – it is the only option

Advocacy is not a passive act – it is about authentic passion

Leadership is not just a ‘quality’ – it is an ‘earned’ qualification

?

Advocacy can be the glue that holds the three-legged stool of diversity, innovation and leadership together – while passion and a sense of purpose can help persevere and work to combat fatigue. I recently talked about the following 3 questions one can ask to connect one’s passion and purpose to advocacy in my TEDx talk titled Why I reframed my “Why”- The context of purpose.

·??????Have you ever thought in your journey that things should be different, easier, better for those who are coming after you?

·??????Have you ever shown up, spoken up, or stood up, for someone or something?

·??????Have you ever said somebody somewhere somehow should fix this system?

Chances are the answer is yes – give your sense of advocacy some agency, give it the legitimacy of purpose, the primacy of passion.

If more advocates for diversity, innovation and leadership join forces, we can split the load and reduce the collective fatigue.

It might just be the forcing function for action.