Orchestrating Diversity
I recently heard something fascinating at Lincoln Center – and it wasn’t the music.
Gustavo Dudamel, the 34-year-old maestro of both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, was describing the value of “blind auditions,” in which nobody knows the age, ethnicity or gender of the auditioning artists. Dudamel’s advocacy of access to music for all has inspired countless kids from the barrio in his native Venezuela to play classical music – proving the power of making music available to anyone. His approach to building an orchestra without regard to station offers a fresh and compelling image of the power of diversity.
By both essence and necessity, an orchestra must be diverse. But to enjoy the richness of oboes playing with bassoons, and pianos with violins, it isn’t enough that each instrument be different. To create transcendent music, all performers – no matter their instrument – must be reading from the same sheet of music and following the same conductor, blending disparate timbres and harmonies into a whole that exceeds the sum of the parts.
Just as no orchestra could function with clarinets only, no organization can thrive with a single kind of team member. Likewise, just as no orchestra could make music from different scores or different conductors, the key to a diverse team achieving its potential is being on the same page. Diversity isn’t an end unto itself.
Using the imagery of an orchestra, one can see what works and what doesn’t when it comes to organizational diversity. In the 1960s, affirmative action was on its way to becoming an equal-opportunity employment imperative and seemed more rooted in notions of “social justice” than in the power of actually harnessing diversity. But by the late ’90s, the argument had evolved. The consulting firm McKinsey published “The War for Talent,” a report that underscored the need to find and retain the best people. According to management guru Peter Drucker, this lens focused on the emergence of “knowledge workers” – talented people who by definition came from every race, ethnicity, religion and background, including the barrio in Caracas or wherever.
It wasn’t simply about checking the right boxes, but taking advantage of what the different boxes brought to an enterprise. Businesses and institutions everywhere began harnessing the multicultural influences reflected in diverse work groups. Leaders got better at embracing diversity – and in turn new leaders from diverse backgrounds started to play roles as conductors. Indeed, the celebration of diversity often became a source for innovation in the workplace and in the academy.
Diverse teams frequently produce better decisions because people with different lenses see more complete solutions to problems. This reality has become apparent in the war for talent across global markets. The right kind of diversity encourages respect for conflicting viewpoints, and when it operates from the “same sheet of music” under the direction of an inspired conductor, workplace diversity creates its own music in the form of better thinking and better decisions, avoiding the “groupthink” that can kill innovation.
On occasion, I’ve seen diversity’s downside. If and when a multiplicity of opinions itself becomes the goal – regardless of the validity or utility of the opinions – the result may be more indecision and less productivity. The trick is to harness the benefits of diversity without fixating on the diversity itself.
The image of an orchestra combining to create sublime music from disparate instruments in the hands of different musicians – under the direction of a Gustavo Dudamel – is a model to inspire all of us to strive for the kind of diversity that brings a richness of harmony and a depth of sound to our organizations.
Other posts by Joel Peterson @JoelCPeterson:
Member Board of Directors at National Alliance of El Sistema Inspired Programs
9 年You may be interested to know that the name of our 7 year old El Sistema Program in St. Louis, MO is..... Orchestrating Diversity.
QA Engineer /Quality Management /Sr?Manufacturing Process Engineer and?Materials R&D
9 年The phrase from this article was inspiring ; "viewpoints, and when it operates from the “same sheet of music” under the direction of an inspired conductor, workplace diversity creates its own music in the form of better thinking and better decisions, avoiding the “groupthink” that can kill innovation." Great acticle.
Legal Assistant (Retired)
9 年Ellen Brandt, PhD, nails it!!!! (above)
Great article.
Conservative Journalist and Blogger. Political activist. Author of over 4,000 magazine and newspaper articles and blogs. Ivy-educated Ph.D.
9 年The problem with pretty much ALL of this "Diversity" talk recently - whether in Pulse articles or elsewhere - is that the word is defined via recent "politically correct" protocol as applying to "diversity of ethnic groups," with maybe a smattering of "diversity of religious groups" added in. Meanwhile, the American population is now - already - about 43 percent "Gray" - people age 50 or over - a percentage that may rise to close to 50 percent - or 1 in 2 Americans - within the next 10-12 years. Our Gray Population, the bulk of it Baby Boomers, still only in our 50s and 60s, has been methodically and downright maliciously pushed further and further off our nation's center stage - in the workforce, in economic participation generally, culturally, and socially - by the Limousine Liberals' "One World" agenda, which ruthlessly favors the Young and Inexperienced over the Mature and Experienced. That is the key economic problem for these troubled times, not "racism" nor "sexism" nor "religious discrimation." Fortunately, we Grays have not been shut out Politically, since we will be fully ONE HALF of American voters in the 2016 - and 2020 - and 2024 - and maybe 2028 - presidential election cycles. (The disparity between 43 percent of citizens, but about 50 percent of voters stems from people age 0-17 still not having the vote.) Business leaders like Mr. Peterson, himself an older Baby Boomer at age 66, need to rejigger their commentary - and feelings - about "diversity" to acknowledge the need for his less fortunate Age-Peers in the "99 percent" to regain our economic stability and our Place in the Sun.