Project Management and Workplace Respect

I often get asked "what are the tangible benefits of investing in a diversity program?" According to American Express, here are some of the top advantages of workplace diversity:

1. It builds your employer brand. Having a diverse workforce makes your company more interesting, people can expect to learn more from your employees and you can attract better talent from around the world. 
2. It increases creativity. When you bring a variety of different people from various backgrounds together, you'll end up getting better solutions to business problems. If you don't have a diverse workplace, you might not be able to tackle problem the best way. 
3. It encourages personal growth. This is a major advantage to workplace diversity because it can help employees learn new ideas, perspectives and connect intellectually and personally to different people. 
4. It makes employees think more independently. If you have similar people at a company, it will be harder to solve complex problems. One study by Katherine Phillips, a professor at Kellogg, shows that by even adding one employee from a different background can get people out of their comfort zones and thinking different about a situation.

Our brains want to make sense of the world around us. We interpret what's happening around us through a lens filtered through our personal experiences, values and awareness. This humorous, yet poignant video helps us appreciate how easy it is to fall into diversity stereotyping. Simple lesson - never judge a book by its cover. In 2 minutes, you can test yourself about your diversity lens.

Click on the video link and have a laugh or two!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUO59Emi3eo

This video is only a minute long but effectively encapsulates what it means to enjoy a respectful workplace where everyone is valued, inspired and engaged. A good review for all project managers. Just click on the link below

Workplace Respect Simplified

There is a direct link between diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The future success of any globally-oriented organization relies on the ability to manage a diverse body of talent that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge and problems created by workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organizational asset if an organization is able to capitalize on this melting pot of diverse talents. The most effective method to leverage workforce diversity is to create workplace culture of inclusion.

A workplace culture that values every person, provides them with opportunities to develop, learn, share their ideas and challenge each other. When employees feel included, their level of engagement, commitment and loyalty increases. However, an inclusive organizational work culture requires leaders with high levels of diversity intelligence.

By aligning diversity intelligence with leadership values, strategies and communication practices to ensure a truly collaborative, inclusive and engaging work culture environment, we can inspire our high performance teams to manage the change that is inevitable with innovation in the 21st century. Organizations can respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively, especially in the global arena. More importantly, if the organizational environment does not support diversity broadly, one risks losing talent to competitors.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/diversity-inclusion-paul-pelletier-ll-b-pmp?trk=hp-feed-article-title-publish

Todays’ team leaders feel constant pressure to innovate and position their products, services, teams and themselves more creatively than ever before. However, in our highly diverse workplaces, cultural and diversity intelligence are critical to success. Diversity extends beyond race or ethnicity, religion, culture or newcomer status to include factors such as geography, language, politics, gender, beliefs, economic status, abilities, skills and interests. A diverse workplace reflects our communities.

Leaders who develop, motivate and empower people to achieve extraordinary results aren’t acting randomly. By aligning diversity intelligence with leadership values, strategies and communication practices to ensure a truly collaborative, inclusive and engaging work culture environment, we can inspire our high performance teams to manage the change that is inevitable with innovation in the 21st century.