Culture, Diversity and Identity

Culture, Diversity and Identity Martha Maznevski, Professor

Š 2016 IMD International. Not to be used or reproduced without permission.

The Dilemma of the One-Company Culture The CEO says “We need a one-company culture! To feel the company spirit! We’re not just a holding company!” But…

We have operations in 73 countries, customers in 124.

We serve customers in widely different industries.

© IMD 2016

We were created from a series of acquisitions.

Our R&D and Marketing are on completely different planets.

And don’t we want diversity?

It’s supposed to be good!

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

2

The Dilemma of the One-Company Culture The CEO says “We need a one-company culture! To feel the company spirit! We’re not just a holding company!” But…

We have operations in 73 countries, customers in 124.

We serve customers in widely different industries.

© IMD 2016

We were created from a series of acquisitions.

Our R&D and Marketing are on completely different planets.

And don’t we want diversity?

It’s supposed to be good!

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

3

One culture or many – some simple answers that require profound implementation

1. One narrow strong culture, multiple sub-cultures.

2. Encourage diversity.

3. Develop a relational narrative by acknowledging and valuing multiple identities.

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

4

One culture, multiple sub-cultures.

Easier to implement than to explain.

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

5

One narrow strong culture, multiple sub-cultures

Additional Values Different by Unit, Region, Profession, Etc.

Many subcultures

3-5 Guiding Values

3-4 Core Values Universal Across the Company Upheld Whenever Consistent with Vision Possible Never Compromised

Well-Accepted Across the Company

Compromising Must be Explained Local Empowerment and Adaptation

Š IMD 2016

Prevents stagnation

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

6

Focus on common meaning, not only common artefacts.

 Same artefact = Same meaning: safe within cultures, but risky across cultures Does this logo mean the same thing everywhere?

Actually, no. And that’s good for McDonald’s, a global consumer brand serving different customers. But it wouldn’t be good for an internal culture.

 With a multi-unit, complex company, ensure that everyone agrees on the meaning of the values, even if they use different artefacts  This takes a lot of dialogue and examples

© IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

7

Maersk’s corporate values are implemented consistently but according to the context of the different businesses and over time.

http://www.maersk.com/en/the-maerskgroup/about-us/maersk-group-core-values

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

8

Create shared meaning around artefacts to drive the culture http://www.maersk.com/en/the-maersk-group/about-us/maersk-groupcore-values

The ancient tradition of story-telling is the most effective way of sharing meaning. Ironically, today’s technology makes it much easier to tell powerful stories across boundaries. Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

9

Promote diversity with(in) sub-cultures Start by knowing what you don’t want diversity about.

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

10

Diverse teams have great potential for performance.

Homogeneous Teams Diverse Teams Managed Poorly

Diverse Teams Managed Well

Number of Teams

Team Performance on Complex Tasks Diverse teams are creative (generate ideas), but don’t necessarily turn the creativity into innovation (viable business).

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

11

Diversity provides the most benefit when the business strategy demands multiple points of view.

Multiple inputs are needed whenever:

 Your business environment is uncertain  You work with many categories of stakeholders, and they are different from each other  Your strategic choices require simple solutions for complex combinations  When you implement change, you need to adapt to different contexts and situations, and/or evolve over time Why? Diversity gives you access to non-dominant perspectives, the ideas not normally brought up in a group. These perspectives provide 1. Knowledge: access to task-specific and a broad spectrum of other knowledge 2. Innovation: people with different perspectives ask different questions, ask them differently, question different assumptions, and combine ideas differently © IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

12

Map, Bridge, and Integrate for Performance from Diversity

M

B

I

Map

Bridge

Integrate

Understand the Differences

Communicate Across the Differences

Manage the Differences

Personality Culture Function Gender Etc.

Prepare with motivation and confidence Decenter without blame Recenter to commonalities

 Engage participation  Resolve conflicts  Build on all ideas

    

© IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

High Performance

Value the Differences & Differences Create Value

13

Mapping and Bridging are the two most important processes.

High Performance

M

B

I

Map

Bridge

Integrate

Understand the Differences

Communicate Across the Differences

Manage the Differences

Value the Differences & Differences Create Value

Integrating leads directly to performance.

Good bridging leads automatically to good integrating; poor bridging prevents integrating.

Good bridging is possible only with good mapping.

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

17

Map-Bridge-Integrate requires effort and discipline

 Acknowledging and addressing fears  Overcoming resistance  Mobilizing from inertia  What makes it so hard??  Underlying dynamics at three levels  Organizational systems reinforce homogeneity  Groups suppress differences  Interpersonal relations focus on the surface We need to focus more on addressing this issue. © IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

18

Identity acknowledgement or identity threat?

Embracing and connecting multiple sources of identity

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

19

Who am I?

 Identity is the complex answer to that question  When you look in the mirror, who do you see?

Groups I belong to

Interpersonal roles I hold

© IMD 2016

My personal characteristics

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

20

Identity affects how we feel about ourselves.  We feel good about parts of our identity related to groups, roles, or characteristics that are  Clearly defined (e.g., through values or practices, or visible indication)  Regarded highly by others, and  Distinguish us from others we don’t want to identify with

 We are sometimes unaware of some parts of our identity until they are threatened  This is especially the case for aspects of our identity that are privileged, that carry power in the context https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n9IOH0NvyY Identity: 1:20-3:20

© IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

21

Who am I?

Interpersonal roles I hold

My personal characteristics Groups I belong to

Write some of your important identities in each category. Consider identities you may not have been aware of, but others around you may notice about you.

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

22

Exploring Identity and Bridging with Respect  Think about an experience when your identity was valued, and it affected you positively. Write some reflections on the experience  Describe the experience  What was the impact on you?  What was the outcome of the experience for you and others?

 Think about an experience when your identity was not valued, and it affected you negatively. Write some reflections on that experience    

© IMD 2016

Describe the experience What was the impact on you?

What was the outcome? What would have made it better?

What do you wish others in the situation understood?

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

23

Exploring Identity and Bridging with Respect – 2

 Pair up with someone whose central identity is very different from yours – nationality, gender, religion, profession…  Explain your stories to each other.  Practice decentering – understanding the other person from their own point of view  Listener should ask questions about situations, emotions, and the meaning of identity to the person telling the stories  In the next step, you will each be explaining the other to someone else

 Together, reflect on what you learned from this exercise about identity and respect

© IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

24

Exploring Identity and Bridging with Respect – 3  Meet up with another pair, so you are in groups of four  Each person takes 3-4 minutes to explain their partner’s identity to the whole group  The partner listens, does not add or explain

 Group reflection  How did it feel to speak for someone else?  How did it feel to hear someone else explain your own identity?  How did you feel respect? Show respect? Understand respect in others?

© IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

25

Connect organizational culture and diversity by acknowledging and connecting identities In a large organization, people have multiple individual and shared configurations of identities.

Identity threat raises barriers to healthy diversity in a strong culture  Individuals’ strengths are associated with their identities: who am I? When some aspects of identity are threatened – for example through unconscious systems of power and privilege – the individual cannot contribute the strengths.  If group identities are not valued, groups polarize and fragment from the whole

Identity acknowledgement connects across differences with respect  In interpersonal relations, practice deeply-respectful bridging. Truly acknowledging and trying to understand others from their own point of view.

Respect and care for each others’ identities, even when you don’t understand it yourself.  Acknowledging identities builds narratives of shared meaning and connect subcultures across the organization © IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

26

Culture, diversity and identity co-exist by creating shared meaning and connecting through acknowledgement.

A leader’s responsibility is to help create the narratives and connections. Then watch the beauty unfold.

Š IMD 2016

Culture, Diversity and Identity - April 2016 - martha.maznevski@imd.org

27