(Yet another excerpt from the forthcoming book The Little Black Book of Leadership)

The common mantra is diversity = good.  However, that is not terribly accurate or useful.  The truth is diversity always hurts before it helps.

Diversity has the potential to broaden perspectives and enhance our creative decision making capacity.  However, that potential is not realized as often as should be the case.

The workforce is increasingly diverse in terms of race, gender, age, and socioeconomic background.  There are many bases of diversity.  However, in the end, these categories of differences are not useful.

What is useful is how they contribute

to a diversity of thought.

To harness the power of diversity, understand that:

• Diversity makes people uncomfortable.  A huge self-protective left over tendency from the cave days is to react less than positively to those who look, think, and act differently than we do.  It was useful then, not so useful now.

• Diversity can help if leaders model the way.  When leaders move past the rhetoric and thoughtfully act in a manner supportive of diversity, others begin to follow suit.

• Diversity can help if the team has decent conflict management skills.  When you follow the rules and guidelines noted above, diversity moves past a focus on differences and towards being a catalyst for improved performance.

• No amount of diversity training trumps thoughtful conversations within a group.  Training might build sensitivity, though it is often hurts as much as it helps.  Real change related to embracing diversity begins with words and actions within the group on the job.

To be clear, diversity is an amazing asset and an increasingly unavoidable reality.  Build up your appreciation and tolerance and conflict management skills and soon enough you will see how diversity can enrich your team.