3 minute read
Cognitive diversity: A workforce need
Cognitive diversity: A workforce need
By Ian Clarke, director of Workforce Solutions Group
Only a few weeks ago, I was reminded about diverse thinking. I coach colts rugby and had, for my sins, agreed to help the under-sevens team. Being prepared for herding cats, I planned a session to finish with a game. One seven-year-old explained how I could improve the game. I reluctantly entertained his idea and it was a hit. I had fun, the kids had fun and we were more productive in achieving the same outcomes of evasion, pace and teamwork.
So let me ask you to stop and think. Yes, stop and think. How many people do you have in your workforce that look like you and agree with you? My other rugby coaches did not question the game. A lot has been written about diversity in the past 25 years and much has been concerned with demographic diversity. That is, diversity which is based on our colour or race, sexuality, gender, age and culture.
Rightly so. Demographic diversity is a must. It has been proven many times that an organisation that does not actively engage in diversity can limit ability and productivity. Organisations with a diverse workforce have the ability to be more productive. The Royal Academy of Engineering identified research into culture and inclusion in engineering and found that “inclusion benefits the performance of individual engineers, with 80% reporting increased motivation, 68% increased performance and 52% increased commitment”.
Failure to engage with people who are diverse has led to welldocumented disasters such as the 9/11 bombings. The CIA at the time was populated with highly intelligent men – “the best of the best”, white, Ivy League-educated men.
They overlooked the warning signs of an impending terrorist attack. Why? Because they could not perceive the threat or signs of a build-up in terrorist activity. Despite the high entrance examinations and psychological assessments to become an agent for the CIA, they lacked diversity and a reference experience of beyond their world. They lacked understanding of an impending problem. Their perception in the context of attacks in the USA was: it will never happen, they cannot win. The CIA agents were all from a similar mould and this had served the CIA well.
However, while the agents lacked demographic diversity and reference experience to a problem, they also lacked cognitive diversity. Cognitive diversity is simply how you think and what you value – what drives or motivates you. Our cognitive style is not our personality. It's not fixed but it's flexible.
Let me give an example. You know when you have experienced a problem and you have contacted a friend or called a wise parent who has provided new insight to your approach because they experienced the same or a similar problem before? I suspect you can recall how grateful you were for their input and how much time it saved you. Imagine doing this always in the work environment.
Fostering demographic diversity gets different views but it is not targeted. This will only partly meet the world of change we face with artificial intelligence, which poses many challenges to our work.
With complex problems, we need a variety of views on how to approach and understand the information, or to solve problems.
PwC states that we are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work. Automation and “thinking machines” are replacing human tasks and jobs, and changing the skills that organisations are seeking in their people.
These momentous changes raise huge organisational, talent and HR challenges – at a time when business leaders are already wrestling with unprecedented risks, disruption, and political and societal upheaval.
So if we are going to meet the demands of the future, we need to develop our understanding of others, and perhaps we need to develop a change in what we ask when seeking the right people for the roles. Instead of asking “who do we need?”, perhaps we ask: “what do we need in terms of thinking style and values against our long-term needs and gaps in the organisation?”
After more than 20 years of coaching rugby, a diverse and uninhibited thinker, aged seven, brought fun and energy to my coaching. Cognitive diversity in the workplace to meet future demands is so important because #thinkingmakesitso.
