Diversity ≠ Compelled Speech
Organisational level bullying and compelled speech are rampant and hidden under the cloak of diversity.
Staff today, are rightly afraid of expressing their views if they challenge the premise of a leader’s ‘argument’. They are also being compelled to openly support and even promote trending social beliefs and political ideologies adopted by their organisation for fear of losing their jobs.
There’s nothing less diverse than an organisation that is so politically correct that it compels staff to proactively voice support for the ‘company line’ under threat or fear of being dismissed. An example is contained in this article about James Damore who was fired from Google for sending a memo challenging Google’s diversity policy by using evidence-based, deductive reasoning.
I agree with the article calling for organisations to use Chief Contrarian and I’m a huge supporter of free speech, but I caution that everything in life has consequences and it takes a very mature leader, and organisation, to put aside their unconscious (or conscious) bias when eliciting honest views from staff.
It’s ironic that the key benefit gained from the introduction and enforcement of diversity policies is a reduction in the expression of diverse thoughts and in increase in institutionalised ‘Group Think’. It’s all too apparent to anyone who thinks critically about mainstream diversity policies that organisations exploit them in order to promote themselves in a more favorable light to potential clients and the government, not because they are truely serious about diversity.
I’m hopeful that having open conversations with leaders about such things will allow them to recognize their unconscious bias and even dogma. Challenging the status quo as well as new concepts is important. I advocate for leaders to be critical thinkers who employ deductive reasoning when leading discussions and making decisions. Encouraging evidence-based deductive reasoning as part of the decision-making process, removes emotion, and prevents organisations from succumbing to Group Think and blindly piling onto the ‘bandwagon’.
It seems that most organisations that demand their workforce demonstrate their support for diversity are hypocritical in their approach to diversity. True diversity isn’t just about colour, gender, age, race, and religion, it also must include freedom of thought, opinion, and importantly, freedom of speech.
In my mind, the diversity challenge is drawing the line between the right to free speech and the prevention of hate speech.
Leaders should not oppress the views, opinions, or speech of their subordinates otherwise, they are in fact demonstrating the opposite of diversity.
