Thursday Thought: Valuing Diversity Makes Your Workplace More Valuable!
Have you ever heard of Muggsy Bogues? Google him and you will find that he was the shortest basketball player in NBA history, measuring only 5’3” in a world of men as tall as 7’7”. Now of course at 5’3” his critics thought he couldn't be valuable in the NBA. They thought no one his size could play with those giants. They believed it was impossible for someone of his stature to stack up. And no pun intended, they just knew he would come up short.
Well they were wrong! The truth is, his height differential made him valuable. He was able to move the ball up and down the court much faster than a 7 footer could, which helped his team be a fast-break team. He was in a better position to handle the ball, which helped him get the ball to the right players. And finally, because of his height, he was able to be more stealth, which helped his team get more steals.
Your Thursday Thought:
Valuing Diversity Makes Your Workplace More Valuable
Now you're probably wondering what the story of Muggsy Bogues has to do with your workplace. Here’s the connection. Ineffective workplaces are filled with people like Muggsy’s critics. In their world, people don’t stack up because they are of a certain gender, race, nationality, sexual orientation or religion. People come up short because they speak with a certain accent, come from a certain background, or have a particular disability. Or they just don’t measure up because they don’t have a certain title or level of education, have the right experience, or fit in the right circle or click.
To make your workplace effective, be more like Muggsy’s supporters. Make sure you value different genders, races and nationalities, because it creates a diversity of views. Respect different ages and experience levels, because it brings unique approaches. And appreciate having employees from different backgrounds, because it exposes you to a variety of new clients, and brings better outcomes to your current clients.
Follow these practices and your workplace will receive benefits like improved morale, better collaboration, and increased creativity. These efforts will pay off, because in the end:
Valuing diversity makes your workplace more valuable.
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