A friend of mine from India mentioned to me not too long ago about the amazing town where he is from, which is located in the south of India, mostly in the State of Tamil Nadu and north of the town of Puducherry. He talked about some of the characteristics of this place that amazed me and for a moment I thought that he was just describing a fantasy story. The level of diversity and relationships that he described, I have to admit, challenged my thinking. So I just took my laptop and Googled it. What is that place around the world that lately grabs your attention?
Founded 50 years ago as an experiment, yet for some, this place is controversial, for others it is utopia or even unreal. Auroville, The City of Dawn, according to one of its founders – Mirra Alfassa, wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and continuous harmony, beyond all creeds, politics, and nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to achieve human unity.
After reading about this place and watching some videos about its 2,500 habitats, I am sure that Auroville’s community embraces diversity and unity with great enthusiasm.
How about you? Do you have a desire to experience different cultures and the diverse ways they do things?
If that is so, you are developing one the qualities of a global mindset which is the desire to visit different parts of the world and experience other cultures and new ways of doing things. This is one of the qualities of a global leader. Furthermore, this type of leader has a higher mindset l and emotional level of flexibility, openness to other cultures, and the self-assurance needed to successfully navigate in new cultural environments.
The development of global leaders with a global mindset is critical; even more, because workforce diversity continues to be a competitive advantage in today’s, organizations. A successful organization, as well as its leaders, recognizes the importance of creating and nurturing an environment that supports diversity and inclusion at all levels.
In a recent article, Aperian Global ©, listed many of the benefits that make culturally diverse teams win in the workplace:
- Companies in the top quartile for ethnic & cultural diversity are 33% more likely to outperform on profitability.
- Organizations with diverse leadership are 70% likelier to capture a new market than companies lacking diverse leadership.
- Diverse teams tend to produce answers to questions that are 58% more accurate than teams with zero diversity.
- Companies that have diverse management are more likely to develop new & innovative products.
- Companies in the top quartile for racial & ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry norms.
I am sure there are more benefits that diversity and inclusion offer in the workplace.
How diversity and inclusion have benefited you at your workplace?
The benefits of a global mindset are at all levels of achievement, including personal and professional.
At a personal level, you can start or continue developing your excitement for diversity, utilizing your social media profiles intentionally to demonstrate it. I am sure some of your friends are located in a different city or country and you can start a friendly conversation with the intention of learning more about their lifestyle.
At a professional level, this will be beneficial if you want to minimize misunderstandings, maximize productivity and results by developing your global mindset. Let’s have a conversation. You can start achieving better results today! Let’s talk about how LEADINFORCE can benefit you, your team and your company.
Question: How diversity and inclusion have benefited you at your workplace?