Page 355 - leadership-experience-2008

CikguOnline
CikguOnline

Text not available due to copyright restrictions

but they are also expected to treat others the same way and to cultivate their
business as well as relationship skills to help Allstate succeed.
Finally, diversity develops greater organizational fl exibility. For one thing,
by seriously recruiting and valuing individuals without regard to race, nation-
ality, gender, age, sexual preference, or physical ability, organizations can attract
and retain the best human talent. In addition, diversity within an organization
provides a broader and deeper base of experience for problem solving, creativ-
ity, and innovation. Bell Atlantic CEO Ivan Seidenberg promotes diversity at his
company primarily because he believes diverse groups make better decisions and
bring the creativity and innovation needed to keep pace with massive changes in
technology and competition. “If everybody in the room is the same,” Seidenberg
45
says, “you’ll get a lot fewer arguments and a lot worse answers.” Referring
back to our discussion of team diversity in the previous chapter, diverse groups
tend to be more creative than homogeneous groups in part because of the dif-
ferent perspectives people can bring to the problem or issue. According to the
results of one study, companies that are high on creativity and innovation have a
higher percentage of women and non-white male employees than less innovative
companies. 46
One aspect of diversity that is of particular interest in organizations today is
the way in which women’s style of leadership may differ from men’s. As women
move into higher positions in organizations, it has been observed that they often
use a style of leadership that is highly effective in today’s turbulent, culturally
diverse environment. 47

336