Rethinking the Diversity Discussion

In the second of our Human FX series, people development consultant and coach, Martina Doherty, discusses what it will take to move the diversity debate away from mere metrics

”What gets measured, gets managed” is a Peter Drucker quote that I often keep coming back to, but in the context of workplace diversity, has our obsession with metrics and targets focused everyone on the wrong things?

The well-intentioned reason behind promoting diversity in the workplace was originally to expand the talent pool for the benefit of individuals, organisations and the wider marketplace. In a 2019 speech, Andrew Hauser from the Bank of England said a diverse market like FX needs diversity more than ever because of the changes in technology, culture and broader market participation that continue to impact the market – specifically referring to diversity in gender and ethnicity.

The conversation has changed considerably since then, however, and has taken on a completely new meaning; the FCA is considering diversity targets and non-financial misconduct measures as mandatory reporting requirements; and the SEC is following suit, with the release of its DE&I plan last September, indicating that new regulations relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the financial sector might be on their way. Before dissing the diversity debate, however, as another numbers game, a regulatory requirement, or “just a load of old woke nonsense”, maybe we need to question whether the focus on numbers and quotas was ever really the right one anyway.

There is no doubt that more diverse teams and organisations make good business sense, since there are more lenses through which to view challenges and problems and therefore better decisions can be made. But at a practical level do leaders or managers actually know how to effectively manage the diversity that exists within their teams (regardless of how or why it is there)? Are they given the support and resources needed to enable them to do this?

I strongly suspect that answer is a resounding ‘NO’, because like most people-related or behavioural-related responsibilities that go with their jobs, leaders and managers are often left to get on with things under the assumption that they will ‘manage’. As a result, when managing varying ethnicities, age groups, genders, etc., many often put misguided (and not necessarily badly-intentioned) efforts into helping people ‘fit in’.

This unwittingly defeats the whole purpose of diversity because in trying to make everyone conform to a ‘norm’, it effectively mutes or extinguishes the benefits the different thinking, energy, experience and all that other rich stuff that comes with people being different.

Of course, working around differences by trying to get people to fit in is much easier than working with differences – especially for a leader or manager who also has a day job!  In doing so, however, leaders risk overlooking what might be golden treasure in their teams in terms of creative ideas, in-depth customer insights, strategic judgment or technological savvy that can give a competitive edge.

So what’s the answer?

I would suggest that there two areas that can really help bring diversity to life in day-to-day business. The first is for leaders and managers to know how to leverage people’s strengths rather than try to correct their weaknesses or perceived deficiencies. As humans we have a natural negativity bias, with the main issue being that success is generally defined in terms of achieving a certain level of competence. It is also not particularly motivating for an individual to focus a large amount of their energy on correcting what they aren’t particularly good at!

While areas of weakness cannot and should not avoided, if the lens is flipped to focus more on strengths and how to leverage them better, not only will you see improved performance and motivation in your team (this is very well-researched in behavioural science), it’s a very obvious way to embrace diversity that naturally exists among any group of people. It’s not difficult per se, but often needs coaching or training for a leader to become more aware of their thinking and/or where unconscious negative biases might lie.

A diverse market like FX needs diverse talent – and we need to go one step further than just meeting quotas or regulatory requirements

Training to learn to recognise the different strengths that people bring to a team should be available for every leader – and then they need to allow the individuals to play to their strengths as much as possible within the parameters of their role.

My second recommendation is that leaders learn to properly listen and then teach their people to do the same through example. Sounds obvious but it’s absolutely not! Just because you have two ears doesn’t make you a good listener…check out Stephen Covey’s 5 levels of listening to understand what I mean!

Regardless of your seniority, ask yourself honestly how you listen to people who are more junior/senior, or less/more experienced than you. Do you listen to tell them what to do or to give an answer based on a label or assumption about them? Are you half-listening while trying to do other things at the same time? Do you listen to understand how or why someone might see the situation differently to you? Are you open to hearing ideas or suggestions that you might not have previously considered, regardless of who they come from?

Again, coaching and/or training in this area can be a complete game-changer and help leaders and managers uncover new insights and talents in their team that may can get completely overlooked because someone wasn’t the loudest or the most listened to.

At the end of the day, even without the current focus on gender, ethnicity, age or socioeconomic background, diversity is and always has been everywhere – we are all unique and different. Unfortunately, the current obsession with metrics and quotas as an overriding indicator of diversity has confused the issue, resulting in much of its value as a source of motivation, learning and collaboration being lost.

To embrace the essence of Andrew Hauser’s 2019 speech – a diverse market like FX needs diverse talent – we need to go one step further than just meeting quotas or regulatory requirements. Leaders and managers need to get the right training and support to enable them advantage of the opportunities that diversity presents, and surely that can only be good for our industry in the long term?

Martina Doherty is an independent business psychologist, coach and trainer who specialises in creating and delivering bespoke people development, cultural change and employee engagement programmes in high growth companies.  She has 20+ experience in financial markets and is also an executive board member of the ACI UK Financial Markets Association. For more information visit www.martinadoherty.com