How leaders can make the case during a moment of backlash.
November 19, 2024
Illustration by Brian Rea
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The word diversity appears to trigger a wide variety of emotions from its equally wide array of definitions. And in our current moment of political polarization, it appears to be getting worse. What if we could frame a value proposition for diversity that emphasizes the return on investment for the organization, benefits every individual and team, and is rooted in science and backed by empirical research? We have this at our fingertips: Diverse teams outperform consistently. This model is better suited to our current social tensions and avoids some of the pitfalls of the common value propositions we’ve discussed.
In my work with engineers, I’ve seen firsthand the quest for better signal-to-noise ratios. In non-engineering terms, signal is the thing we want, and noise is everything else. Signal is the input — what we’re trying to do or communicate — whereas noise is the undesired and unintended outcome. If an idea or word is noisy, that means people often lack clarity on what it actually is because the original signal has degraded by the time it reaches the masses. For example, the term AI is loaded with noise right now. If you ask 10 people what AI means, they’re going to give 10 very different answers based on their personal situation, industry, political ideology, and more.
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