Recently, there have been several reports in the U.S. of corporations pulling back on diversity initiatives. As I noticed this pattern, my thoughts went to Nature and its lessons on diversity. We know that biodiversity is directly connected to an ecosystem’s resilience.
How exactly does this work? As ecosystems evolve toward old-growth forests, mature prairies, and mature coral reefs, they become more diverse. This diversity provides more opportunities for the ecosystem, which causes it to become more resilient! For example, having more diverse species in an ecosystem allows nutrients to be shared with other species. These mutualistic exchanges increase the amount of nutrients that can sustain life. This creates generous ecosystems of abundance instead of scarcity.
Exchanges can be about food, safety, or friendship. The relationship between Goya fish and cleaner shrimp is a great example of this type of partnership, which often lasts a lifetime. Goya fish have excellent eyesight, while cleaner shrimp are nearly blind. Possessed with excellent eyesight, the Goya fish position themselves above their burrow while the cleaner shrimp clean and clear out debris in the burrow, creating a safe place to hide from predators. The antenna of the shrimp always maintains physical contact with the Goya fish. If a threat appears, they drop down together into their burrow. I
Diversity, Interdependence and Resilience
As the old saying goes, “Rivers don’t drink their own water, and trees don’t eat their own fruit.”This example of two different species working together reminds us that nothing in Nature is designed for itself. Nature’s interdependence is about serving each other. The diversity and interdependence of Nature’s ecologies create more resilience in the system.
This is also true about organizations. When organizations roll back diversity initiatives, they also roll back their resilience and become increasingly fragile. We have experience with the importance of diversity, but we often don’t step back and apply these lessons to relational diversity. When I think about this, several examples come to the forefront:
Examples of How Diversity Builds Resilience
Nature is filled with lessons on fragile vs. resilient design, and so are our organizations! Here are just a few of the things we know for sure about the correlation between
- Investment Strategies. It’s common knowledge that a diverse portfolio of investments is more resilient against market disruptions than one heavily invested in one industry or type of asset. Why is this practice so easily understood, but having a diverse workforce or team is not?
- Revenue Streams. I work a lot with non-profit organizations. What makes them fragile is when most of their funding comes from one source, like government contracts. Building diverse revenue streams is the holy grail of non-profits. We see this in for-profit businesses, where dependence on one product to generate the majority of profit often results in collapse when conditions change.
- Decision-making. Groupthink is a proven phenomenon when a group of individuals reach a consensus without critical reason. It becomes more prevalent when a wider variety of perspectives is lacking. Organizations and teams often get in trouble when they don’t welcome perspectives that disagree with their thinking. Groupthink happens most often in monocultures that lack diversity.
- Critical Redundancy. Critical redundancies are another characteristic of resilient systems. In Nature, food webs create critical redundancy by creating diverse options for species to gain food. If one species goes extinct, there are other ways to find food. When we lack critical redundancy in organizations, it becomes more fragile. For example, if only one person has the knowledge and skills to fix a critical system. Or if there is a single supply line, any disruption can create massive disruption for a business counting on those goods.
- New Opportunity. In the well-known book The 500 Year Delta: What Happens After What Comes Next, authors Jim Taylor and Watts Wacker articulated the importance of having institutional diversity. Institutional diversity means having diverse cultures and perspectives at all levels of the organization. Without it, businesses aren’t aware of opportunities within populations that are not represented in the business. Wacker and Taylor made a compelling case that diversity helps organizations uncover unmet needs, creating more diverse revenue streams as a result. These opportunities also help them adapt more quickly and easily to changes in the marketplace.
When I assess the quality of leadership, I don’t just look at how much money is made or the number of things accomplished. Nature has taught me to notice when leadership choices increase an organization’s resilience or make it more fragile. Diverse cultures are naturally resilient, while monocultures are fragile by design.
Our external environment is becoming more dynamic (if not disruptive) daily. Designing for resilience by embracing—not rolling back—diversity is essential to the future of our organizations, our communities, and certainly our planet.
Nature rules!