Excerpted from the Council of Michigan Foundations’ assessment toolkit Is Your Foundation Leveraging The Power Of Differences?

Organizations that recognize and use the power of differences (in race, age, gender, socioeconomics, personality type, and so on) generally outperform those that don’t, according to research.

With this research in hand, and based on extensive experience emerging from its Transforming Michigan Philanthropy initiative, the Council of Michigan Foundations developed a discussion guide to help foundation leaders begin essential conversations about the power of differences.

Have you explored the degree to which your foundation understands, commits to, and provides the conditions and resources necessary for leveraging differences?

Does Your Organization Value Differences?

Why it matters. In The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies, University of Michigan economist Scott Page presents research demonstrating that diverse groups are better than homogeneous ones at solving problems. This finding has huge implications for foundations, where creative problem-solving is essential if we are to continue to meet the changing needs of the people we serve.

A recent study featured in The Harvard Business Review found that leaders who create inclusive environments in which different voices are welcomed and engaged were nearly twice as likely as others to achieve “value-driving insights.” Employees in those environments were “3.5 times as likely to contribute their full innovative potential.”

What it looks like. A few years ago Grand Rapids Community Foundation (GRCF) embarked on a major review of its policies and procedures, using an “intercultural” lens. The work inspired an internal grassroots movement affectionately known as the “Culture Club.” Formed by GRCF staff members as a way to infuse some relevant entertainment into the arduous policies and procedures review, club members researched and developed presentations on the customs, holidays, and cuisines of different world cultures.

How to talk about it 

• Do we all believe that our work benefits from the varied experiences and perspectives of our staff, board, advisors, and partners?
• Do we actively solicit and act on different perspectives based on this belief?
• Is this belief reflected in our strategic initiatives?

Do You Demonstrate a Commitment to Inclusion?

Why it matters. In Learning Together: The Peer Action Learning Network for Diversity and Inclusion, several Michigan foundations shared their experiences with leveraging the power of differences. All stressed the importance of demonstrating a deep commitment to seeking out and incorporating a variety of viewpoints at all levels of the organization—but especially among leaders.

A study affirming that senior leadership’s commitment is essential to leveraging the power of differences found that, in the most successful organizations, executive leadership is held accountable for modeling and enforcing inclusive practices. These organizations also explicitly included language about seeking and respecting differences in their value statements.

What it looks like. At the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, senior executives lead regularly scheduled “lunch and learn” meetings where staff share stories about their efforts to be more inclusive and address “the inequalities that threaten the well-being of our community.” Participation is voluntary, but CEO Carrie Pickett-Erway reports that the sessions are invariably well attended. “It’s really important for us to share how it’s going and how we can do it even better.”

How to talk about it 

• When it comes to valuing differences, does our leadership “walk the talk”?
• Are decision makers held accountable for soliciting and including a variety of viewpoints?
• Does it feel “safe” to talk honestly about differences here?

Are Your Operating Conditions Inclusive?

Why it matters. In Us + Them, author and Harvard lecturer Tod Pittinsky contends that differences are more likely to have positive impacts on performance within the context of positive attitudes and emotions. In other words, organizations need to create conditions in which differences are not ignored or treated as obstacles to moving forward, but are recognized and celebrated as occasions for learning and growth.

What it looks like. At the Skillman Foundation, senior management recently restructured the executive team to ensure that it encourages different ideas as well as different ways of thinking about ideas. Realizing that the tenor of the foundation made it “not an inviting environment in which to express conservative views,” and that the leadership team was heavily weighted toward people who were “very driven, very ambitious, and very quick thinkers,” CEO Tonya Allen has added to the mix people who represent different political views and personality types. “It broadens our leadership team so that we have a different level of engagement and contribution and investment from different voices in the conversation,” she says. “We’ll develop better strategies because of it.”

How to talk about it 

• Do we tend to view differences as problems or as opportunities?
• As individuals, are we likely to speak up when we witness or experience bias?
• Do we see disagreement as something we can handle and learn from?

Do You Allocate Sufficient Resources Toward Inclusion?

Why it matters. Organizations that invest resources to take advantage of the benefits of differences will outperform those that don’t, according to research. One study found that organizations with established practices for promoting the inclusion of a variety of perspectives collectively generated 18% greater productivity than the overall U.S. economy. Training and education to learn about others’ values, improve cross-cultural communication, and develop leadership skills were found to have a key impact on effectiveness.

What it looks like. At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, all new employees complete an intercultural competence assessment and receive individualized coaching to create their own intercultural development plans. CEO La June Montgomery Tabron sees the program as an investment in the future, “helping people gain more awareness and then finding practical applications for that awareness. It helps people think on a daily basis about how they respond to differences and how they could make a decision to do something different, to make a better choice.”

How to talk about it 

• Does everyone here have opportunities for education and professional development?
• Do we invest in programs that promote inclusiveness in the community?
• Are we devoting adequate resources toward recruiting for differences?

We thank our colleagues at the Council of Michigan Foundations (@michfoundations) for sharing this powerful framework. Visit www.michiganfoundations.org for other tools and programs to support your efforts to leverage the power of differences, including a companion self-assessment and a new Board Discussion Guide.