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“Diversity: The art of thinking independently, together”.

Malcolm Forbes

 

Diversity can help businesses thrive

Numerous studies have shown that diversity and inclusion strategies directly influence companies’ growth and evolution and directly impact their productivity and financial success. For example, in research on diversity and inclusion, McKinsey’s consultancy firm has shown that companies with greater cultural, ethnic and gender diversity have a better financial performance than companies with lower representation on their boards and teams. Furthermore, the same consultancy’s Diversity Matters report for Latin America shows that companies perceived by employees as having gender diversity are 93% more likely to outperform financially compared to peer companies in their industry. This fact proves that diversity is an integral part of the growth engine of organisations.

 

We can state that it is in the unique – and integrated – value of each element of a team or organisation that relies upon the answers to increasingly complex challenges of the current world and context. Alongside this fact is the commitment of organisations to diversity and the ability to incorporate it as a core value in their culture, which determines each business’ ability to contribute to society, looking beyond profit and strengthening its purpose. Following this path will allow organisations to find their place in a context where they are supposed to go far beyond selling products or services and even innovating.

 

Change does not happen overnight – it is a journey. Cognitive, gender or generational diversity are just examples of the principles in organisations, particularly those that come from decision-makers and top positions. At this point, business schools can have a role to play.Through the transformational learning journey, they can provide their students – whoare also current and future leaders–by helping them have a clear vision of their career and the impact they can have on the world. The top international MBAs have already started along thispath. They did it by defining diversity criteria in the recruitment process, promoting variety in the  programs’ curriculum, creating scholarships that facilitate access to training, valuing the diversity of experience, geography, culture, ethnicity, beliefs or gender, as a central pillar of their existence. Much lik in companies, anMBA’svalue  is enhanced bysynergy created between all the team members, and it is where (borrowing the expression from Jim Collins) “the journey from good to excellent” begins. Thus, an MBA can drive change far beyond the classroom – on a global scale.

 

 

MBA can be a starting point  to educate leaders 

First of all, executive education offers  each professional a process of discovery and reflects apractical intention to invest in their development at a personal and career level. That is why it becomes a catalyst for change in organisations. The best MBA programmes respond to each of their students’ unique and valuable characteristics, needs, and desires. Global and international academic experience providediverse programme content that helps respond to the most distinctive challenges,inspires new research angles, new models of analysis, and new solutions and new approaches to challenges. This training concept will allow MBA professionals to enrich themselves and positively impact the organisations and communities where they work.

 

At the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova, the holistic learning approach is one of the tools for promoting and incorporating diversity in the programmes, combining the technical component with the development of the so-called “soft skills”, competencies that, nowadays more than ever, are assumed as “transversal skills”.

 

Promoting integrity, respect, compassion and ethics, and fighting unconscious bias in executive training is more than a mission. It should be an act of responsibility because there is still a way to go. For instance, when it comes togender inequality, in the European Union member states, women are still in the minority in management positions (3.3 million female managers against 6.2 million male managers), and in Portugal, only 36% of managers are women, according to recent Eurostat data. In addition, the European Commission reveals that more than one in two citizens believes that racial discrimination still exists in Europe. Furthermore, one in every three people of African descent confirms having experienced some racism in recent years. Therefore, if organisations are the reflection of society, leaders must be able to set an example.

 

Embracing and integrating diversity is, and will increasingly continue to be, a way to ensure business resilience. Managers are expected to challenge the status quo every day, build diverse teams, inspire and mobilise teams to transform their organisations through innovative solutions, and set an example in promoting diversity. However, only leaders with a clear vision of their purpose, combined with excellence in management and leadership techniques and skills, will be able to be more inclusive, understanding, and capable of finding the potential in their teams, mainly through the diverse points of view of each element that composes them up, motivating them to thrive and have a positive impact in an increasingly diverse, volatile and global world.