Innovation and Diversity are Linked
Innovation = Diversity x Risk Appetite
Every CEO operating in competitive and disruptive markets knows the value of a diverse workforce.
It harks back to that old saying, if you continue to do the same things in the same way, you will continue to get the same outcome. So, if you continue to apply the same thinking by the same people in same way, there will be no surprises and very little or diminishing market edge.
This link between diverse perspectives and innovation is not often made despite being harnessed so well by truly diverse and innovative organisations.
I remember many years ago a speaker at a seminar was talking on leadership. The key point was the advantage gained by embracing diversity. When the unconventional thinker in your team pitches the idea that is so ‘out there’ (and you wonder why you hired them), you need to make the time to understand the value of their idea because it could be transformative. This is the link between diversity (arising from diverse perspectives) and innovation.
So how well does this diversity translate to the public sector? In theory very well. In practice not so. I have no doubt that every government entity has a diversity strategy and plan that articulate a nirvana of inclusiveness and embracing difference. Often the focus is on achieving gender balance at specific levels of the organisation and eliminating bias related to gender, age and ethnic background through practices such as de-identifying job applicants. All very important to pursue but diversity results in the application of different life experiences, qualifications, working environments and industries to organisational outcomes.
An aspect of importance here, particularly in the public sector context, is risk. More specifically risk appetite. Let’s be realistic, the community doesn’t want public servants to take risks with government programs and funds. Politicians have a likewise view except perhaps when they are the one with the grand idea. Even the ‘no surprises’ concept that underpins measurement of senior public servant performance has a tendency to drive a low risk appetite. This is because ‘no surprises’ perhaps unintentionally, is often interpreted as ‘take no risks’.
You sometimes see innovative individuals in the public sector causing ripples and even waves. They are usually the target of comments like ‘they don’t understand’ or ‘they will learn with time’ and not surprisingly they may not stay long. While occasionally you witness this at senior levels, it is more common at lower levels and likely to increase with the millennial workforce. Recently I heard about a young person doing an internship in the IT area of a government department. They were given administrative tasks despite acknowledgement of their (considerable) app development capability. Now, I appreciate that with this story and all others there are at least two sides, however I do wonder why go to the effort of seeking out new thinking, skills and capabilities, and then not use them. This example demonstrates a mismatch between the innovation aspiration and the appetite for risk. Tragically the quest for achieving increased diversity also suffers.
And while public sector chiefs can, and do, make strong statements about the need to be ‘less risk averse’ and ‘engage more with risk’, their operating environment is shaped by how success is measured. Until there is change, the current risk appetite will prevail and innovation in the public sector will continue to be an interesting but largely academic folly pursued on the fringes.