When PWIs use race as the primary signifier of their campus diversity, we burden our colleagues with black and brown skin and reify structural and behavioral racism. We also miss the opportunity to unleash the full creative power of our community’s diversity.

Understanding what makes for a diverse team, and knowing how to unleash the creative power of a diverse group of people, is an essential part of your leadership practice. So in this episode I explore how to achieve what Scott Page calls “the diversity bonus” for teams. I’ll share some of the research that shows how and when diversity is beneficial to a group, and suggest a few ways you can create the psychological safety necessary for a diverse team to truly thrive.

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Here’s a glance at this episode:  

>> 2:30. How diverse can a white girl from the West Coast be?

>> 8:01. Problems with using race as a proxy for diversity.

>> 11:04. Using race as a proxy for diversity can perpetuate racist structures and behaviors.

>> 17:55. New (to me) frames for discussing diversity: identity diversity & cognitive diversity.

>> 21:59. Why diversity matters in storytelling and planning.

>> 24:48. bonus section: why lack of diversity leads universities to write similar strategic plans.

>> 26:30. Storytelling breaks the mold: no more group-think.

>> 28:17. Achieving diversity bonuses requires psychological safety.

>> 31:11 Tips for building psychological safety and cognitive diversity.

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Show Notes And Extra Reading

“Black Alumni Criticize Cal-Poly’s Use of Their Images on Banners.” Omar Rashad, @Mustang News.

“Race on Campus: Misleading Depictions of Diversity.” Adrienne Lu, @Race on Campus in the CHE.

“We’ve Got Minorities, Yes We Do: Visual Representations of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in College Recruitment Materials.” by Tim D. Pippert, Laura J. Essenburg, and Edward J. Matchett, @Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, v23 n2 p258-282 2013.

“‘Cosmetic diversity’: University websites and the transformation of race categories“, by Karly Sarita Ford and Ashley N. Patterson, @Penn State.

The Triple Burden: Black Women Leaders at Primarily White Institutions of Higher Education, by Nadia Mitchell, @UVM ScholarWorks.

“Race on Campus: The Mental Burden of Minority Professors,” by Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez, @Race on Campus in the CHE.

“Race on Campus: How to Retain Diverse Faculty Members,” by Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez, @Race on Campus in the CHE.

“The Discounted Labor of BIPOC Students & Faculty,” by Taleed El-Sabawi and Madison Fields, @California Law Review.

“Race on Campus: When RAs of Color Take on Emotional Labor for their White Residents,” by Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez, @Race on Campus in the CHE.

“Lightening the Burden,” by Wendi Williams @Inside Higher Ed.

“The Burden of Service for Faculty of Color to Achieve Diversity and Inclusion: The Minority Tax,” by JoAnn Trejo @Molecular Biology of the Cell.

“Teams Solve Problems Faster When They’re More Cognitively Diverse,” by Allison Reynolds and David Lewis @Harvard Business Review.

“The Two Traits of the Best Problem-Solving Teams,” by Allison Reynolds and David Lewis @Harvard Business Review.

“Four Steps to Boost Psychological Safety in Your Workplace,” by Amy C. Edmondson and Per Hugander @Harvard Business Review.

“Psychological Safety and the Critical Role of Leadership Development,” @McKinsey & Company.

Scott Page’s bio at the University of Michigan.

The Diversity Bonus, by Scott Page @Princeton Press.

The Art of the Long View, by Peter Schwartz @Penguin Random House.