Diversity – a different perspective

In my learning team, there was ample diversity – 2 Brits, 2 Indians, a Columbian and a Nigerian, 2 women. But is diversity just the span of nationality or gender?

For our course assessment in Organizational Behaviour, each learning team had to write a QOIT group report of up to 2500 words. The first draft which Andrew prepared based on all individual inputs far exceeded the limit, touching almost 4000 words. We had so much to write. Over the past few days, we had been chopping away the text (with a heavy heart). And while my team was reading the draft of the report, we started talking on diversity and our learning’s.

To us, diversity had started carrying a new meaning. It transcended beyond the obvious – age, gender, profiles, background, nationalities, etc. The new dimensions were
- our Learning styles: theorists, activists, pragmatist and reflector
- our MBTI’s that manifested our personalities,
- our Belbin roles: shaper, plant, completer finisher, team worker, and so on
- our Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation – Behaviour or FIRO-B: expressed inclusion, expressed affection
- our Emotional intelligence and so on.

There was so much diversity in team. Had the word limit not been forced on us, we would have written on and on. Cranfield MBA has 60% international students from over 30 countries but this aspect of diversity gets subdued when viewed from the perspectives our team was sharing.

Looking back at my past, I realize that even though I worked in one country for 13 years, there also existed diversity. But then, I always viewed it as a diversity arising from the multi cultural backgrounds and education rather than anything else.

Cranfield has opened the eyes of my mind. Now wherever I go in the world, I shall remember that diversity is all around me…….it is only upon me to identify it.