Bridging Differences

Barbara Gelberd

Why bridging the differences in cultures, perspectives, and relationships brought about by South Carolina's changing economy is a strategic imperative for the state's business leaders.

The economy of South Carolina is changing. With change comes uncertainty, and South Carolinians are notoriously risk averse. Richard Florida, the noted economist and author of The Rise of the Creative Class, recently spoke to the S.C. Council on Competitiveness and characterized South Carolinians as "dutiful," "conscientious," and "risk averse," rather than risk-taking and innovative.¹ He offered as an example that South Carolina lags in its acceptance of immigrants.

The current dynamic global economy will no longer allow us to linger in this condition. Incorporating new technology and technical skills is necessary, but not sufficient, to succeed. To thrive, business leaders must master the adaptive skills of negotiating different cultures, perspectives, and relationships that come as part of the new economic picture.

Adaptive skills are those soft skills used to analyze, target, and change unproductive behaviors. They are called into play when problems are complex and require people to engage with the problem in order to understand and solve it. The challenge, then, is how to move through change by bridging differences. Are South Carolina business leaders up to the task of making cultural as well as technical adjustments?

National workforce trends indicate that, beginning in 2008, 70 percent of new entrants into the workforce will be either women or people of color.

South Carolina is currently the 10th fastest growing state in the nation with a projected growth rate of 42.9 percent between 2000 and 2030.^2,3 Since 2000, 68 percent of our growth has been due to migration from other states, particularly the Northeast. The rapidly increasing Hispanic population is estimated at 140,000. (This number is thought to be closer to 500,000 due to underreporting.) In 1940, the state’s native-born population was nearly 92 percent. By 2000, this figure had dropped to 64 percent. ^4,5,6

Businesses are sensing opportunities in South Carolina. A Dubai company, Jafza International, plans a new distribution center, which will ultimately create 8,000 new jobs.⁷ No doubt this will bring executives and managers from the Middle East to oversee operations. Google is building a 200-job data center in the Lowcountry, with possible plans for a similar center in the Midlands.

And then there is the Innovista, the collaboration of local public and private leaders driving the University of South Carolina’s growth and national reputation, as well as creating the engine of the new Midlands economy.

National workforce trends indicate that, beginning in 2008, 70 percent of new entrants into the workforce will be either women or people of color.⁸ It is clear that workers and consumers in South Carolina will become more heterogeneous. This will be an evolving process with unpredictable outcomes. What is certain is that change will involve diversity of all kinds and will occur at an increasing pace. Doing "business as usual" is unlikely to be successful. So the question becomes: What do business leaders need to learn to successfully navigate organizations, public and private, through change?.

Change in any setting is a process to be negotiated by the individuals moving through it, each with their individual pace and view of reality. Richard Florida has postulated that the characteristic of being risk averse may be South Carolina’s biggest hurdle to growing a creative economy.⁹ If that is the case, how can South Carolinians start to think about change in a way that is more palatable? How can we blend "dutiful" and "conscientious" with risk-taking? A place to start is to think about change as a process with multiple layers and overlaps, not a linear progression. William Bridges provides a useful model. (See Figure 1.)¹⁰ Change takes place over time. Those who initiate the change ("Beginning") phase are the visionaries, generally few in number. The majority are still in the "Ending" phase, where resistance to, and denial of, the need for change, is the norm. For them, change has not occurred. The "Transition" phase is the period of instability and confusion that must be traversed and sorted out before a new "Beginning" is truly launched.

At any given point in time during the transition process (indicated by the vertical line in the center), individuals will be in all three phases with different needs and agendas. Leaders must understand and manage these differences to successfully move through the process.

You can’t make those kinds of wise investments until you can first acknowledge a need to develop more sophisticated adaptive skills. The Dimension of Diversity model illustrated in Figure 2 is a good tool with which to approach this task. The model illustrates the potential breadth of differences which, if ignored, will lead to disconnects in communication, relationships, and execution tactics.

Therefore, a business case exists to spend targeted resources on developing the necessary adaptive skills of existing employees to be able to integrate new talent.

So how do we turn all of this rhetoric into a practical discussion about leaders bridging differences as part of the change process? To illustrate, let’s focus on Columbia and the Innovista. To simplify even further, let’s use Bridges’ transition terminology (Figure 1) and narrow the focus to the earning and spending capacity of workers and consumers. Figure 3 is a model, albeit oversimplified, of changes the Midlands economy has undergone since World War II. Today the majority of workers are in the "Transition" phase. We want to move more of that majority into the "Beginning" phase where they are holding higher-wage jobs and have more discretionary spending power.

A big step in getting

After all, no astute business leader would buy expensive manufacturing raw materials, install them in a warehouse, and expose them to unwelcome elements. He or she would seek to maximize return on investment in whatever way possible. Therefore, a business case exists to spend targeted resources on developing the necessary adaptive skills of existing employees to be able to integrate new talent.

The currency in this new world is knowledge and skill. At the end of the day, economic change needs to happen for South Carolina to stay competitive. To succeed we will need to incorporate different people from different places.

The work of changing culture starts with senior management, and it often requires a hard self-evaluation. It begins with asking questions like, "How do I as a leader deal with different perspectives or people who don’t look like me?"

The good news is that there are sufficient opportunities right now to develop and practice adaptive skills. There is no need to wait for an event, a vote, or permission.

Take a close look at your organization. What dimensions of diversity are represented at different levels within the organization? Are you tapping into the richness and creativity that different perspectives might bring to existing challenges? Consider what kind of training your current employees are going to need in order to communicate successfully with new and different colleagues and customers. Have you thought about what kind of talent you will need to add to your team in the next 3 to 5 years? Where will the talent come from? How will the addition of that talent impact your current team?

Or, try to engage a colleague who holds an opposing position from you in dialogue on an issue. The purpose of the discussion need not be to reach agreement, but simply to gain a better understanding of the genesis of opposing views.

The currency in this new world is knowledge and skill. At the end of the day, economic change needs to happen for South Carolina to stay competitive. To succeed we will need to incorporate different people from different places. This includes working to retain in state the independent, demanding, homegrown "millennials" (newest generation of workers) with the requisite technical skills.¹³

South Carolina does not have a great track record of success in doing this. However, we’re smart people; we know what needs to be done. Business leaders have a vested interest and can take the lead. But can they look for and learn what it is they don’t know that they don’t know? And then, can they start by practicing today to build bridges with other leaders who look, talk, think, dress, and act differently? ¨

Edward E. Lawler II and Christopher G. Worley, Built to Change, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass (2006).

Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement, New York: Free Press (2003). ¨

Endnote

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1  Growth Depends on Creativity, Expert Says," gjackson@thestate.com (2007).

² "State Ranks 10th in Growth," The State, jhammond@thestate.com (Dec. 28, 2007).

³ U.S. Census Bureau, estimates released Dec. 27, 2007.

⁴ Walter Edgar, South Carolina, A History, Columbia, S.C.: University of S.C. Press (1998): 583.

⁵ U.S. Census Bureau, Cumulative Estimates of the Components of Population Change for the United States, Regions, and States (April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007).

⁶ S.C. Statistical Abstract, S.C. Budget & Control Board Office of Research & Statistics.

⁷ "Dubai-Based Company Purchases S.C. Land for Distribution Center," WIStv.com (Updated Oct. 5, 2007, 9:31 p.m.).

⁸ "U.S. Changing Demographics," The Knowledge Edge, www.DiversityUniversity.com.

⁹ "Growth Depends on Creativity," gjackson@thestate.com (2007).

¹⁰ William Bridges, Managing Transitions, Making the Most of Change, Cambridge: Perseus Books (1991).

¹¹ Ram Charan and Geoffrey Colvin, "Why CEOs Fail," Fortune (June 21, 1991).

¹² Dimensions of Difference, Intellectual Property of Pope & Associates, adapted from Loden and Rosener, Workforce America (1991).

¹³ Managing Generational Differences in the Workplace, https://www.cs.state.ny.us/personnelcouncil/generationaldiff.ppt.