Collaboration

Scott Page

Diversability

Members only. Recorded March 29, 2011

 

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Who is this workout for?

Project Managers, HR Professionals, Division Leaders, Department Managers, Team Leaders, Team Members, Executives, L&D Professionals.

Element: Collaboration

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What you learn.

• Tap the collective wisdom of your team.

• See why diversity matters as much as IQ.

• Move beyond the politics and clichés that cloud diversity.

• Learn how diversity practically and powerfully boosts performance.

• Keep titles and tenure from limiting honest conversation.

• Uncover why disagreements are vital, and how to use them.

Why this event?

Research shows that diversity trumps ability. Does that imply that we should abandon meritocracy? That we should remove those "my child is an honor student at Neil Armstrong Junior High" bumper stickers from our minivans and randomly allocate top spots in our colleges and companies? Of course not.

Ability matters. But, here's the catch: so does diversity.

Why it makes a difference.

Rather than being on the defensive about diversity, we need to go on the offensive. We should look at difference as something that can improve performance, not as something that we have to be concerned about so we don't get sued.

Of course diversity doesn't magically translate into benefits. Diversity that boosts performance in a tangible way has conditions, but too many of those conditions are obscured by misaligned metaphors, clouded clichés and perfunctory policies. Diversability reveals the truth about diversity, the tools required to make it work for us, and why teams and companies are stuck at status quo without it.

Scott Page

Scott Page is a common name (well, less common than Steven Smith), so you might be wondering if I am the Scott Page that you know, used to know, or might want to know. Other Scott Page's lead fascinating fulfilling lives as well. This Scott Page grew up in Yankee Springs, Michigan on Gun Lake, pumped gas and dipped ice cream cones at Page's Resort. This Scott Page used to have really big hair, so big in fact that during his fourth grade picture session the photographer found a six inch stick caught in his 'fro from recess.

This Scott Page attended Middleville-Thornapple Kellogg High School played basketball, sang poorly in musicals, wrote for the school paper (only to get punished for an unfortunate cartoon regarding the school administration), and got rid of the politically offensive "slave day" only to see it resurrected a year later.

This Scott Page was an undergrad at Michigan, majored in math, led walking tours, and was elected MSA president. This Scott Page taught math at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, dressed as a box of Junior Mints for Madison's annual Halloween party, helped unionize the teaching assistants and failed to win an intramural basketball championship. This Scott Page taught statistics and decision theory at Kellogg Graduate School of Management, finally won an intramural basketball championship (though not in the open division), and appeared on late night "you too can be a volunteer for Chicago public schools commercials". Scott is the author of The Difference (Princeton University Press). Scott delivers the G5 Leadership workshop on team collaboration and intellectual diversity titled, Diversability.