This document discusses the importance of diversity in talent acquisition and management. It argues that organizations are facing unprecedented changes and a talent shortage. Diversity provides a competitive advantage by increasing an organization's cognitive diversity and ability to adapt. Recent research from fields like mathematics, evolution, and Broadway shows that diverse groups outperform homogeneous groups. The document advocates moving beyond traditional diversity training to new approaches that focus on diversity as a driver of value.

1. 1Published by Green Park Diverse Leaders | June 2010
GREEN PARK DIVERSE LEADERS
THE
WAR DIVERSE
TALENT
The War for Diverse Talent is a new take on an old
truth: that in difference lies possibility. It takes a
fresh look at the war for professional talent in the
context of an organizational world experiencing
unprecedented change. ‘Managing uncertainty’ and
‘attracting & keeping top talent’ are now top concerns
for global business leaders. We present recent
mathematical research to crisply redefine diversity
– and simultaneously strip off the unhelpful, old-
fashioned political baggage. Our analysis suggests
this more rigorous approach to diversity offers a new
lens on this fast-changing world as well as a powerful
and highly competitive way to tackle the current and
future ‘talent crunch’, and to exploit the power of
collective difference.
The War For Diverse Talent isn’t a list of answers
or solutions; rather, it’s a series of theories opening
the discussion on diversity, talent, and competitive
advantage. We hope it inspires you to join the debate.
1. THE HALF-MINUTE VERSION
Executive Summary
FOR

2. 2Green Park Diverse Leaders
The War For Diverse Talent
When McKinsey launched The War for Talent a dozen
years ago, it touched a nerve. Although organizations
live or die by their talent-base, fundamental
demographic changes – in particular ageing rich
world populations – are reshaping the talent pool.
Throw in globalization, migration as well as cultural
shifts, and the struggle to find (and retain) talent
remains sharper than ever. This problem is not going
away, even in the economic downturn. Some basic
figures tell the tale. Today’s students will have 10-14
jobs by the age of 38. One in four workers has been
in their current role for under a year – half for less
than 5. The top 10 ‘in demand’ jobs of 2010 didn’t
exist in 2004. No wonder American business leaders
place “managing uncertainty” (1), “attracting and
keeping top talent” (3) and “innovation” (5) in their
top five worries. This paper tightens the focus on the
large, but relatively untapped, pool of talent lying in
diversity. It further demonstrates that forging the right
combination of vision and processes in delivering
diverse talent can add significant and enduring value.
In fact, we believe diversity is one of the very last
frontiers of competitive advantage: an untapped
power that “smart” organisations will harness to
distance themselves from the crowd.
We live in an ever more complex world, undergoing
an unusually intense period of change. Punctuated
equilibrium, a term coined by evolutionary biologists,
captures this well: it suggests most systems stay in
a steady state for long periods before undergoing
a phase of rapid, repeated change. The seemingly
relentless speed and ferocity of this change is
difficult to grasp, but a couple of statistics give a
flavour. Mobile phone penetration in Africa happened
faster than anywhere on earth, and now stands at
over 50%. To reach a market audience of 50 million
took radio 38 years, television 13 years, the internet
4 years, the iPod 3 years and Facebook 2 years. No
wonder organizational leaders talk of “exponential
times”. And change is not just limited to technology
(although technology is a driver): are we approaching
a new dawn in the drive toward diversity? The
announcement of the new Governance Code – which
specifically references leadership diversity – is a
major ripple on the leadership pond, but the tidal
wave is yet to come.
Much of the thinking and action around ‘diversity’
has been captured (and often cynically used) in
politics, in particular the New Left. A politicised
emphasis on identity diversity (how people appear
on the outside) has obscured the most important
underlying factor: cognitive diversity (how people
think on the inside). Identity diversity is an imperfect,
albeit generally robust, proxy for different ways of
thinking and problem solving. Nevertheless most
‘diversity training’ simply doesn’t work. Squaring this
circle is straightforward: making people feel ‘policed’
about difference is unproductive. Helping people
understand variation as a mathematically proven
way to succeed – well, that’s worth talking about.
That way lies progress for all who wish to create
increased value in the future. If we can embed the
concept of diversity of an accepted, proven driver
of organisational value, individuals, teams and
organisations will be drawn to diversity, rather than
having to be pushed toward it.
2. THE WAR FOR TALENT
3. ALL CHANGE
4. A NEW AGENDA

3. 3Green Park Diverse Leaders
The War For Diverse Talent
Recent work on evolutionary and complexity
economics, using frameworks informed by our
understanding of ecosystems, is generating exciting
new insights on how businesses and organisations
thrive or fail. Evolution is essentially the product
of two forces: variation (or diversity), and selection
(amplified over time) on that variation. This process
lies at the very heart of competition for finite
resources. Diversity is thus essential to the ability
to evolve at all. Further, in a period of punctuated
equilibrium, previous evolutionary strategies (which
may have tended towards the monocultural) are less
likely to succeed. The importance of deploying new
and diverse approaches to help enhance adaptation
thus becomes even more critical to success (or
survival). In the organisational context, the theory
holds true: diversify to survive, and diversify to thrive.
The rumblings following the recession hinted at this
theory: would the recession have been as deep if
there wasn’t a culture of unadulterated machismo
underpinning the economy?
The latest research by McKinsey suggests a growing
awareness that ‘top talent’ is just one part of a more
complex war for talent. Further, it reports that for
all the increased focus on talent in organizations,
successful strategies remain elusive. In part, this is
due to a lack of concentration on human resources
(HR) at the most senior levels, coupled with over-
formulaic approaches to and by the HR function.
The status of HR needs enhancing – but HR people
need to up their game, too. Acquiring a deeper and
more profound understanding of the importance
of diversity, and the need to ‘garden’ such talent
over time, offers a good start, as well as a way out
of the thicket of unproductive but procedurally
driven recruitment. When we talk about diversity of
workforces, we must look to the gatekeepers and
question their approach to accepting or denying
applicants. The recruitment and professional services
industry is notorious for its own lack of innovation,
internal diversity and reliance on old boys’ networks.
In short, there is strong institutional prejudice at a
pivotal stage of the employment lifecycle. Until that
link in the diversity chain is established, we’ll be left
with a few tired diverse role models that serve as the
exception to the rule.
Recent work by Dr Scott E Page has unpacked the
power of diversity to a startling degree. His two most
profound findings are sufficiently robust to have the
status of theorems. The Diversity Trumps Ability
Theorem demonstrates that, under a reasonable set
of conditions, diverse groups consistently outperform
expert groups. The reasoning is essentially that
experts, who tend to share much of their cognitive
‘toolsets’ in common, provide an excellent partial
view of a problem. By contrast, although the diverse
group may have less tools on average than individual
experts, between them they cover off those experts
tools, while adding several more – they offer a good
complete view. Furthermore, diversity confers a
mathematical property known as superadditivity. In
short, diversity isn’t simply a shuffling of risk like
a well-balanced share portfolio – it adds more. The
Newtonian analogy of “standing on the shoulders of
giants” to see further helps: diversity provides a wider
array of perspectives, and helps groups see ‘further’.
5. COMPETITIVE DIFFERENCE
6. THE GREAT ESCAPE
7. THE MATHEMATICS OF DIVERSITY

4. 4Green Park Diverse Leaders
The War For Diverse Talent
Page’s second theorem is more formally
mathematical: ‘Crowd error’ = ‘Average error’ –
‘Diversity’. This asserts that the error or failure rate
in a crowd, society or organisation is comprised of
the average individual error-rate and the degree of
diversity. Traditionally we seek gains by reducing the
‘average error’, for example by attempting to recruit
better-qualified individuals and so on. This insight
suggests we can achieve greater gains by bringing
more diversity into the equation. Further, it shows
diversity is not simply a side issue, a sprinkling on of
difference as it were: it’s a fundamental strategy.
New insights about diversity are emerging from
evolution, economics and mathematics – and, from
the business of Broadway, too. A study of teamwork
by Dr Brian Uzzi and others looked at decades of
Broadway shows. Traditionally, success or failure on
Broadway gets established brutally and quickly –
often overnight. And while it may be show business,
successful shows are sure business, too. Uzzi and
his colleagues found that when the core creative
team comprised people with previous experience
working together and ‘fresh blood’, success followed
– whereas those consisting of either only ‘old hands’
or entirely new teams tended to fail. They have
explored this effect across several sectors, and it
shows that, where teamwork and innovation are
needed – which would be most organizations facing
a challenging landscape – diversity, once again, is
demonstrably beneficial. This work also highlights a
need to think about a ‘diversity of diversity’: a multi-
layered concept of difference harnessing the power of
collective difference.
On the one hand, within our wider networks, we see
the recently documented failure of most diversity
training schemes, growing uncertainty, rapid change
and ongoing problems in the war for talent. On the
other, we have a strong new set of tools, including the
mathematics of diversity, insights from evolutionary
thinking, and deeply practical and diverse hands-
on expertise. As well as this paper, Diverse Leaders
is instrumental in pushing forward a global
conversation around diversity among business and
other leaders. We are generating diverse connections
across sectors, industries and continents while also
developing a varied set of practical and results-
oriented approaches to diversity. By stripping away
the choking undergrowth of an over-politicised and
underpowered approach to diversity, we have helped
clear new ground to sow some fresh seeds, working
with some of the most forward-thinking organisations
in the world.
We bid a long overdue goodbye to unproductive
diversity “training”, although we’re still happy to
help organisations raise awareness in different ways).
Instead, welcome to a diverse new world of games,
talent boutiques, social networking events, debates
and global high-level conversations. Tailored, bespoke
and stylish solutions – not one-size-fits-all. And
it’s not just about education: at the coalface we’re
bringing an embedded commitment to diversity to
the way we identify and recruit talent on behalf of our
clients. We’re not the sorts of gatekeepers who judge
you by your cover.
There’s no reason why diversity should be dull – life
isn’t, and as the poet William Cowper put it “Variety’s
the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour.”
So if you are interested in joining a new kind of
conversation around diversity, with the leaders of
today and tomorrow, read on – and do get in touch.
8. DIVERSE LEADERS