Limits to diverse thinking

Dear Bob …

I’ve been part of my company’s internal Employee Opinion Survey process, working with rank-and-file feedback to develop action plans intended to improve survey results. I have reservations about our methodology for the whole process and I’ve voiced my concerns.

One recent dialog stands out because a particular manager was trying ‘splain it to me in an effort to “get my mind right” (I had trouble not thinking of Strother Martin). At one point he said something like this: “In a perfect world, all our employees would reply 100% agreement with the survey questions.”

That’s when I made my mistake and said, “That doesn’t sound perfect for a company with a published Code of Conduct that supports diversity. Isn’t diversity more than race or gender (that’s too easy and mostly visual) … doesn’t it go deeper than appearance? Doesn’t diversity accept and even welcome diverse thoughts?”

Of course, my tactless delivery got me nowhere. Luckily I’m at a career stage where I don’t expect much more than a watch and handshake.

Don’t get me wrong … I work for a great company that pioneered the concept of a Corporate Code of Conduct and I believe they are sincere about it. But there are always pockets of darkness and doing the right thing is usually an uphill effort.

– Surveyor

Dear Surveyor …

I’m more puzzled by the idea of “agreement with the survey questions.” How can someone agree or disagree with a question?

If the person really wanted employees to respond positively to the company’s performance … well, sure, and I have to say, executives and managers should want employees to think highly of the company they all work for. Wanting diversity of thought on the subject isn’t entirely meaningful.

Wanting honest responses is what’s important.

So if the questions were phrased along the lines of, “My manager is an excellent leader — 1: Strongly disagree; 2: Disagree; 3: Neutral; 4: Agree; 5: Strongly agree,” then I have no problem with wanting full agreement, so long as it’s honest.

I’ll go beyond that. Every manager in the company should want a perfect 5 on every question phrased this way. The alternative would be wanting many employees to think their managers are poor leaders, because that’s a more diverse way of thinking.

One responsibility of leadership, you might recall, is aligning everyone to a common purpose. Diverse purposes means divided energy — not what you’re looking for in your average business.

If the questions were more like this: “The company should provide Pepsi in the vending machines instead of Coke – 1: Strongly disagree; 2: Disagree; 3: Neutral; 4: Agree; 5: Strongly agree,” then diversity should win the day.

– Bob