Diversity is the Cornerstone of Success

How many times have you heard someone say, "Gee, if only everyone was like Jane....." The reality is that if everyone in the organization was just like Jane, you'd have a very singularly focus,  inflexible organization that is unable to see opportunities or problems from a multifaceted perspective. You'd probably fail.

Good, even great, managers come from all different molds. There is no single great manager or leader  style. Success is a combination of ability and circumstance. Again, a medical analogy, you can be the greatest ID diagnostician in the world, but if your patient needs a brain tumor removed, you'll likely be a failure. Successful managing likewise requires the right set of skills in the right organization and the right situation. 

Consider all organizational situations can fit into a simple three cubed matrix. 

Management Style	Organizational Style	Business Unit Problem
Knowledge Expert	Top Down Autocracy	Disruptive Staff
Directive Manager	Collaborative Team	Unskilled Staff
Delegative Manager	Democratic - Independent	Narrow Focused Staff

The first point of diversity is that by my measure, I use three initial broad categories to define Management Style. I predicate these definitions on the Birkman Method® behavioral analysis assessment.  Next you have organizational diversity, or Organizational Style. Organizations have a style, a corporate culture - various personalities that drive decision making and actions. You can already see opportunities for conflict when a "Delegator" is confronted by a very Top Down Autocratic organization. However, add to that the different Business Unit Problems, and conflict opportunities expand. 

The point of this is to make a very complex and nuanced discussion very simple. Different styles work in different places and at different times. The manager who starts a new product division may not be the best manger run it operationally, for example. Diversity within an organization becomes an insurance policy against unplanned changes and challenges. And it opens up opportunities to build new opportunities around special and diverse skill sets within the organization. If everyone is just like Jane, expect little flexibility and little ability to be agile and responsive to outside influences.