I’m a word nerd. English, sadly the only language I speak, has always fascinated me.
The nuance of some words, the rich layers of definition, the myriad misinterpretations or misrepresentations of the terms we glibly throw around intrigues me no end.
Tolerance and Tolerate are two such words.
One that has been much discussed, debated, celebrated and ridiculed in the past year. Certainly, the pride, bad pun I know, with which organizations have committed to it has markedly waned this year.
FTR I believe we’re all poorer for that. Our businesses, our communities, society at large has lost a step in the momentum we were gaining.
I’m talking about tolerance of course.
Tolerance is the life blood of reinvention, of broader perspectives, of innovation, of deeper inclusion, of feeling like your contribution is seen and appreciated.
And, as my good friend ChatGPT4 tells me…Across multiple credible and recent sources, there's compelling evidence that welcoming diversity across every dimension—cognitive, socio-economic, functional, cultural—drives meaningful outcomes for organizations. Benefits span increased innovation and agility, better financial returns, faster and higher-quality decision-making, and expanded market reach. Research citations below.
For my many friends who proudly champion tolerance I’m with you.
However, in the spirit of mature objectivity though, I do believe we must heed the voices that question if the attention – and investment – given to DEI&B initiatives were always well-spent or achieved the results they were supposed to deliver.
Not always is the truth.
Some were imperfect. Some were performative if we’re being completely honest. Some were never going to flourish in the soil in which they were planted.
That doesn’t mean we should stop the focus or slow the momentum.
Tolerance of diverse inputs is an under-utilized, under-represented and under-appreciated weapon in making our organizations better and our people stronger and, dare I say it, happier.
Tolerate is the other word that gets my juices flowing.
As regular readers of my posts know, I truly believe there are three simple ways you can judge any organizational culture.
What it celebrates.
What (or who) it promotes.
What it tolerates.
Interestingly the first two are always very easy to point to and interviewers will always give you numerous examples when selling you on joining.
The “what we tolerate” is way more uncomfortable and a topic few executives I’ve met will ever broach.
Yet it’s often the small, tiny, seemingly insignificant things we tolerate in our organizations that most profoundly impact our people and cultures.
The meetings that start late while we wait for a “busy” executive because their time is deemed more important.
The people who talk the most (and listen the least) in any brainstorm – the classic HIPPO syndrome.
The meetings without agendas, attended by folks who know that presenteeism is more vital than contribution, that seldom return a decision or move a conversation forward.
The casual bullying of junior – or minority – staff because there are no consequences for doing so.
Ironically it is what we tolerate that our employees actually believe is “the way we do things around here” and actually what’s important inside our companies. That’s the stuff they see and internalize – not the expertly crafted words on posters in the washroom and glowing terms in the opening All Staff remarks from the CEO. These are the Unwritten Ground Rules that Steve Simpson speaks so eloquently about because you’ll never find them in any employee handbook or onboarding but they set the tone and tenor of our companies.
Tolerance then is something we need more of and is, by all accounts, something we’re paying less attention to.
Tolerate is something we need to be more aware of and, by all accounts, is something we don’t spend nearly enough attention to.
The real paradox – and call out to you Dear Reader – is the more organizations talk about tolerance and its vital importance, the less many of them seem prepared to interrogate if what they tolerate isn’t really what is at the heart of their challenges.
As my fellow Canadian Alanis Morrissette famously quipped “isn’t that ironic”
If we really want our people to flourish and our organizations to get the full benefit of their enormous untapped potential, we must focus on both.
Research Citations
The role of diversity in Innovation
Diversity’s positive impact on innovation and outcomes
Racial diversity increases sales revenue 15-fold (and other statistics)