I have been thinking a lot about the statement you often hear: “Diversity is our strength,” but it seems to be missing a piece.
Here is a subtle reframing with perhaps an essential addition:
“Our diverse strengths and experiences enrich us, but it’s our shared purpose that unites us and drives us forward, together.”
Think of it this way. If we have different strengths and experiences, AND different goals for what we are trying to achieve, then there will likely be more chaos and contention in the long term.
This is why one of the Principles in “Forward, Together” is to “Create a Vision, Together.” The “purpose” and vision shouldn’t be created by someone else, and you buy into the process. It is about ownership, and the goal you expect at the beginning might change when you have those crucial conversations.
One of the best examples of this that I can point to outside of education is directly connected to Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls in the 90’s (the kids might regard this as the 1900’s now! Sheesh! I am old!) are considered one of the best teams of all time. And although Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time (yeah, I said it), it wasn’t until Coach Phil Jackson came along that they started winning championships.
Before his arrival, the team seemed to be a collection of people who likely had the goal of winning the championship (which is basically the goal of every professional sports team). Still, they worked separately rather than together.
Yet when Phil Jackson came along, his focus was on ensuring that each person used their strengths and played a very specific role on the team to help win the championship. If you were the last player on the team that would see time, your role might be to really push and be physical with Michael Jordan in practice, because he would need to get used to it during the season. That was your role. Phil Jackson shared, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”
Different strengths and experiences leveraged toward a unifying purpose.
One of the questions I was asked early in my career as an administrator was, “What will your fingerprints be on the organization? How will people know you were here?”
As I discussed creating that shared vision in “Forward, Together,” I wrote the following:
My hope is that any fingerprints I leave behind are just one set among many, part of something that was created through shared purpose and made stronger by the people involved.
To make that shared purpose stronger, it is essential to leverage the strengths, perspectives, and experiences of the people you serve toward that unifying goal.
To reiterate:
“Our diverse strengths and experiences enrich us, but it’s our shared purpose that unites us and drives us forward, together.”
Both are crucial in creating the best possible experiences for school communities.
