The first colour blind American president?

Abstract

This paper explores the link between a mindset of respect for differences and the benefits thereof for global organisations and persons. The profound influence of a person's mindset or worldview towards differences has on the performance of teams and people in multicultural and diverse settings is demonstrated with relatable anecdotes. The influence of the (subconscious) mindsets in these anecdotes is used to explain a model that plots the mental stages of development of intercultural sensitivity. It demonstrates the required mindset of global organizations, executives, leaders and individuals for dealing with the increasing awareness of differences stemming from globalisation that continuously "shrinks" the world of today. It is shown that a mindset towards respect for differences is not only essential to benefit from the hidden potential in multicultural and diverse settings, but also to prevent that same diversity from negatively influencing organisation and team performance. A meta-level approach for effectively dealing with the complexities and uncertainty attributed to multiculturalism and diversity in organisations and teams is briefly introduced.