April 24, 2019

Defining Diversity: Differences That Make a Difference, with Sara Taylor

Episode 8:

Sara Taylor is the president and founder of deepSEE Consulting. She is a nationally-recognized speaker and consultant specializing in the areas of leadership, diversity, and organizational effectiveness. With over 25-years of experience, Sara balances her real-life anecdotes with research-based theories to deliver for her reader what she delivers for her clients.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • Why Sara Taylor and her team at DeepSEE Consulting define diversity as “differences that make a difference”
  • How organizations have historically defined diversity using lists of protected-class groups, and why that approach isn’t sufficient anymore
  • Why not all of our differences matter in the workplace, and why including everything under the heading of diversity is counterproductive
  • Sara shares a story that illustrates how religion can be the difference that makes a difference
  • How the tensions between Catholic and Lutheran families caused problems within community interactions when Sara was young
  • How four years in the Peace Corps led Sara to the Dominican Republic, where she met her husband and became a member of a diverse family
  • Why the primary role of a business leader is to set the members of their team up for success
  • Why the skill of cultural competence is a foundational skill that allows us to adapt to changes
  • Why the difference that makes a difference can change depending upon the context of the situation you are in

Additional resources: