As it often happens when I think I’ve figured out a profound and eternal truth about life, the universe and everything, I find that Shakespeare already figured it out and put it into beautiful, meaningful prose. In one of Shakespeare’s later plays, Coriolanus, a very successful Roman general comes back from winning yet another battle. He is pushed into politics against his instincts because it is the logical step and is expected. And obviously because someone else has ambitions. He does not fare well. Not at all. Not cut out for the backstabbing, the sweet talking and the arse licking he fails spectacularly and dies horribly. But before that he puts my epiphany into these words: “Why did you wish me milder? Would you have me false to my nature? Rather say I play the man I am.”
That, to me, pin points our difficulties with diversity. We say we want differences, diversity, alternating view points, but when the push comes to shove, we want everyone to conform to our way of thinking, we want them to be ‘milder’ and in that, we destroy what attracted us to them in the first place. I find that is what we often do when we recruit and we do it without even noticing. That is not because we are unprofessional
