Increasing the Other Kind of Diversity in Cannabis
When most people talk about boosting diversity in cannabis, they are usually referring to gender, sexual orientation, and race. These are important, laudable goals for equity and business reasons.
There is, however, another, diversity gap that rarely gets mentioned. I am referring to the dearth of certain skills, experiences, traits, and cognitive styles (e.g., right vs left brain thinkers) that come together to make up a well-managed, healthy and happy organization.
When you boil it down, cannabis bosses are a uniform lot. There is a preponderance of similar white men. At the risk of stereotyping, most managers are generally young, lovers of weed and with limited exposure to other industries.
Gap checking is hard without sector-wide data. Anecdotally, I haven’t come across a lot of STEM types (particularly in non-STEM roles), older/right-leaning folks or female leaders as compared to other industries.
There was more cognitive diversity (and employees) in the early days but many of these people have exited cannabis for greener [sic] pastures.
The typical cannabis firm’s bench of human capital is not bad per se but rather incomplete.
Lurking problems
> Skills & background homogeneity cuts across the enterprise, and is too prevalent in some groups such as marketing, production, and HR.
> A lack of diversity breeds groupthink, limits availability of key traits like problem-solving and project management, stifles creativity, and frequently leads to cultural sterility.
> The consequences of ‘sameness’ is not always apparent except when you benchmark yourself against your high performing peers or other industries.
This situation need not arise from discriminatory practices. New industries like cannabis tend to feature young, smallish firms made up of community-focused (read: clannish) employees. Add in our industry's stigma and financial challenges and you have a recipe for managerial uniformity.
If cannabis companies are going to flourish, they will need to address their individual diversity gaps.
This is not about woke capitalism. Plenty of serious research shows a solid link between diverse workplaces and top quartile financial performance.
To be clear, diversity is an enabler of success but not a guarantee of one. Fortunately, it can be fostered over time and without major upheaval.
Solutioning
1. Aim for holistic impact, not overdosing on one trait or background;
2. Undertake a talent audit to find your gaps;
3. Retool hiring and advancement practices to fill immediate needs;
4. Prioritize learning in your culture including a sustained focus on training and internal mobility;
5. For quick results, bring in consultants to address missing skills or perspectives.
#management #culture #diversity #skills