Diversity makes us stronger – diverse groups are more creative and innovative. Diversity is better for business, and it is better for our communities. We make these arguments on our blog and in our practice on a regular basis. And we are not alone: evidence on the benefits of diversity comes from publications such as the Harvard Business Review and the McKinsey Quarterly, among many others.
But is this always the case?
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Last week, we wrote about a recent Pew Internet study that confirmed the American hunger for continued learning opportunities: over the last 12 months, 74% of American adults report participation in some form of personal learning and 63% of employed adults report participation in some form of professional learning. Surprisingly, however, this learning is more likely than not to take place in a physical locale (a school, place or worship, library or a work-related venue) than on the Internet. Recent research on adult learning and development – as well as findings from our seminars – shed light on the complex reasons why adults prefer to learn socially.
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Last week, the Pew Research Center released a detailed report on Lifelong Learning and Technology, exploring the extent to which American adults seek extra knowledge for personal and work-related reasons. The report was heartening, if only because the number of American adults who consider themselves lifelong learners, in both personal and professional capacities, is far greater than I feared. But the report was most fascinating for its confirmation of something many of us suspect, but find unpopular to espouse: humans may still prefer to learn from each other than from technology.
First, the best news: The Pew research shows that 74% of American adults have participated in at least one form of “personal learning” over the past 12 months.
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How well do you know the person who sits next to you at work? What about the woman on the next floor, or down the hall? We are busy, and it’s all too easy to bring only a portion of ourselves to work, and to expect no more than a limited view into the lives of others.
And that’s a problem because, when we fail to recognize people in all their complexity or be recognized in turn, we create openings for misunderstanding and stress.
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We talk a lot about the powers that literature seemingly holds in our world. Literature can inspire, bridge gaps of time, place and experience and offer perspectives into people’s lives that are far removed from our own. As a Books@Work instructor, I have come to experience the power of literature to equalize and humanize.
The first Books@Work session that I led was for a well-established downtown law firm. As I walked into the imposing art-deco building, the faces of partners from decades past gazed out at me from gilded frames.
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In a rapidly changing world, many low-skilled jobs have given way to automation, replacing individual workers with machines and reducing workforces considerably. But are high-skilled jobs immune to such automation? No, says Ji Shisan, a media executive with deep background in neurobiology, in a recent and provocative piece in the New York Times. In fact, computers and artificial intelligence are replacing human engagement in a wide variety of contexts. These include the Associated Press’ Automated Insights software, which “[produces] thousands of articles about corporate earnings each year,” Facebook’s “virtual assistant,” which “uses artificial intelligence (AI) to answer user questions” and “IBM’s Watson,” which “[determines] the best course of treatment for individual cancer patients.” All the programs require human supervision, but as Shisan notes, “white-collar workers are understandably starting to worry about the day when AI can go it alone.” But rather than underscore this worry, Jisan reassures us: “The future’s still bright,” he says, “thanks to our creativity – our unique trait.”
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When we think about reading together, we often think about classrooms and about parents reading with their children when they are young—about the importance of fostering literacy early on, about modeling good reading practices. As we get older, shared reading and discussion become either less or more formalized. We find it sometimes in the evening book club. More frequently, book discussion becomes the domain of high school and college classrooms, where talking about books is a mark of intellectual progress.
When we delimit book discussion to the realm of the early reader or the intellectual, however, we miss out on literature’s real magic—the ability to transport readers across time and space.
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In everyday conversation about the state of the world, we often hear folks lament that some people want to learn while lots of people are just not interested in growing or advancing their education. Books@Work believes that this assumption is faulty and that a spark of learning exists in most people. Now that hundreds of workers have participated in Books@Work seminars, it has become increasingly clear that the spark of learning becomes a flame (or even a fire!) when individuals of all backgrounds and job categories come together to discuss important ideas through literature. And the results have helped illuminate the importance of recognition as an element not only of personal growth, but also of positive outcomes in the workplace.
Often we think that recognition comes from rewards or pats on the back, but research has shown us that real recognition comes when people engage in experiences that promote self-confidence and self-respect as well as mutual respect for others.
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From empirical studies on the psychological impact of reading to such philosophical perspectives as Martha Nussbaum’s notion of literature’s capacity to foster the “moral imagination” of readers, intellectuals across the disciplines have established a growing consensus about the power of reading to foster empathy, a crucial civic intelligence in a free society and a powerful aptitude for professional success and leadership skills. While a growing body of evidence reveals the incredible power of literary reading to promote imaginative empathy and intellectual curiosity, that potential may not be achieved through the reading experience alone, especially given inequalities in formal backgrounds and educational experiences at most workplaces (and in many communities).
My years of teaching have taught me that tried-and-true conversation is the most enduring method of bridging differences and sharing ideas, and conversations about books make the most of their capacity to enhance readers’ empathy.
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