Increasing Diversity: Loss of Control or Adaptive Identity Construction?

Diversity has been a leadership topic since at least the 1990’s. Since

then, socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, religious and ethical diversity

continues to increase through massive migration and digital media. This

increasing complexity of diversity is now labeled as

superdiversity.

Organizations become complex adaptive systems to respond to these

challenges. Some organizations thrive, achieving new levels of

creativity and innovation. Other organizations are overwhelmed, losing

control, threatened to the core of their identity. How can

organizational identities be adapted to incorporate healthy levels of

diversity without losing vision, direction and control? Which

organizational and leadership skills are needed to enhance creativity

and productivity in a superdiverse environment?

An international conference at the ETF (Leuven, Belgium) addressed these

challenges. This volume sketches the contours of the diversity

leadership debate, its ethical and spiritual dimensions and the shape of

diversity leadership in religious institutions such as faith communities

and schools of theology.