Birds of a Feather Flock Together, But We Need Difference to Fly

I must have read these famous words from anthropologist Margaret Mead for the first time when I was very young:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

When I think about organizational change, I always think of this quote. As an anthropologist myself with a lifelong interest in both transformative justice movements and organizational culture, my particular take on Mead’s words is that organizations, as relatively small groups of people, can solve the world’s biggest problems through deliberate, concerted action. This belief has been an undercurrent of my almost two decades of organizational culture consulting.

So, how do organizations change the world, exactly?

Organizations exist to do specific things: they need clear goals and well-conceived strategies for achieving these goals. Organizations also need the right people aligned towards the goals and strategy, working together in an environment conducive to their success. Even though we don’t know exactly who said it, we know that the saying culture eats strategy for breakfast is true. I choose to see this primacy of culture in organizations as an exciting opportunity: organizations have the potential to change the world through deliberate culture creation! This is where Highrise Vista comes in. 

Highrise Vista Consulting is a boutique firm located in Chicago. We are...

Ø  Home to culture radicals who believe that culture is at the root of everything we do as humans: how we interact with each other and the world

Ø  Committed to helping leaders optimize the potential of their organizations through the unlimited power of culture.

Ø  People-first achievers who understand that the root of all success in business is good relationships between human beings.

Our vision? Embedding cultural intelligence as a core 21st century skill.

Two decades of advising leaders in the corporate and non-profit world has taught me that there is a paradox at the heart of every organization, large and small. Birds of a feather flock together, but we need difference to fly. The basic human tendency to trust or value people who are like us clashes in organizations with the need for different perspectives to drive innovation and performance. I founded Highrise Vista Consulting to address the face-off between affinity bias and the need for diverse perspectives that is at the heart of virtually every organizational endeavor. We are here to help you manage this paradox and create the culture you need to succeed.

Highrise Vista offers simple (if not easy) solutions for leaders to break down silos, improve collaboration, and elevate team performance.

We work with leaders and talent practitioners to:

• Level up your leadership capabilities with cultural intelligence - the ability to understand and navigate one's own and other people's cultural realities

• Build an intentional organizational culture that supports your strategy by prioritizing specific practices that bring to life defined values

• Train your workforce in essential communication and collaboration skills that bring out the best in everyone and create a collective synergy that is greater than the sum of its individuals

Today, increasing polarization creates divides that often feel insurmountable. An “us vs. them” mentality seems to permeate life at work and at home. We know that these divides won’t help us achieve great things or solve big problems, yet social and technological trends are pushing us ever further into siloed echo chambers where everything we hear reinforces our existing beliefs. Such a climate in your organization will kill innovation, creativity, and collaboration. Polarization exacerbates the “birds of a feather” tendency, and in this environment, the ability to value, navigate and bridge differences is a superpower that can help teams and organizations activate unlimited human potential.  

The phrase "birds of a feather flock together" has been influencing English language speakers for almost 500 years - a version of it first appeared in William Turner's The Rescuing of Romish Fox in 1545. Today in organizations we call this phenomenon "affinity bias." In addition, for the past 25 years, we have observed what happens when unchecked homogeneity in organizations causes groupthink and stagnates innovation. What researchers have dubbed the "fluency heuristic" -- or the tendency to prioritize exchanges of information that are easy, rather than useful or productive -- gets in the way of breakthrough thinking (see David Rock, Heidi Grant, and Jacqui Grey, "Diverse Teams Feel Less Comfortable - and That's Why They Perform Better,: Harvard Business Review, September 22, 2016.

What can leaders do now to deliberately future-proof their organizations against homogeneity and groupthink? Especially in a climate that breeds fear and apprehension around time-tested, business staples like diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Leaders have two choices with culture. Option 1 is to assume culture will take care of itself (perhaps guided by some sentences on a poster). This option leaves your organizations vulnerable to the dreaded culture by default -- it will eat your strategy – for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Option 2 is for leaders to become culturally intelligent so they can optimize the critical asset that is their people and culture. This is where we step in.

Usually attributed to Peter Drucker, "culture eats strategy for breakfast" is not, in fact, found in any of his writings. It is still one of the most profound truths of organizational behavior.

We empower our clients with the ability to understand themselves and their organizations on a deep, infrastructural level, and the skill to leverage cultural intelligence for optimal performance. We see this capability as THE 21st century leadership skill, and work with you to embed it throughout your organization to create work environments that are truly conducive to engagement, innovation, and high performance.

The first step in becoming culturally intelligent is counter intuitive. In order to better understand other people, you have to first look at yourself.

We all look through a window that turns out to be a mirror […] The most empowering personal skill is the ability to look inside and gain awareness of the origins of your reactions. – Dr. Ronald R. Short (1998: 79; 83).

Cultural intelligence begins with internal exploration and discovery of the lenses through which we observe and judge other people. Cultural intelligence expands through exploration of patterns of group behavior and building relationships with individuals of all kinds. Finally, in organizations, cultural intelligence encompasses the deliberate agreements and systems we put in place to ensure that the working environment and interactions support achievement of the goals and vision.

Highrise Vista Consulting partners with you to build the cultural intelligence you need to lead a high performing organization.

What you can expect as you work with Highrise Vista is…

Perseverance: Dedication to your cause and persistence for finding a solution. We are committed to your ambitious goals.

Humility: we know enough after two decades in the field to know we need to always be learning.

Truth. At the same time, we apply the full force of our academic backgrounds and two decades in consulting to ensure your solutions are reliable and sustainable.

Relationship: We will not offer you cookie-cutter solutions but rather a partnership of trust and co-creation of innovative solutions.

We begin with these questions:

Do you know who you are as a leader?

Do you love your team?

Do you have the culture you need to execute your strategy?

Do you understand the specific behavior shifts YOU need to make to bring that culture to life?

Join us for an informational webinar on April 24, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. U.S. Central time to learn how we can help you answer these questions for yourself and bolster your leadership capabilities with cultural intelligence. We are excited to launch our flagship program "Leading from the Inside Out" on May 20, 2025.

Register for the webinar here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ezp2XXXNThyLslasz0_n4g