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b'\\u201cI believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers.\\u201d\\n\\u2015 Mahatma Gandhi\\nWe hear lots of noise in conversations and in the media about striving for equality of gender, nationality, and race - equal opportunity\\xa0- equal rights - equal pay, etc.\\nRecently in Blacksburg, Virginia, in a session called\\xa0\\u201cDialogue on Race,\\u201d a young African-American presenter used the phrase\\xa0\\u201cDiversity of Excellence\\u201d in his presentation. That phrase made so much sense to me. I have adopted the idea and reversed the words to get\\xa0\\u201cExcellence of Diversity.\\u201d\\nThe media make up sound bites and promote phrases to\\xa0get attention and\\xa0ultimately to get ratings and make money. We all get sucked into this\\xa0diatribe of\\xa0mediocrity. We are driven to the bottom\\u2026the lowest common denominator\\u2026the drivel of sameness.\\nI say to women leaders,\\xa0\\u201cWhy do you want to be equal with men when, in fact, you are better?\\xa0You offer a different paradigm for leadership and a fresh perspective. You have a skill set that is different. Why not claim your excellence and move to the top\\xa0rather than attempting to be equal?\\u201d Most agree and react as if they feel empowered.\\nI repeat this\\xa0question to minority groups and get the same response.\\nIn a society where we have dumbed down our educational system with standardized testing and set the bar to the lowest point in striving for\\xa0equality, we are teaching each other that mediocrity is the norm. In an address\\xa0to educators, I heard Alfie Kohn* describe standardized testing as an\\xa0\\u201cEthnic\\xa0cleansing of the society.\\u201d In Marva Dawn\\u2019s book, Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802841023/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802841023&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwhughba-20&linkId=FTVFVKIOCLKQCDWR), the first chapter is the history of how education has been dumbed down over the years. She then describes how churches have dumbed down to attract new members when, in fact, the mainline denominations are now losing members at an alarming rate. We have clergy working as consultants, teaching pastors what to do as a simple formula for success, rather than reaching out of the broken paradigm and getting wisdom from a different source.\\nWe have no\\xa0clearly written guiding principles for personal empowerment in leadership for our organizations.\\nMy guiding principle is to\\xa0strive for excellence through diversity\\xa0and let the best people do the best work.\\nDo we get stuck because we are threatened by the excellence of someone who\\xa0doesn\\u2019t look\\xa0like us?\\nWhat\\u2019s your opinion?\\n* The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0325003254/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0325003254&linkCode=as2&tag=httpwwwhughba-20&linkId=UVVENYOII2WVRAVC), Alfie Kohn\\n \\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'