Rock, D. & Grant, H. (2016) Why diverse teams are smarter. Harvard Business Review.
A 2015 McKinsey report on 366 public companies found that those in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry mean, and those in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to have returns above their industry mean.
Collaborating with people from divergent backgrounds may sharpen each team member’s performance and encourage creative thinking. Why?
Diverse teams:
1. Focus more on facts
2. Process those facts more carefully
3. More innovative
Focus on facts
The author uses a few mock jury panels that were either all white or included four white and two Black participants. The diverse panels raised more facts and made fewer factual errors while discussing evidence. As a member of two diverse jury panels over the last seven years, I can attest to the attention to evidence during deliberations. Every piece of evidence was scrutinized just to make sure the defendant received a fair trial.
Diverse teams are more likely to reexamine facts and remain objective while scrutinizing each other’s actions. Diversity allows team members to become aware of their own biases that blind them from vital information.
Process facts more carefully
The inclusion of an outsider or members with diverse backgrounds can help a team digest information. They may offer questions or observations the team has overlooked.
Innovation
According to Rock & Grant (2016), “…business run by culturally diverse leadership teams were more likely to develop new products than those with homogenous leadership”, (Rock & Grant, 2016, p. 4).
In conclusion, similarity feels good but could create blindness, complacency, and over-confidence. Diverse teams might feel uncomfortable but have a better chance of yielding positive results.
L2: Demonstrate the ability to assess complex organizational environments and achieve communicative goals.
L4: Apply communication-centered scholarship to strengthen communication effectiveness.
D1: Iteratively develop inter-professional leadership competencies.
D2: Utilize communication to embrace complexity and difference.
Keywords: diversity, team management, diverse teams, innovation
