The diversity in your company or organization will impact its bottom line and the success of your career. McKinsey periodically surveys the diversity of companies and their performance and publishes the results of their findings. The January 2018 report1 indicated that companies in the top quartile of leadership gender diversity outperformed those in the fourth quartile by 21 percent for profitability. Those in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity outperformed those in the fourth quartile by 33 percent for margin. Many also believe that a diverse company is more adept at competing on a global stage among the many kinds of cultures present around the world.
Diversity takes many forms in companies. In addition to gender, ethnicity, and culture, other forms of diversity are measured based on ranges in age, physical abilities, personalities, values, work styles, experience in various industries, education, and technical skills.
For example, an ideal software developer is often believed to be passionate and determined; possesses an attention to detail (since they are always looking for failure points while testing their work); is highly competitive yet open-minded, creative, and a strategist; and realizes the importance of documenting their work. You probably realize how difficult it is to find an individual with all these characteristics. Instead, it is more likely that several developers with diverse skills and backgrounds will be brought together to form a team to fulfill these roles.
Some companies choose to focus on the diversity of the entire company, taking a macro view. Too many times, I have seen companies do this to claim that they are a diverse company. Yet in some of these companies, the lines of business are largely homogeneous. Information technology employees, software applications developers, and other technical roles might be largely male or not reflect a wide mix of minorities and ethnic backgrounds. Those hired to non-technical roles, such as in sales and marketing or human resources, might boost the overall diversity numbers for the entire company.
Others believe that the benefits of diversity are so important that diversity must exist within each line of business in a company, including within organizations that produce and manage technology. They take a micro view of their diversity initiatives. My own experience is that the most diverse technical teams that I managed or was part of were my best performing teams. They were also the teams on which I had the most fun.
Value in many perspectives
Indications you need diversity
Creating diverse teams
How diversity builds leaders
As this book was being published, there was much speculation about how to increase diversity in technology-oriented companies. Various groups of people were being encouraged to enter science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields so that companies that relied on producing technology-based solutions could become more gender, racially, and culturally diverse.
Many previous efforts at retaining a diverse mix of people focused on quotas and diversity goals. Those efforts met with limited success. Increased emphasis is now being placed on inclusion of diverse individuals in decision-making processes that take place at companies. This emphasis can provide everyone with a greater appreciation of the value of diversity.
You might question where this value comes from. We’ll begin our exploration of this topic by looking at the value that having many perspectives can provide.
Value in Many Perspectives
Companies and organizations with strong and confident leadership seek many perspectives when considering alternative solutions that will address problems. They do this precisely because they are focused on results and realize that they must avoid incomplete evaluations of situations and self-deception. Considering all of the causes of problems and a variety of options for solutions drives fact-based decision making and can result in more creative and innovative solutions. More significantly, the “right” solution for solving a problem is likely to be found.
There is much evidence to suggest that this is true in studies by experts who focused on behavior and how the human mind solves problems. James Surowiecki documented how bringing together large diverse teams of people can sometimes solve problems that were not believed to be solvable. The “wisdom of crowds” can generate more accurate predictions and better solutions to problems than a less diverse panel of experts.
Daniel Kahneman is well-known for his expertise in how people draw conclusions and make decisions . He has described why and how people jump to wrong conclusions. For example, he describes the importance of sample size and cautions against delusional optimism and overestimation of benefits that can occur when bringing together experts. He also notes that some people are risk-averse and will exercise exaggerated caution compared to others. Furthermore, many will overestimate the probabilities of unlikely events, overweighting them in their decisions.
A diverse team does not eliminate such individual tendencies. But when healthy debate occurs within the team, it can help ensure that a more balanced assessment of problems and potential solutions will be considered.
Smart leaders realize that answers to difficult problems are unlikely to be simple. Data is sometimes unreliable and often does not provide simple explanations as to the causes of problems. There is danger in jumping to the wrong conclusions when working with limited information. Leaders who understand this will parse through data and other content and listen to those who have points of view very different from their own. As Kahneman suggests, such leaders don’t simply care what decision is made. They place great emphasis on understanding and replicating how smarter decisions are made.
Indications you Need Diversity
Everyone gets along. Your team cranks out their positions on key decisions and determines and builds solutions with little debate, often taking a divide-and-conquer approach when problems need to be solved rapidly. Management provides their views regarding project direction and all appears to be right with the world. Why would anyone mess up this “well-oiled machine” by introducing diversity?
Your management and some individuals on the team might see things differently. They might be disappointed in your progress and feel as though competitors are moving faster. Management could also be asking for more innovation from your team without clearly indicating what they mean.
Your team could have a reputation for being reluctant to try new techniques and approaches. Members of the team might be reluctant to reach out to stakeholders in the lines of business for input. A common reaction from certain team members to suggestions that problems should be solved using different techniques could be the statement, “We’ve tried that in the past and it didn’t work.”
One interesting indication that a lack of diversity can impact the quality of technology solutions was drawing a lot of attention as this book was being written. The growing adoption and development of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions is exposing a number of inaccuracies and biases in some of the solutions being created. Lack of diversity among AI developers and data scientists is believed to be the cause.
AI developers and data scientists have sometimes chosen the wrong data sets or data sets based on bad assumptions. This results in biased models. If the team reviewing the models is biased, they might not notice inaccuracies or could, in fact, be responsible for creating them. Lack of diverse perspectives can lead to bad or incomplete recommendations.
Your team’s problems caused by lack of diversity could be fully realized by your management when competing teams or outside competitors produce more successful alternative solutions or when the solutions that you produce are not widely adopted. The successful solutions provided by others could even be based on similar ideas suggested within your team but not seriously considered.
You could then be faced with senior management consulting with other teams with growing frequency, begin to feel a loss of influence, and hear of growing speculation about the breakup of your team. Your team members might express frustration at the lack of their success and many might depart to join “more flexible” teams.
If this sounds familiar, it is probably time to introduce some new personnel into the team and improve diversity. To avoid stagnation, some organizations will periodically rotate team members among various teams, with an eye on continually introducing a stronger mix of people with differing opinions for group problem-solving engagements. Outside stakeholders are sometimes also sought to provide ongoing advice on direction. The goal is to mix people with a wide range of perspectives and approaches and enable the team to become an engine for innovative ideas and solutions.
Organizations that are good at this have a firm notion as to how rational decision making should work. Team leaders and senior team members guide the process. Team members tend to work harder because they know that their positions will be respected when they have thoroughly researched their views and can successfully defend them within their group as well as to other interested parties.
Sometimes, when teams begin to struggle due to lack of diversity, they are the first to recognize the problem. They respond from within by requesting that changes be made within the team while seeking more participation by other organizations and individuals with a stake in the solution.
Creating Diverse Teams
In forming or modifying a team, leadership should prioritize the gathering of complementary but diverse individuals open to the ideas of others. Teams often consist of a mixture of introverts and extroverts, and the people will possess a variety of technical skills and skill levels. Desired diversities of people and backgrounds can include cultural, racial, and gender variation as well as a varying willingness among team members to take risk.
The size of an ideal team is usually about five to seven members. I personally had much success leading teams of this size. When decisions need to be made, several alternative options should always be on the table and the decision about which option to adopt should align with key business goals. When critical decisions are made, they should be well communicated to gain buy-in by stakeholders. The success of decisions should be measured.
Age diversity among team members can be particularly useful in spreading wisdom learned from past efforts. However, the sharing of information in diverse age groups can present challenges in the methods and tools to be used for collaboration.
Baby Boomers and Generation Z age brackets tend to like in-person meetings more than Generation X or Millennials2. E-mail is popular among Baby Boomers and Generation X, whereas Millennials and Generation Z like social networking and persistent chat. The leader must adopt an approach that enables better collaboration and increased productivity of everyone on the team. They must then reinforce usage of the selected methodology and tools used for collaboration.
Team members will often feel stress when under tight deadlines or when solving particularly difficult problems. Team leaders who exhibit a sense of humor, defend their team’s efforts and recognize their performance, and point out the value of diverse opinions are particularly effective. The leader might need to deflect criticisms about team members when they feel that the criticisms are unwarranted and get in the way of productivity.
Teams and their leadership make decisions regarding solution development and team membership in phases. The first decisions during solution development start with the setting of goals and objectives . Team leaders and senior members already on the team often lead this phase.
In the next phase, decisions about who will be on the team are made. If this is a new team, individuals with needed skills are selected and gathered. If the team previously existed to perform an earlier cycle of the project or is coming from a different project, the team membership might be adjusted based on newly identified skills requirements or other diversity needs. Processes and owners of tasks are defined in this phase.
Plans for the potential solution or changes to an existing solution are then debated. As decisions are made, the solution’s evolution continues. The team might need to evolve further if additional skills are required that were not previously accounted for when these decisions were made.
When an iteration of the solution is delivered, it should then be evaluated for whether it meets the stated goals and objectives. The effectiveness of the project team and lessons learned during this cycle are also reviewed. If the goals and objectives of the cycle are met in the solution that is delivered, new goals and objectives might be decided upon for a next iteration of the solution. The cycle is then repeated.
A Cycle of Team Decision Making
Teams will often remain in place to pursue further iterative development and solutioning or to build solutions for other problems. As we’ve illustrated here, teams continually undergo fine-tuning throughout the repetition of this process.
Today, many organizations develop technology-based solutions iteratively in fast-to-succeed or fast-to-fail cycles repeated every 2 to 3 weeks. This approach can mitigate the risk of massive project failures months later.
How Diversity Builds Leadership
New leaders are sometimes identified and created during team activities. Such individuals can be identified if they show a willingness to take on responsibilities, share skills and mentor others, and lead discussions where opinions are debated. They also sometimes reach out to stakeholders for advice when others on the team are reluctant to do so.
You can use diverse teaming opportunities to advance your own career by taking on these unofficial leadership roles when such opportunities are presented. Such experience can lead to you being offered formal leadership roles later.
Great leaders of teams instill a sense of mission within the team. They build communications, cooperation, cohesion, and trust among diverse team members and stakeholders. They must manage any conflicts and facilitate solution brainstorming and debates about paths to building those solutions.
While directing the entire team toward its goals, they also try to maximize the contributions of each team member and other contributors, taking full advantage of the skills and perspectives that they possess. They make sure that team assignments are appropriately handed out and are clear about individual accountability in fulfilling those assignments.
For example, leaders of diverse teams must assure that the ideas of introverts and junior members are heard and not overwhelmed by the opinions of extroverts and long-tenured individuals. If shy junior members are uncomfortable challenging the opinions of senior members, the team leader must step in and lead by example, suggesting that there are alternative arguments. Any team will function best when everyone is thinking and offering input into solutions.
Leaders drive better performance and higher engagement of their team by possessing an outward mindset. As explained by The Arbinger Institute and others, this mindset requires that the team leader looks outside of their needs, objectives, and challenges. They instead focus on the needs, objectives, and challenges present in their team, among stakeholders and clients, among partners and external teams, and present within senior company leadership.
Touchpoints for a team leader
When team leaders are inward-focused , the resulting team performance can be awful. The team will be more likely to operate in isolation, and benefits of diversity within the team can be muted. The solutions produced can miss the mark in the eyes of stakeholders and management and prove difficult or impossible to integrate into other technologies developed by other teams.
Summary
Diversity within your organization and on teams that you are part of can lead to more rapid visualization and production of better solutions. Intentionally seeking out such teams and positioning yourself for leadership roles within those teams can help you build your reputation and your resume.
If you are part of an organization that lacks diversity, you might already find that the organization’s reputation is suffering due to an inability to innovate or deliver competitive solutions. If you are in such a situation, you might have an opportunity to propose the creation of your own diverse team to pursue a skunkworks project (a project that promises to deliver radical innovation and operates outside of the organization’s normal working and management environment). Such projects can also be career-enhancing, especially when they prove to be successful.
When your organization does not make diversity a priority and you strongly believe in its importance, perhaps it is time to look elsewhere in the company or outside of it. During job interviews, you can emphasize your previous experience working on diverse teams or indicate that working in a diverse organization is one of your goals. That discussion will likely enhance your prospects for employment by other innovative organizations that appreciate the value of diversity.
Many of the skills needed for participation in diverse teams can change over time. Next, we will look at how you can develop skills that will be in demand.