Have you ever found your ideas generation process getting stuck? Did you get feedback on your project management approach being too static?
It might be that the power of diversity hasn’t been considered deeply enough!
…Did You Say Creativity?
While it is well known that facilitating homogeneous teams is probably more straightforward and might provide solutions quicker, diverse teams, although they may start off weaker, are more likely the ones to propose break-through solutions.
Why? Because when you bring together a diverse team of people, you get disruption. Merging different perspectives, experiences, backgrounds and thinking styles takes time and facilitation efforts to form and work through the beginning phase of team growth [see the gap between the lines in the Forming stage of the groups on the photo below].
However, as you facilitate and promote inclusion within the team, you can often experience a spike in performance… uhhh…did you say creativity??
Maybe innovative ideas?
You got it!
Challenge the Status Quo? Go for 3.3.3
An example:
I was on a Value Stream Mapping event in Germany several years back, aiming at reducing Service Equipment Repair Lead Times by 30%. A team member, an HR Director (she was totally new to the topic, from a different background and a newly acquired business unit) came out with an astonishing, never heard before, out of the box idea.
Her layout proposal challenged so hard the status quo, and actually allowed to cut lead times by an additional 15%! Yes, it comes out that those “stupid” questions from team members with fresh eyes are sometimes the game changers!
Recipe for Success
On your next initiative, try picking 1/3 of your team from process Subject Matter Experts, 1/3 from Decision Makers, but also allow having 1/3 of ‘fresh eyes’ (meaning people business function, background, country and culture, experience, …).
This pot of diversity will produce cutting edge results!!!
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