5 Practices of Managers Who Build Inclusive Teams

Igor Sakhnov Partner Group Engineering Manager Welcome Igor Sakhnov Partner Group Engineering Manager

Jo Miller Leadership Speaker. Founding Editor of Be Leaderly Welcome Jo Miller Leadership Speaker. Founding Editor of Be Leaderly

The Power of Diverse Teams

Gender diversity improved team dynamics.6 Gender-balanced teams were more engaged, delivering higher client retention, organic growth, and profit.1 Companies with racial and ethnic diversity on executive teams had higher earnings.2 Revenue was boosted by 41 percent when switching from an all-male or all-female offices to co-ed.3 Adding more women to a team increases collective intelligence more than adding people with higher IQs.4 Teams with an even mix of men and women produced more innovative ideas.5 Gender diversity improved team dynamics.6 Scientific papers written by ethnically diverse groups were of higher quality and got more citations.7 Scientific papers by geographically diverse teams were more frequently cited.8 Teams do better when they are psychologically diverse, with the widest possible range of personalities.9 1. Gender-balanced teams at Sodexo were more engaged, and delivered higher client retention; organic growth, and profit. https://hbr.org/2016/03/why-gender-balance-cant-wait 2. McKinsey and Co: In the United States, there is a linear relationship between racial and ethnic diversity and better financial performance: for every 10 percent increase in racial and ethnic diversity on the senior-executive team, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rise 0.8 percent. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters 3. Sara Ellison, an MIT economist: Switching from an all-male or all-female office to a co-ed one affected performance, they found that greater diversity boosted revenue by 41 percent. http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/more-diversity-means-more-revenue-but-less-happiness.html 4. Professor Anita Woolley (of Carnegie Mellon University and Thomas W. Malone of MIT Sloan School of Management: A group includes more women, its collective intelligence rises more than if you include people with higher IQs. https://hbr.org/2011/06/defend-your-research-what-makes-a-team-smarter-more-women   5. Teams of workers come up with the most innovative ideas if they are made up of even proportions of men and women, according to a study published by the London Business School. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/01/gender.world 6. Gender diversity helps improves team dynamics. http://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/human-capital/articles/creating-high-performing-leadership-teams.html 7. Richard Freeman, an economist at Harvard University and co-author Wei Huang analyzed the ethnic identity of the authors of 1.5 million scientific papers and found that if you write a scientific paper largely with people of your own ethnic group, it's likely the paper gets less citations than if you write it with a broader group of people. http://www.npr.org/2014/03/21/292225798/does-diversity-on-research-team-improve-quality-of-science 8. Freeman also found that papers are going to be more highly cited if the teams come from different parts of the United States. So if you have a paper co-authored by people in Boston and Texas and California, that's going to be better than if all the authors were in Boston or all the authors were in Texas. http://www.npr.org/2014/03/21/292225798/does-diversity-on-research-team-improve-quality-of-science 9. Records of student design teams, mainly in Stanford University’s mechanical engineering design program: Teams do better when they are composed of people with the widest possible range of personalities, (even though it takes longer for such psychologically diverse teams to achieve good cooperation. They must first cultivate an openness to opposing opinions and recognize the value of exploring a problem from various angles.) https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/diversity/more-diverse-personalities-mean-more-successful

1. Don’t over-rely on heterogeneous groups to get things done. What are some ways to include more diverse participants on teams, projects, tasks, committees, etc.?

“… it takes longer for such psychologically diverse teams to achieve good cooperation. They must first cultivate an openness to opposing opinions and recognize the value of exploring a problem from various angles.” — Doug Wilde Teams do better when they are composed of people with the widest possible range of personalities, (even though it takes longer for such psychologically diverse teams to achieve good cooperation. They must first cultivate an openness to opposing opinions and recognize the value of exploring a problem from various angles.) https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/diversity/more-diverse-personalities-mean-more-successful

The problem with diverse teams When a team doesn’t understand this diversity or fails to embrace it, it can be disruptive to the team’s performance.

2. Get comfortable with discomfort. Diverse teams can be more successful but less happy. It is hard to recognize and break our unconscious biases. Cognitive diversity feels like hard work. We are wired to conform, so “group think” feels much easier. Study: Diverse Teams Are More Successful, but Less Happy http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/more-diversity-means-more-revenue-but-less-happiness.html

3. Foster psychological safety. Google’s Project Aristotle sought to discover the single characteristic that rock-star teams have in common. What can you do to create a atmosphere of safety for interpersonal risk-taking? https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?mcubz=0

4. Co-create new participation norms. What can you do to make space for all at the table, to ensure all voices are heard?

5. Be diverse and equitable in who you sponsor

“There is a special kind of relationship—called sponsorship—in which the mentor goes beyond giving feedback and advice and uses his or her influence with senior executives to advocate for the mentee. Our interviews and surveys alike suggest that high-potential women are overmentored and undersponsored relative to their male peers—and that they are not advancing in their organizations.” — “Why men still get more promotions than women” by Herminia Ibarra, Nancy M. Carter and Christine Silva, Harvard Business Review

“A sponsor is someone who will use their internal political and social capital to move your career forward within an organization. Behind closed doors, they will argue your case.” — Cindy Kent, GM, 3M.

“Four U.S.-based and global studies clearly show that sponsorship — not mentorship — is how power is transferred in the workplace.” “Why You Need A Sponsor — Not A Mentor — To Fast-Track Your Career,” Business Insider.

What’s the difference between mentors and sponsors?

5. Be diverse and equitable in who you sponsor What are the qualities of good sponsor? What can you do to encourage a culture of diverse and equitable sponsorship? Be conscious of who you sponsor, and how you sponsor them. Get involved in “high potential” programs, diversity initiatives, and talent initiatives. Talk with other leaders about who they are sponsoring, and why. Be open about what it takes for you to sponsor someone.

5 Practices of Managers Who Build Inclusive Teams Don’t over-rely on heterogeneous groups to get things done. Get comfortable with discomfort. Foster psychological safety. Co-create new participation norms. Be diverse and equitable in who you sponsor

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