Learn from Amy Edmondson and Josh Bersin to Help Your Team Practice Intelligent Failure! Learn More →

Importance of Making a Step from Diversity to Inclusion

  • Monday August 17, 2020
  • Customers   
  • Inclusion   

Diversity matters for the success of your business. As McKinsey has shown in their research, diversity correlates with better financial performance:

The concept of “mutual information and knowledge” is central to understanding the positive impact of diversity. Sinan Aral (NYU Stern School of Business & MIT), Erik Brynjolfsson (MIT Sloan School of Management) and Marshall Van Alstyne (Boston University & MIT) explain this well:

  • While teams who share significant amounts of mutual information and knowledge may be more harmonious and better able to communicate and coordinate effectively, knowledge homogeneity can reduce learning, creative problem solving and performance
  • In contrast, more diverse teams can apply broader, more novel expertise, making it possible for “diversity to trump ability“. Teams with less expertise but more diversity can outperform teams with more expertise but less diversity.

HBR notes that diversity advantage isn’t automatic. The uncomfortable truth is that diverse teams can underperform homogenous teams if they’re not managed actively for differences among members. But if you create conditions that allow team members to bring their unique perspectives and experiences to the table, you can create an unbeatable advantage.


What are the implications for teams?

Diverse teams need inclusive environment to realize their full potential. Team leaders should ask themselves: “Am I maximizing the effects of diversity on our outcomes? Are my team members comfortable being authentic and sharing their unique points of view? Are differences in opinions perceived as a positive attribute of our team?” Leaders have an opportunity to leverage virtual experiences to help team members deeply connect with each other and learn the value of novel perspectives.

Here is the diversity quote! blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blahvblah,blah,blahblah,blah,blah,blah,blah,blah
3 more experiences to help with inclusion

What if we became more purposeful about the space we create? What learning could your team take from a brewery?

Metier Brewing is an award-winning craft brewery in Seattle. They have mixed purpose and principle to create both a line of beers and taprooms that make people feel seen and welcomed.

Receive an elegant kit with four Metier beers, Miss Marjorie’s plantain chips, and a pint glass. A manager from Metier will join you live and explain how — through the people they hire, the music they play, the art on the walls — they have made beer a way to start conversation and connection.

Have a pint, with a purpose, and start the conversation.


[...]
$80 per person
45 min

I said-a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie

To the hip hip hop-a you don't stop the rock

It to the bang-bang boogie, say up jump the boogie

To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

Now what you hear is not a test: I'm rappin' to the beat

And me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet

See, I am Wonder Mike, and I'd like to say hello

To the black, to the white, the red

And the brown, the purple and yellow

But first I gotta bang bang the boogie to the boogie

Say up jump the boogie to the bang bang boogie

Let's rock, you don't stop

Rock the riddle that will make your body rock

Well, so far you've heard my voice, but I brought two friends along

And next on the mike is my man Hank, come on Hank, sing that song


[...]
$115 per person
01h30m

Why can some sports teams perform together in ways that exceed potential? Why do other sports teams fail to play cohesively?

Four-time Olympic medalist Summer Sanders joins you live. She will discuss three norms of high-performing athletic teams – willingness to be vulnerable, accountability for action, and shared mindset – and help your team apply those ideas to their work.

The business meme of ‘wearing your Speedo to work’ — recently trending on LinkedIn and Facebook — was born from thousands of people whose teams participated in this foundational Teamraderie experience.


[...]
$3,000 for up to 100 people
45 min
You might also like:
Latest Posts
View all posts

View our managers guide to hybrid work

Learn where "hybrid" is failing and seven tactics to ensure your team thrives.

View Guide

Categories
  • Teams
  • Remote Work
  • External Connections
  • Leadership

Want more insights and ideas?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter! Sign up!