Embracing Diversity and Leading Diverse Teams

My first boss Herman was a 2^nd generation Mexican American.  He ran a tight Jewish bakery counter and his brother Alex managed the kosher deli across the way.  

My best boss ever – and I’ve only had a few over a long career I consider truly great – was French and female.  

I’ve had bosses from the US, France, India, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, Denmark, Mexico, and Germany.  They all had very different management styles.

One boss called me a ‘penetrante Kuh’ - which means annoying cow - but he was German, so I didn’t take it personally.  In fact, I considered printing it on my business card.

I’ve hired and managed people from Canada, South Africa, Germany, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Russia, Finland, Spain, Mexico, Ireland, France, and the US.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with Russians, Finns, Japanese, Italians, Canadians, Dutch, French, Irish, British, Welsh, Scottish, Spanish, Australians, Iranians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Belgians, Indians, Romanians, Swiss, Scandinavians, Germans, more Germans, and 2^nd generation Americans from pretty much every part of the world. 

Some were younger, some were older, some were male, some were female, some were fantastic to work with while others were difficult, but they all offered something unique to the mix.

It's the best part about working, to be honest. 

I didn’t like everybody, nor did everyone like me.  A few didn't like me a lot, and y'know... ditto.  But the point is that they all added colour and flavour to my work experience, as I hope working with me did for them.

Interacting with so many cultures and personalities upped my game and having such a rich mix of colleagues and experiences kept me longer in each role than I might have stayed otherwise.

Diversity matters in ways we can’t measure.  It makes us more resilient, curious, compassionate, and open to new cultures, ideas and experiences.  It tests us and forces us to adapt, compromise and question our assumptions.

Cultural diversity is just one lens on the many different perspectives people bring to the workplace, and like the other lenses can challenge an inflexible leadership style.  A manager who clings to his or her comfort zone like a one trick pony will struggle to get the best out of a diverse team.

How do you build and lead a diverse team effectively? By hiring people better than you and helping them play to their strengths while being very clear about your expectations.

Leave as much as possible up to the people in your team.  Let them decide when, where and how to work.  Let them decide when to ask for help and when to work independently.  Let them spend time on projects that interest them, so long as they line up with team priorities.  

One very important point of clarification here: This doesn’t mean everyone just runs off and does whatever they feel like.  It’s a leader’s job to set clear priorities and deadlines, manage expectations within the team, ensure people interact professionally, and hold each person accountable for bringing their best self to work. 

In fact, how you lead the team shapes the team culture, which in turn impacts how well the team functions – so much so, that many companies continue to hire for culture fit rather than diversity. This is problematic and here's why:

Imagine a Venn diagram where individual personality and company culture overlap.  You immediately see a trade-off because the bigger the overlap, the less cultural diversity you have.  

Hiring managers also frequently try to hire people who will ‘fit in’ and therefore – let’s say it – be easier to manage.  Here again, the larger the overlap between team culture and individual personality, the stronger the sense of tribe and the lower the likelihood of conflict – or true innovation - within the team. 

It's easier to lead a culturally homogenous team than a culturally diverse one because one leadership style is more likely to fit all, which means the manager has to expend less energy to lead the team.  That's why diverse teams with inflexible leadership tend to underperform because people have to expend so much energy trying to fit in.  

Here’s why it matters: A team with a high degree of personal autonomy – or a large ‘personal expression zone’ – led by a skilled leader is likely to outperform and out-innovate a culturally homogenous team because more perspectives engender more ideas, which in turn create more possibilities.  Creativity is a numbers game, baby.

Diversity creates discomfort, which if properly channelled has the potential to turn crazy ideas into game changers.  If the overlap between company, team and individual culture is too great, you get high complacency and sense of belonging but low discomfort - which can hold you back when you need to pivot.

If, however, company and team culture are truly inclusive and allow for a high degree personal expression, you might just get… magic.  That's why the 'secret sauce' of a successful diversity strategy is inclusion, as Asif Sadiq, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, explains in this short interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0YsI1Labho