Diversity of Thought Drives Innovation

I recently was a guest speaker at the Ultimate Women in Business Summit in NYC speaking on Building a Socially Responsible Organization. While attending, I had the opportunity to hear Cara Pelletier, Director of Diversity, Equality & Belonging, Ultimate Software speak on Building a Culture of Belonging. Her presentation focused on creating a culture of belonging rather than one of inclusion. As Cara says, “You don’t need an invitation, you already belong” It is about bringing your authentic self to work and feeling like you really belong there. In order to have a diverse workforce, you need to create a culture of belonging.

As we think about diversity and its impact on innovation, we need to think about the many levels of diversity in our organizations. We have identity diversity, which reflect attributes that are more visible (race, gender, etc.) and we have cognitive diversity, which reflects how we see the world and think about things. A recent HBR article adds a third, experiential diversity reflecting how our affinities, hobbies, and abilities shape us.  Each of these types of diversity is impactful in driving innovation. https://hbr.org/2018/05/the-3-types-of-diversity-that-shape-our-identities

 When we talk about work, where is most work happening? Work happens in teams and teams have meetings. So, how can we make meetings more effective in creating an environment for a diversity of thought to drive innovation. The following is the list of ideas presented by Cara Pelletier to promote diversity of thought in a team environment:

1.     Set the Stage

2.     Set Expectations

3.     Create Psychological Safety

4.     Encourage Speaking Freely

5.     Speak Up

In setting the stage, think about the physical space such as how the tables and chairs are arranged. Are you unintentionally creating a physical space that suggests some voices matter more than others? Are you creating a collaborative meeting agenda and sharing it in advance? Using sharing document tools and encouraging the team to pose questions in advance encourages participation and hearing from diverse voices .

Establish team participation expectations. If you have been invited to the meeting, you are expected to participate. Set up a practice of taking turns to allow all voices to be heard during a meeting. Create an environment of psychological safety by ensuring that all participants are fully present. Agree that meeting is device free. Encourage listening. Google found that creating psychological safety was the most important attribute of highly successful teams. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html

If you really want new ideas, you need to encourage all team members to speak freely and to disagree even with the boss. Pose questions to promote thought such as:

1.     What is missing?

2.     What might go wrong?

3.     Why might this blow up?

4.     Who has an alternative idea?

5.     Who is willing to bet $1,000 that the idea will succeed?

6.     What has worked in a similar situation?

Speak up to recognize and acknowledge contributions. Ask if we have heard from everyone in the room. Redirect questions to the most qualified Subject Matter Expert (SME). Speak up if there are interruptions, if someone is consistently asked to perform an administrative task, and  if someone’s voice is being diminished.

Next time you are setting up a meeting, take the time to plan the setting and agenda and begin the process of creating and enforcing group rules. I bet you will begin to get more ideas and new perspectives promoting a diversity of thought to drive innovation.