Experts have a clear understanding of the potential advantages that diversity brings to teams and organizations.
APM acknowledges that diverse teams generally outperform homogeneous ones. This correlation is increasingly evident in the performance and financial outcomes of organizations.
Does this align with your personal experience?
In a previous section, you explored exceptional and high-performing teams. Based on your own observations, do you see a connection between diversity and performance? Do teams with greater diversity produce superior work? Additionally, what challenges arise when working in highly diverse teams?
We are genuinely interested in hearing about your experiences and thoughts regarding these questions in the discussion section.
I have been part of diverse project teams in the past, and currently, I am part of one. Diverse teams (gender, age, culture, academic status, race, etc.) offer different experiences, working styles, and approaches to problem solving which is vital for delivering the outputs and outcomes in the project setting. Working with a diverse team is also a booster and aid learning and mentoring; thus improving the overall capability of the organisation.
There are challenges working in a diverse team, and such include the overly display of some negative personality traits.
Diversity creates a workplace and culture that is intuitively flexible, agile, and adaptable. It spans many dimensions including individuals (race, gender, physical abilities, age, and body type) and organisational characteristics, values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, preferences, and behaviours. Diversity helps to deliver competitive performance in projects and organizations.
Working with a diverse team goes a long way toward the project’s success. This is mostly because, in diverse teams, members come together from diverse backgrounds and have diverse experiences and perspectives which shape their views and probably their modus operandi (during the stages of the project).
With the spontaneity that births the team, team members don’t necessarily know themselves and as such, familiarity is minimal; and it makes it easier for the team to be more focused on work with minimal or no distractions.
It is evident that diversity and performance work hand in hand.
an organisation with diversity seem to be more productive in achieving projects and work done.
for example, in my organisation, when there are multiple supplies to be accomplished in a day. i sit down with my driver and loader and plan the first delivery that would happen while putting into consideration; traffic delays, quanity ordered, available truck and finally how often they are delayed when they go to a particular place for supplies.
having this short meeting helps us achieve a considering number of request in a day.
The disadvantage that can be experienced in a diverse team is the fact that most times, there might be suggestions that are biased in relation to one’s mood and health condition.
Lack of communication between staffs is another factor that can hinder the company’s goals.
A team with diverse backgrounds can bring a broader spectrum of knowledge and expertise to the project; however, it may also face challenges such as discrimination and communication barriers due to biases.
Teams with social and cognitive diversity tend to perform best in a team as this will bring to fore diverse knowledge, experience, skills, expertise of individuals in the team, thereby sharing opinion with each other for the success of the project.
Diversity is one of the key areas in building a successive team .When team members are from diverse backgrounds and with there unique wealth of experience, this will propel the performance of the team at large.
But on the other hand, if not well managed, can also work against the team if the project manager or team lead has not communicated the vision and mission of the project to the members as well as setting the rules within the project member inorder to achieve the vision.
Teams with social and cognitive diversity tend to perform best in a team. This is due to diverse knowledge, experience, skills, expertise of individuals in the team. individuals from different works and exposure are involved in the project thereby sharing opinion with each other for the success of the project. for example a construction company or project making use of the individuals in accounting to help financial planning and budgeting, quantity surveyors, safety manager, electrical technician, equipment operators.
Josiah Ramsey Okeleye
Cohort 13 team 8
When a team comprises of diverse team players/ members they are bound to bring different levels of experiences expertise and knowledge into successfully developing the project at hand which in effect will definitely result into smooth working environments. However there is a reversal of the law. Having a diverse team members working on a project is not always a soft landing especially in situations whereby most members lacks professionalism, while it can be beneficial it also can be detrimental because there likely will be conflict of interest and also different approaches to handling projects which my results to delay in project execution and lost of time and resources.
Diversity is one of the key area in building a successive team .When team members are from diverse backgrounds and with there unique wealth of experience,this will propelled the performance of the tram. at large .
On contrary, this can also work against the team if the project manager or team lead did not communicate the vision and mission of the project to the members.Also set the rules within the project member inorder to achieve the vision.
Cohort 13 team 5
Diversity is a great way of building a team if it is properly managed and well organized. Diversity allows alot of ideas to be shared and discussed,it gives room for more experiences to be shared among the new teams coming together to achieve a great result and successes. If a team lead finds it hard to manage diverse teams then, it will be a chaotic experience and poor result oriented.