The birth of internet has allowed for the rapid expansion and optimization of knowledge from people from diverse backgrounds,cultures, generations, disciplines, and countries (Singh 2011). The utilization of a diverse workforce to innovate can create a competitive advantage in the marketplace for a company (Forbes Insights 2011). This has made the strive to increase diversity in the workplace a good business decision (Rock and Grant 2016).
What is diversity in a team?
Diversity can be defined as differences in people which includes mental and physical conditions, race, ethnicity, age, gender,religion, sexual orientation, etc. (Dyson 2017). On the other hand, a team can be defined as individuals (more than one) working together towards the completion of a task or a large goal (Leonard 2018). Therefore, a diverse team is a collection of individuals with distinct differences working together to achieve a goal or to complete a task or tasks (Dyson 2017).
The 5 Stages of Team Development
With the rapid growth of the implementation and normalization of diversity in teams, it is therefore important to take a look at how a team is developed. In 1977, Tuckman and Jensen proposed the following common stages for the development and growth of a team:
- Stage 1: Forming
Here a leader will need to strengthen the confidence of the team members and manage the anxiety about the unknown. - Stage 2: Storming
Here a leader will need to intervene where necessary and focus on positive outcomes. - Stage 3: Norming
Here a leader will need to observe and act accordingly – encouraging members within the team to adopt the leadership role. - Stage 4: Performing
Here a leader will need to coach and counsel the members to ensure that they remain on track. - Stage 5: Adjourning
Here a leader is recommended to conduct a post-evaluation and a debrief for the team.
The Tuckman 5 Stages of Team development is simple and makes it easy to comprehend how teams develop (The Happy Manager 2018). However, the linear sequence of 5 Stages of Team Development may not be applicable to all teams especially since some teams may loop between stages. Additionally, there may be teams that do not actually proceed pass a stage and is disbanded prior to stage 5.
What are the advantages of a diverse team?
Research suggests that hiring more gender and culturally-diverse team members will be able to boost innovation and transformation of products (Rock & Grant 2016). This is because diversity in views, perspectives, and background can lead to better innovation as it allows members in the team to challenge each other to view ideas from a new perspective (Forbes Insights 2011).
The Hunt et al. 2018 research found that companies with executive teams that are gender-diverse (first quartile) performed better than the average profitability of companies by 21 percent when compared to companies with executive teams that are less gender-diverse (fourth quartile).It was also found that companies that are more ethnically and culturally-diverse was more likely to significantly outperform the average earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of less diverse companies by 33 percent (Hunt et al. 2018).
What are the challenges of a diverse team?
The difference between the social systems or cultural distance can range from minimal to substantial and will affect the way they view their foreign counterparts – the larger the cultural distance the more it will impact communication and ultimately the impact the company’s performance(Singh 2011).
Diversity can lead to heightened competition in the workplace especially when rather than working together towards achieving a shared goal they compete against each other potentially leading to a division in the team where members can no longer function in the team thus extending the process of completing the task(s) (Kokemuller 2018).
An Example of A Diverse Company: Motorola Solutions
With offices located in more than 30 countries worldwide, Motorola Solutions acknowledges the need and importance for diversity in enabling the global company in being the pioneer to many of its innovative products and technologies (Business Roundtable 2018). In 2017, the company’s global R&D(Research and Development) center in Penang, Malaysia reinforced the critical need for diversity at all levels and how it brings new ideas to any discussion and allows the company to move towards becoming a leading design center (Radio Resource International 2017).
According to the Business Roundtable (2018) article,some of the best practices from Motorola Solutions that can be implemented in other companies seeking to increase workplace diversity include:
- providing training to hiring managers on unconscious biases
- promoting pay equity
- hosting Women Who Lead series with sharing from international female leaders
- providing support to the next generation by supporting STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)programs around the world
- More than 50 percent of the grants benefiting groups that serve underrepresented groups
- 97% of programs supporting both women and men
- 17% of the grants supporting programs exclusively for girls or young women.
(750 words)
References:
Business Roundtable (2018) Advancing Diversity and Inclusion [online] available from <https://www.businessroundtable.org/policy-perspectives/diversity/motorola-solutions> [08 October 2018]
Challenge Applications (2018 Stages of Team or Group Development [online] available from < http://www.challengeapplications.com/stages-of-team-development/> [08 October 2018]
Dyson, E. (2017) ‘The Shifting Definition of Diversity in the Workplace’ PeopleScout [online] available from <https://www.peoplescout.com/getting-right-understanding-managing-diversity-in-workplace/> [07 October 2018]
Forbes Insights (2011) Global Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse Workforce [online] available from <https://i.forbesimg.com/forbesinsights/StudyPDFs/Innovation_Through_Diversity.pdf> [08 October 2018]
Glassdoor (2018) Motorola Solutions [online] available from < https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-Motorola-Solutions-EI_IE427189.11,29.htm> [08 October 2018]
Hunt, V, Yee, L., Prince,S., et al. (2018) ‘Delivering through diversity’ McKinsey & Company [online]. available from <https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity> [08 October 2018]
Kokemuller, N. (2018) ‘Negative Effects of Diversity in the Workplace’ Chron [online]. available from <https://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effects-diversity-workplace-18443.html> [08 October 2018]
Leonard, K. (2018) ‘The Definition of Teamwork in the Workplace’ Chron [online] available from <https://smallbusiness.chron.com/definition-teamwork-workplace-36105.html> [07 October 2018]
Radio Resource International (2017) Motorola Solutions Touts Diversity in Asia Pacific [online] available from <https://www.rrmediagroup.com/News/NewsDetails/NewsID/15313> [08 October 2018]
Rock, G. & Grant, H. (2016) ‘Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter’ Harvard Business Review [online]. available from <https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams-are-smarter> [08 October 2018]
Shacklett, M. (2016) ‘4 tips for managing a diverse project team’ Tech Republic [online]. available from < https://www.techrepublic.com/article/4-tips-for-managing-a-diverse-project-team/> [08 October 2018]
Singh, D. (2011) ‘Managing Cross-cultural Diversity: Issues and Challenges in Global Organizations’ IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering [online]43: 50. available from <http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jmce/papers/ICRTEM/ME/Volume-3/IOSRMG002.pdf> [08 October 2018]
The Happy Manager (2018) Teamwork Theory [online] available from <https://the-happy-manager.com/articles/teamwork-theory/> [18 October 2018]
Tuckman, B. W. and Jensen, M. A. (1977) Stages in small group development revisited. Group and Organisation Studies 2; 419-427.
Leading in a Changing World 
Hi Charmaine, nice blog. Do you think a diverse team will always out perform a non diverse team?
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Thanks, Nancy 🙂
No, I think there are different strengths in a non-diverse team.
An organization led by excellent leader that is set out to achieve only the leader’s goal, a non-diverse team would be ideal as it would help the organization move faster towards the goal without the complications of diverse communication, geography, or time zones.
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Clear examples given. In you opinion, how do you think the limitations of diverse team can be overcome?
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Thanks, Jean 🙂
I think the most important element of a diverse team is leadership. If the leader leads by example and proves that a diverse team works – and affirms that diversity is here to stay, the team would follow.
Additionally, in recent years with the dawn of technology, it has enabled communication across countries and time zones with little impact to the face-to-face element with the introduction of webcams and the availability of free communication applications like Google Hangouts/Meet and Skype.
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Good read. Do you mind sharing what are some of the challenges you face in your organisation because of diversity?
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The key challenge that I face in my organization due to diversity is the diversity in work culture. The differences in work culture means that people in some countries move fast but lack quality, while some has quality but is slow. The challenge is to accommodate the work culture of people from different countries.
Another challenge is the differences in time zones – working with people from Israel, USA, China, Poland, Singapore, United Kingdom and Mexico all at the same time means that we will need to conduct our online meetings at a time that is convenient for everyone. We overcome this by taking turns to be inconvenienced (taking calls at night, after working hours). This helped us to grow closer and build rapport because everyone contributes and is inconvenienced regardless of where they are based.
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Excellent. Fantastic. In your current job, is there a diverse team, and if so, anything you face daily that is a challenge of a diverse team ? Thank you and Godspeed
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Thanks for the compliments 🙂
In my current job, we have a diverse team – diverse in culture, diverse in ethnicity, diverse in age, diverse in background.
The challenge in this current team is in working styles and perspectives but this is also what makes us unique and stronger.
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Informative blog especially with the example of motorola solution. Could you point out the limitation of Tuckman and jenson model?
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Thanks, Vaseem. I was involved in the advocation of diversity in Motorola Solutions so I definitely had to include it 🙂
In my experience, the main limitation of the Tuckman and Jenson model is that it follows a rigid sequence – not every team that I’ve been in survived the Storming period of the model and arrives in one piece to the Norming stage.
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