diversity of thought: Why we need it

Background: This was a customer service training module that consisted of a two-page handout, followed by a 36 slide PowerPoint presentation and group discussion. I was the manager for this project, and I conducted the research, drafted the language, assembled the layout and constructed the module for myself and other people to deliver.

Method of distribution: in person
Format: pdf and ppt
Created in: Adobe InDesign and Microsoft PowerPoint

Diversity of Thought
Diversity of Thought Handout 2
Title Slide: Diversity of Thought: Why we need it
“To provide the greatest level of service to the greatest number of people over the long run.”
employee engagement effective teams psychological safety diversity of thought
Two aspects of effective teams...
1) Equality of distribution of conversational turn-taking. Source: What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team The New York Times –Feb. 25, 2016 By: Charles Duhigg
2) High “average social sensitivity” Being skilled at intuiting how others feel based on tone of voice, expressions and other nonverbal cues. Source: What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team The New York Times –Feb. 25, 2016 By: Charles Duhigg
What matters: 1) psychological safety 2) dependability 3) structure and clarity 4) meaning 5) impact Source: re:Work Guide: Understand Team Effectiveness https://rework.withgoogle.com By: Amy Edmondson
To build a team’s level of psychological safety… Focus on these five specific behaviors:
Embrace conflict; Distribute Decision-making; Encourage Diversity of Thought, Experiment and Practice Vulnerability Source: Psychological Safety: The #1 Factor that Matters Most for Your Team https://epicteams.co By: Shannon Arvizu Hall
Diversity of Thought “Each human being has a unique blend of identities, cultures and experiences that inform how they think, interpret, negotiate and accomplish a task.” Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Diversity of Thought “Neurological research does show that individuals have differing cognitive styles.” Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Legacy Diversity: Reflects differences in physical attributes and social constructs such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, ability and sexuality. Experiential Diversity: A function of our physical and social identities; the impact those identities have on our life histories and lived experiences. A powerful example of experiential diversity is the emerging generational diversity within the workforce today. Thought Diversity: How our neural makeup and lived experiences impact our problem solving, both in terms of the biological hardwiring of the brain and what occurs when two previously unrelated thoughts are connected in a new way –revealing new insights. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
“Even the slightest nuance of one worker’s thinking, if appropriately harnessed, could bring value to the organization.” Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Three key benefits of diversity of thought…
1) Diverse thinkers help guard against groupthink and expert overconfidence. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
A graphic with two circles, each made up of four heads. In the first circle the heads and lines between them are all grey. And in the second circle the heads and the lines are made up of different colors. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
This page has a similar graphic, with four heads, but they are broken up into two pairs, instead of forming a cohesive circle. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
2) Diverse thinkers help increase the scale of new insights. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
3) Diverse thinkers help organizations identify individuals who can best tackle their most pressing problems. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
How to increase diversity of thought…
1) Hire differently. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Look for and find strategic skill gaps… Like in the chart on the slide, where three people took the same test, and two of the people got the same question wrong. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Get away from the status quo and hire with debate in mind. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
1) Hire differently. 2) Manage differently. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Facilitate diversity tension Part of being comfortable with conflict is abandoning the idea that consensus is an end in and of itself. Substantive disagreements do not need to become personal. Conflict can push teams to new levels of creativity and productivity. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Give Permission Government agencies aiming for a more diverse workforce need to adopt specific practices so that employees believe they have permission to bring their entire selves to the workplace. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Give Permission One of the hardest things for managers to do is to let employees disagree with them and allow them to explore their ideas –even if that exploration leads to failure. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
1) Hire differently. 2) Manage differently. 3) Advance differently. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Drive career sponsorship Once cognitively diverse individuals are hired within a workplace, managers and leaders will want to retain and advance that talent. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Drive career sponsorship A sponsor trained in the tenets of cognitive diversity would also be able to translate and promote the otherwise hidden attributes of individuals new to an organization. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
Drive career sponsorship Individuals with diverse thinking styles can also act as a mentor to other people within their organizations. Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
“Once cognitively diverse individuals are hired within a workplace, managers and leaders will want to retain and advance that talent.” Source: Diversity's New Frontier: Diversity of Thought and the Future of the Workplace Deloitte University Press –A GovLab report By: Anesa“Nes” Diaz-Uda, Carmen Medina, Beth Schill
employee engagement psychological safety diversity of thought effective teams
“I take it we are all in complete agreement on the decision here…”
“Then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until the next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement, and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about.” - Alfred P. Sloan; President of General Motors