In a workplace, a group of individuals works together to achieve targeted goals and these people perform better when they are diverse. After all,two heads are better than one. The corporate world is constantly changing so is the work culture.
Embracing diversity in the workplace is one of the most significant priorities for team leaders today that can contribute to team development. Diversity in the workplace is the coexistence of employees with different backgrounds, cultures, characteristics, ethnicity, etc. When a team works together, such diversities contribute to serving clients and audiences better.
Accordingly, team leaders benefit from such differences as they can receive input from everyone in their team which is highly advantageous to planning and executing organizational strategies. Different characteristics and backgrounds also mean different experiences and skills and putting them together can mean fresh and new ideas that can improve creativity in the workplace.
Furthermore, diverse teams can solve problems faster compared to cognitively similar people. As employees have different upbringing and views, they can produce varying solutions, making it easier for continuing professional development.
However, with the many benefits that diversity can provide, some challenges come along with it. For an instance, diversity can cause occasional disagreements and debates. The brainstorming process often leads to conflict as team members share differing opinions and ideas. Such disagreements are never healthy for an organization as they can impede the decision-making process and can add to another problem that needs solving.
For sure, it is difficult for team leaders to be a mediator of differences especially when conflict arises within the team. But there are many ways which they can follow to help them create and build a trusting culture where team members are comfortable bringing their ideas forward.
Click this infographic from Corporate Learning Solutions to learn about how to encourage healthy debate within your team.
