What do you do if your ideas on how to grow your business get pushback? What if your team doesn’t agree with you?
Celebrate!
Really? Really. Diversity — in all of its forms — can be a great strength to your business, resulting in more innovation, more creativity and better problem-solving than any business owner could provide on his or her own. As you build your business, consider surrounding yourself with people who have the skills, experience and organizational fit you need, but who aren’t just like you. Look for differences — in areas such as skill sets, cultural, educational and professional backgrounds, problem-solving approaches, gender and ethnic backgrounds, just to name a few —to provide you with the broadest range of perspectives possible.
Will there be some uncomfortable moments? You bet. But you will find strength at your boardroom table that will allow you to move your business forward in exciting new ways. The question is how to handle a diversity of opinion, which can cause stress in the workplace, especially for managers. Today, we’d like to explore some ideas on how to manage diverse teams, aligning sometimes-divergent opinions to work toward a common goal.
- See it from the perspective of others: It’s important when managing a diverse team to think about things from the point of view of other team members. Just because something might seem obvious or ‘right’ to you, it doesn’t mean someone else views it the same way. Differences in everything from age to experience level can create diversity in teams – but can also lead to miscommunication if not handled proactively.
- Celebrate differences: Don’t let differences drive you apart. Even if your views on something are dramatically different, know that you don’t have to agree on everything to work together well or to come together on business issues that matter, like projects and strategy. In fact, differences should be celebrated. Whether it’s distinct cultural, social or educational differences, diverse backgrounds mean more innovation and success for everyone.
- Make people feel unique and valued: The power of your team as a combined force of thinkers and creators is important, but each individual is also important. Taking time to recognize individual contributions and the unique skillsets or assets each person brings to the team is a significant way to ensure that no one feels left out or “too different.” Spend enough time listening to each member of your team about their opinions and ideas and ask follow-up questions that show them you are interested in what they have to say.
The most successful teams are the ones that can find commonalities that help them work toward shared goals while using differences – in ideas, experience and more – to enhance vision and strategy.
We can help your organization hire, train, develop and manage employees effectively. Employers Council’s Organizational Development and Learning team trains more than 25,000 employees each year in a wide range of professional development areas. We offer training in leadership skills, from first-line supervisors to managers to the executive suite, HR skills, employment law, technology and much more. Visit our website to learn more about all of the ways we can help your organization grow and succeed: {{account:url}}