I worked with many different people in my career so far. I preferred to work with people who have been very similar to me. I found out though, that great (team) performance is based on a variety of different characters with various experiences, skills, opinions, point of views and approaches. Joint evolvement is built mainly on constructive feedback from peers.
[Diversity and inclusion] It’s not a ’nice to have‘, something to ‚work on‘ or a mandated policy. It should be inherent in all cultures as we move to an environment that revolves around networks, community, shared learning and strong values.
Colin D. Ellis in Culture Fix
Invaluable Advantages
If diversity is truly lived by the management and role-modelled by the leaders then I believe that this pool of different personalities can bring many advantages for the company.
- Every employee should feel incorporated into the community. That is only possible with diversity.
- Diversity fosters mutual learning and growth.
- Multiple perspectives and approaches improve creative and innovative thinking for practical elegance.
- A diverse workforce leads to faster and more efficient decision making.
- Different cultural backgrounds and an ongoing exchange of personal experiences build a trusted and safe place and strengthen people’s engagement. This positively affects the company culture and motivation.
- A company of diversity fosters a positive reputation and facilitates the hiring process.
There are no all-clarinet orchestras because the combination of instruments is precisely why orchestras work.
Seth Godin
Feedback as a Basis
Diversity can be the basis of success. A pillar to leverage this potential is built on an effective feedback loop. Constructive feedback without judgement is the basis for effective learning and change processes. It is equally important to give and receive feedback well.
During my altMBA-training, our projects have been evaluated only by feedback from my peers. After receiving feedback, and here comes the important part, we had to reflect on our work with the insights of the generous feedback we had been receiving. That closed the feedback loop. We were required to give constructive feedback, not just a mere „Good job!“ in a manner that enabled the recipient to reflect from different angles on the project and learn something new about the work done.
So, if you want to develop your work environment and make progress in many different areas of the company then a constructive feedback loop is something you could actively incorporate into your workflow. A simple „Well done!“ or „Not so good!“ does not suffice.
Blogpost phot by Brittani Burns on Unsplash.
