Favour teams with maximised cognitive diversity: Difference between revisions

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* [[Maximise team empowerment and localised decision making]]
* [[Maximise team empowerment and localised decision making]]
* [[Favour Teams with broader Solution Accountability]]
* [[Favour Teams with broader Solution Accountability]]
* [[Favour Teams with broader Business Domain Accountability]]
* [[Favour Teams with broader Business Domain Competence]]
* [[Maximise Team autonomy]]
* [[Maximise Team autonomy]]
* [[Limit Team Mental Workload]]
* [[Limit Team Mental Workload]]

Latest revision as of 23:14, 21 May 2024

Description

Build teams with people who think differently and have different perspectives (i.e., cognitive diversity), regardless of the team’s technical focus.

Rationale

Teams with maximised cognitive diversity outperform other teams, all other things being equal. Scott E. Page, in his book “The Difference”[1] , examines the evidence for this.

Teams with a high deviation (cognitive diversity) from the standard perspective are more likely to solve a problem than non-diverse teams, according to an experiment reported in the Harvard Business Review[2]. A high degree of cognitive diversity could generate accelerated learning and performance in the face of new, uncertain, and complex situations.

In a scaled environment, there is often a tendency to choose team members with a focus on knowledge, skills and experiences and to forget about selecting for broader cognitive diversity.

The following are aspects that can be observed in a Team where cognitive diversity is having an impact on the life of the team:

  • More options are offered and discussed before agreeing on a solution
  • Multiple alternative perspectives are visible in discussions
  • There is an appreciation for different ideas
  • Creativity sparks from different ideas being discussed
  • Often there is more tolerance to the other’s point of views

Related Principles:  

References

  1. Page, S. E. (2007). The difference: How the power of diversity creates better groups, firms, schools, and societies (3. print., and 1. paperback print., with a new preface). Princeton Univ. Press.
  2. Lewis, D. G., & Reynolds, Alison. (2017). Teams Solve Problems Faster When They’re More Cognitively Diverse. Harward Business Review.