💎 #23: Oh we talkin’ teams…

I jokingly called a colleague a rule follower the other day – and to be clear it was not in a mean way. I truly value this person as a teammate and friend, and I love that they challenge the way that I see the world. I think there is great validity in people being rule followers, consistently. I myself chose to color outside the lines, often…but I have found that many of my close friends and colleagues are the exact opposite. To me, that’s balance. I can push the envelope. They can hold us back when necessary. I’m more of an “do it and ask for forgiveness later” type of person.

This incident made me think how important it is to have different people in your organizational team, home team, friend teams, etc. I know as humans we find comfort in being around people who are similar to us, which in the business world can be linked to a term called homologous reproduction (like hiring like). I did a bit of research on this in both my masters and doctoral programs, and I have witnessed it first hand in several organizations that I have worked in. Have you ever sat in a room and realized everyone looked the same?…nope, just me…oh okay (insert side eye). I have definitely been in rooms where everyone else looked the same except me, and in situations like that, I honestly felt my opinion mattered more than ever. When everyone is saying the same thing and being the “amen corner” for one idea, you get this thing called groupthink. Call me a challenger or disruptor if you may, but I think having varying opinions can help to get to the best solution. Debating topics to come to a resolution pushes the team to be better. It helps us all develop better conflict resolution skills, but also allows us to improve our communication systems to be more effective and efficient.

How many times have we seen couples who are so completely different, but yet they seem to work? Why is it that this same type of relationship in the workplace, scares us? How much does your organization value innovation and execution?

I think it is important to find ways to create a posture of thought that goes beyond oneself. Are you creating a space at your table where all thoughts are welcomed? One small tweak can improve team efficiency exponentially. But what happens when that thought isn’t welcomed? We keep doing things the exact same way, and while they may produce the results we need, we may be limiting ourselves and our teammates all because someone didn’t feel they had the voice and/or you didn’t provide the space for different voices to be heard. There is no “I” in TEAM but there are four different letters that make the word what it is. Challenge yourself to build your TEAMS the same way. Some of us are right brained and some are left brained. Some are creatives and some are more analytical. Think of what can come out of putting together folks of different walks of life, different educational backgrounds, different expertise, and different solution-based approaches.

I personally enjoy the company of those who don’t see the world in the way I do. We all have a story to tell. I might not always agree with one’s perspective but listening to how someone else approaches a situation, provides me with the space of my own perspective shifts that will allow me the see the world a bit more globally the next time around. The key is that you don’t always have to “get it”, but it is important that you “respect it.”

To wrap this up, I leave you with these thoughts: Surround yourself with people who are different that you – who think different. Who look different. Who have varying backgrounds. There is value is diversity of thought.