5 Ways You Can Create a Team with Inclusion in Mind   

I’m used to standing out in the crowd during business meetings. I’m not your typical engineer: I’m African American, I’m a woman, and I’m a mother. And I’m passionate about driving diversity and inclusion in my professional life in the technology industry, as well as in my personal life.

When we have more diverse teams, we have greater potential to generate innovative ideas and better results than teams comprising more homogenous groups of people. In fact, more diverse places experience greater economic growth than less diverse places. I’ve seen this firsthand; most recently, with the creation of our Yoga tablet. Because each of the four teams developed their own unique and compelling design, we end up creating four products, instead of just one.

Leveraging the power diversity unleashes happens only when we design our projects, our teams, and our lives to include multiple perspectives, feelings, beliefs, and practices. Here are five ways to foster  the diversity on your team that will lead to success.

Architect Your Team With Diversity at the Core

All too often, we fail to take the adequate time to purposefully design our teams for the project at hand. Schedules are tight. There’s urgency to get the project kicked off yesterday. The pressure for results is already mounting. Often, there’s no roadmap for the project, because it’s never been done before. The people involved are new. Given these typical situations, it’s not surprising that we don’t spend enough time  in the planning phase of a project.

But the planning phase is the most important,  and including diverse members on your team is key to success. This seems obvious, but remember to think about what you are trying to achieve before you establish your team. For example, if you’re launching a new product to attract female buyers, include women on the team.

Remember That Diversity Includes More Than Culture

Sometimes, teams that look diverse when it comes to gender, race, and culture still succumb to groupthink.  Truly diverse teams include members with different skills and experiences, and those who will challenge existing conventions, push informal and formal barriers, and bring a different way of thinking to the table. It’s easy to include people who look or think like you do, but if you do, you can miss opportunities to create something special and unique.

Make the Team Sticky

After you’ve picked the right team, you have to make the team “sticky.” To do that, everyone has to understand one another – their strengths and weaknesses, their motivations, and what makes them tick. That’s not always easy to do. Many people are uncomfortable exposing their vulnerabilities, but this level of openness ultimately builds a much greater level of trust. And learning about others broadens your perspective, too. Remember that there are multiple right ways to do things; sharing across geographies and cultures helps drive breakthrough solutions and innovations.

Encourage Healthy Conflict

Often, the best way to find a solution to a challenge comes from the rigorous debate that stems from conflicting viewpoints. And when people know that their ideas have been heard and considered, they’re much more likely to buy into the solution, regardless of whether or not it was their suggestion. However, without a diverse team, there’s less opportunity that these conversations will happen naturally.

Even with a diverse team, it may be necessary to facilitate these discussions, especially if some members of the team dominate the conversation. For example, teams that consist of both Western and Eastern colleagues may find that the Western members tend to speak out more often that their Eastern peers. Easing this culture difference and encouraging an atmosphere in which everyone has permission to have a different opinion may be as simple as asking each person individually to share his or her thoughts and point of view.

Put the Team First

The famous expression, “There’s no I in team,” is absolutely true–the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s why it’s important that all members of the team agree on shared goals, regardless of their differences. They must also accept that they’re not responsible just for their contribution; they’re responsible for the entire collective work of the team. This way, silos break down and accountability goes up across the board.

With a world that’s more diverse than ever before, and technology enabling faster, efficient communication and access to new markets, those of us who foster diverse, trusting teams that engage in healthy conflict will be able to accomplish even the most daunting business challenges.