How can you balance diversity with cohesion in your IT team?

Creating a safe space to share without judgement, assists in creating together, a team mission and vision that can be embraced.

Creating a space where everyone understands and believes that they are heard and respected, and that they all bring a special unique talent which is critical to achieving the goals and realizing the vision.

When I take some time to think, the word "Diversity" make me unconfortable. We are all human and there is no need to classify people by so many ways (color, age, gender, etc.). So, let's put asside all of this and focus on your skills? That will make you team much more efficient.

Balancing diversity with cohesion in an IT team involves fostering an inclusive culture where diverse perspectives are valued while maintaining a shared sense of purpose and collaboration. Encourage open communication, active listening, and respect for different viewpoints to harness the strength of diverse ideas. Establish common goals and a strong team identity that transcends individual differences, emphasizing the collective achievement of objectives. Implement team-building activities, training, and mentorship programs that promote mutual understanding and collaboration. Ensure that team members feel empowered to contribute their unique skills and experiences, creating a cohesive environment that leverages diversity as strategic asset.

I was in the IT business over 35 years. I was fortunate to work at companies that rewarded merit. So my advice to all is to reward hard work and talent. It worked for me.

Diversity and Inclusion is not by accident, nor is it ever by default. We have to be sure to be inclusive at all levels. There is a fine line between making sure voices are heard and making people feel like a "poster child". People are not always comfortable representing their community, so be cautious not to make your team members feel like the spokesperson. Simple language changes like using "deny by default" instead of "white list" or "person" instead of "man" or "guy" helps. Also avoid casual misogyny/homophobia phases like "open kimono" (sexist, racist, and just ... ew). Don't make big changes that appear disingenuous, but be clear and consistent about your language changes. They are a small but important thing you can do.

Pela primeira vez na história, uma lideran?a tem em sua equipe 3 ou 4 gera??es totalmente distintas, com características, valores e até culturas diferentes. Isto n?o é ruim, vou repetir.. isto n?o é ruim, Pelo contrário… Unir e fazer estas pessoas trabalharem juntas em um único propósito é transformador, cada um com sua essência, com sua opini?o e com seu espa?o. Unir a experiência e vivência junto a juventude nos permite pensar e ser fora da caixa, o que pode nos tornar transformadores… Sendo únicos em nossa essência. Desta uni?o surgem ideias, projetos, inova??es e principalmente admira??o

In my experience active listening is a must for building the culture needed to support and sustain effective, high performing teams. As leaders we are asked to push so much information to our teams it can be overwhelming. Balancing that push with really listening and valuing direct communication goes a long way in establishing mutual respect.

Learn to truly value the person not because they agree with you but because their perspective will help improve the project or application. Many projects have only one voice or perspective because the project team is vanilla. Sure major differences will cause internal strife and some delays, but the disagreements will make the project stronger.

I believe the best way to promote the culture is by living it daily. Walk the talk is key. People will look for their leaders and pay attention if they believe in what's being said and done.

My 5$: In a collaboration, whether it's between knowledgeworkers, operational reponsibles, the people doing the physical labour on the workfloor day to day - COMMUNICATION is key ?? (QEE - qualitative, effective and efficiency) independent from any methodology of tool. People should be able to really feel they can say what they want to say in a safe (respectful) environment without being judges on their thoughts or feelings. Sometimes this can be though, but when you reach this level in a company (bottom up and top-down) - this makes a great and exceptional difference. ??

In my opinion, collaboration and communication are the results of a culture where people feel comfortable. I believe the leader is the facilitator for that by ensuring people feel heard during the meetings and constantly paying attention to their team communication.

very important out of work, to gain time for analysis being HOD and also time to share with activity passing time. so that ease HOD to filter out rest of human potention for best leader choice in all aspects of JD.

Having the right tools is crucial for effective collaboration and communication among team members in a company. With the right tools, it becomes easier to execute tasks and achieve better results. It also helps to foster a positive team spirit and encourages everyone to work together towards a common goal.

To foster a culture of collaboration and communication, I advocate a kind of dialogue combining the clear articulation of one’s own ideas with a genuine exploration of others’ perspectives. I have this view, but I may be missing something. Simple but effective. This approach is called assertive inquiry and creates a team environment where everyone feels heard and valued, paving the way for innovative solutions and shared understanding. Feel free to comment.

One good way to support learning and development is by asking the team what new skills they want to learn and - when possible - including them in their daily work. Hackathons and other competitions can also help in making it fun.

Imho you shouldn't push learning. The ability to grow, to learn new skills and compentences, have personal growth potentials should come from your employees itself. You can give them a lot of 'handles', reach and point out opportunities, but the impact and the effectiveness will be a lot higher when it comes from the coworker itself. Don't forget that 'theory' always has to be integrated in the day to day actions (I don't mention explicitly 'work', because learnings, experiences will have impact on both professional as private life ??. That the biggest added value.

Learning and development doesnt have to be formal courses. You need to find out what each member of your teams preferred learning style and try to favour it. Sometimes this is not possible but based on this knowledge you can help those members. One strategy I use is to set a little time aside per month to put into words what I learnt this month. Then have quick read of what you have previously written. It helps give you a perspective on are you developing or repeating/reinforcing the same learnings.

need to develop enviorment in team that those who know better than other should lead to teach rest of team so then HOD could lead in betterness of business goals. also other team have time to spend in JD while getting new skills. so team should also be a teacher for their juniro in tech. and for HOD is importnat to evaluate these act of person while selecting team leader in department.

Learning and development in the Tech industry are most important because almost every 6 months is established new framework of programming languages and is created new approaches to develop and maintain better Software. Learning and development empower the teams to stay adaptable in the face of evolving IT trends and industry demands. By staying ahead of technological shifts, the team is better positioned to meet new challenges. In this topic company and team member values are the same. Investing in the learning and growth of team members enhances job satisfaction and motivation. Team members are more likely to feel valued when provided with opportunities to expand their skill sets and contribute meaningfully to projects.

appriciation is also a desire part of team to embrace them with their work ways, if HOD don't act this way the team is not bind in central goal achivement. mean not collaborate with each other with in departments also. need to figure out this as well.

One great way to celebrate achievements and diversity in your IT team is to hold regular team meetings where you can recognize and acknowledge the accomplishments of individual team members. It's also a good idea to create a culture of appreciation and recognition, where team members are encouraged to celebrate each other's successes, big or small.

Celebrar pequenas conquistas… Aplaudir o crescimento e a entrega do próximo, Reconhecer os talentos, Dar feedfoward e n?o somente feedbacks, dentre outros… Existem inúmeros gatilhos que n?o necessitam de ferramentas e sim apenas gest?o e proximidade. Promover encontros, abrir espa?o , dar protagonismo, elogiar em público.. enfim estas s?o algumas a??es que promovem o bem estar

This week I said it to someone, celebrate the achievements. He had two project with two young people still in school but also performing the project. I said to him make sure you celebrate, the guys work really hard and they have to rewarded for that. That way they don't mind doing the long hours again

I would add to this list the periodic assessment of how the team feels they are embodying the defined 'shared values' of the team (as well as assessing progress towards goals, etc.). Through the encouragement and monitoring of the team following the shared values while pursuing the overall goals, you can come up with a more complete assessment of progress. Meeting your goals, but having a team who feels the shared values are not being followed is likely going to cause problems with cohesion and long-term performance.

continious improvement, we have personal development plans that help our employees with their development. They fill it themselve and tell what they like to achieve, that way it is on their own to make it happen. We have a meeting twice a year to reveiw and update if needed. When the employee develops the team develops, people get new roles, opening up for others. Continious teambuilding!

Assessing and enhancing the performance and processes of the IT team. This includes gathering and analyzing data, feedback, and insights to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. Each team member should be actively involved in this review process, seeking their input and suggestions for improvement. Utilize surveys, metrics, and performance reviews to monitor progress and continuously advance both diversity and cohesion within the team. If we zoom in on this topic, especially for development teams most effective methodology is agile, more concrete scrum, which covers almost all above mentioned improvements in the working process.

Monitoring, controlling, and reiterating processes to increase effectivity + efficiency, are often seen representatives of "pressure", "power" etc. They are, technically speaking, absolutely necessary, though. Including everyone, and aligning the values and used parameters with everyone in the team, allows us to celebrate achievements, while simultaneously creating a reliable foundation for constructive criticism. Well, that's the best-case scenario, at least. ?? In reality, getting everyone on board (and keeping them engaged in a positive / constructive manner) is a constant challenge, to say the least.

In my time as leader, I'm less convinced that there is a balance problem set between diversity and cohesion. That would presume that a more cohesive team is somehow less diverse, and a more diverse team is less cohesive. They don't seem correlated in any real way.

At my most recent company, within my first year, I increased the number of minorities and women in IT three-fold. There was not a targetted plan, but because I have an extensive, diverse, and geographically-dispersed network of colleagues/contacts, I brought in a wider range of candidates for consideration. Then, the right cultural and skill fit just fell into place. Expanding your personal network is an important part in the hiring process. For years, women were encouraged to appear like their male supervisors because people "promote people who look like them". We dressed in suits & women's ties, played golf, & learned sports terms. Well, that's crap. Be open to those who are different; develop them; remember them; hire them.

I didn't even consider the idea that the balance between diversity and cohesion is an issue. When you look at people from a professional background first, you can ensure cohesion by leveraging this. Then, the cultural and personal background of team members can foster diversity. But in my humble opinion, the former has little to do with the latter.

Celebrating cultural differences is extremely important. As a Latinx and member of the LGBTQ+ community, I deeply understand the impact of Recognizing and celebrating cultural events and histories of various team members. This not only educates the team but also shows respect and appreciation for different backgrounds.

I don't see the point on this kind of post... It sounds to me like "what taste has the sea water?" I mean, the only thing needed here (and everywhere) is: Common Sense Applied. That s all folk's! No matter your genre, religion, skin, believes, hobbies, fit or fat, tall or short... If you are good in you passion, nothing gonna stop you! It's impossible to hide the sun with a hand! Come on techi-diamonds! Come on and shine!