How do you include diversity in project management?

Within SAP S/4HANA, diversity could be considered as a make up of multiple individuals that bring a range of core competency, perspectives, insights and experiences. Teams are typically spanned out across multiple geographical locations. As a manager, it is important to appreciate how your teams' unique backgrounds contribute to a successful SAP S/4HANA implementation by being adaptable to a global level of communication and leveraging your teams talents to come up with user-centric solutions and creative problem-solving approaches.

People with different cultures, experiences, and points of view can add a lot to a team and a project, as long as there is a proper environment that makes people feel safe to share and fosters integration.

I like to repeat that diversity is by far the cheapest and the most effective learning tool we have. Efficiency is not always on the table, because when different norms clash, conflict occurs. But, it's totally worth it, because having a ton of different perspectives on complex problems leads to a brilliant and comprehensive solution.

Promoting diversity in project management is crucial for success. Team Formation: As a woman in project management, I prioritize assembling diverse teams with various backgrounds, skills, and perspectives, enhancing creativity and problem-solving. Open Communication: I foster an environment where every team member feels comfortable sharing their viewpoints. This encourages innovative ideas and ensures that no voice goes unheard. Mentorship and Growth: I actively mentor and support other women, empowering them to pursue leadership roles. Results-Driven Evaluation: My approach focuses on outcomes rather than preconceived notions of leadership. By valuing tangible achievements, I break down biases and elevate performance.

Diversity - in all its declinations - is essential in project management because it fosters creativity in solving problems, one of the main challenges project managers have to deal daily with. In a project team, if we all have the same background and individual experiences, we might tend to take wrong decisions. However, diversity alone is not enough. Inclusion is the key role that project managers have to play. The project manager can invite her/his team to the party, but not everyone might feel at ease dancing. She/He has to invite them to the dancefloor by removing barriers, managing conflicts and fostering active listening to create an open environment of mutual trust where everybody is welcomed to express own opinion. ??

Within an SAP S/4HANA Implementation, you have multiple teams to manage. Sometimes, this looks like different workstreams that report into you, sometimes, its based on managing the client team, and sometimes, its about managing team members that come from different backgrounds and skillsets. When starting your project, this is one of the first things you need to address. You have to look at this from every angle - where is the team located, what time zone is the team in, are there certain times that the team will be unavailable due to time zone or geographical restrictions? When you gain these insights, you can build a more effective communication strategy on a global level for a successful SAP S/4HANA Implementation.

Committing to consistently building foundations of lifelong learning is essential for continuously tweaking communication styles. A few resources: ?MBTI Communication Preferences ? Shadow & Soil - Consultant (Giving & Receiving Feedback) ? Gottman Institute - Soft Starts Up & Repair ? Non Violent Communication books (ie Thich Nhat Hanh) ? Consider consistent & psychologically safe feedback loops to gather engagement information regarding quality of interactions esp from team members with the least amount of structural power, and to enable changed actions in response to feedback

In the workplace, effective communication is particularly crucial in diverse projects. It serves as a bridge, fostering collaboration and trust among team members from different backgrounds. By using inclusive language, adapting to various communication styles, and actively listening, everyone's perspectives are valued and heard. Choosing the right communication channels and tools enhances understanding and inclusivity. Prioritizing effective communication in diverse projects creates an environment that embraces diversity and achieves successful outcomes.

A positive working environment happens when: people feel they can be themselves at work; ideas and respectful challenge is encouraged; differences are understood and welcomed.

Appreciating social-cultural differences is a fundamental principle in ensuring communicating reflects the feelings of a people. This will in turn lead to ethical communication practices that are reflective of human right ethos.

In an SAP S/4HANA Implementation, one of the most common things I tend to see are conflicts on what solution needs to be implemented, and this is typically due to varied experiences and skillsets. The challenge is how to address a win-win scenario in solutioning. One of the key ways to ensure a proper decision is made on solutioning is to collaborate on finding the one that will deliver the highest level of value and quality, while maintaining efficiency in terms of cost and overall project timelines.

Promoting diversity within project management is critical to ensuring that the team is representative of the population it serves. However, with diverse teams, conflicts are bound to arise. A good approach is to use active listening and empathy to understand where team members are coming from. This can help de-escalate the situation and identify a solution that works for all parties involved. As a project manager, it is important to constantly evaluate and improve your approach to managing diversity and conflict. Regularly seeking feedback from team members and reflecting on your own biases can help ensure that you are creating an inclusive and equitable environment for all team members.

The act of simply acknowledging that a conflict exists to begin with is already an important first step to take. Once the conflict has been acknowledged, steps can be taken to address it and it can be solved with non-judgemental communication, honesty and empathy.

Theory says that conflicts should be prevented, but they are quite inevitable, especially under time pressure which is common nowadays. The good news is that conflicts are great opportunities to build trust, if they are well managed. Here is my 2-steps approach: 1. I face individually the parties involved and listen carefully to them, applying the five whys technique to find the root cause. 2. I meet the parties together and bring to the table the opinions with transparency. I explain why it is important to fix the conflict and create an open environment of trust where we create value through dialogue. It's important to proactively seek and identify conflicts and solve them before they escalate and jeopardise the project results.

The CULTURE plays very important role here. I believe conflicts can be due to two reasons with an assumption that everyone has Global Maxima as their priority: - Miscommunication: And this to mitigate that, one has to over communicate in their project execution journey. This can be done by disciplined planning, trackers, raising the red flags and many such important aspects - time and again - Opinion: The difference in opinion can also be because of different experiences level / in varied industries or just the nature of the person (like too aggressive or too defensive). In either of the cases, it's important to highlight the risk reward ratio with justifications and then; "Disagree But Commit" (One of #fynd principles)

When everyone can take part in project management, they can share different ideas and ways of thinking. This can help solve problems better and come up with new and creative solutions. When everyone feels included and valued, they are more likely to care about the project and want it to succeed. So it's not just important to be fair, it's also smart to make sure everyone is included in a project.

Inclusion is important in any project, because it allows different voices to bring their unique perspectives to the project. Some people see things at a granular level while others see it from a high level. People’s experiences and backgrounds allow them specific insights someone else might not possess. By actively practicing inclusivity, you bring talents, strengths, and perspectives to your project.

In a word, empowerment. It's a great start to recruit inclusive teams but those members need to supported throughout their membership. From on-boarding and training to management support, mentoring, and the authority to make and implement decisions... and through it all, listen. Genuinely listen and value perspectives, especially since timelines are so tight.

my opinion,promoting inclusion in project management involves involving diverse participants, recognizing their contributions, and providing equal opportunities for growth. This creates a supportive and empowering environment.

As a project manager, it's super important to promote diversity within our project teams to foster innovation and creativity. If we wanna be inclusive, we have to recognize the value of different perspectives and actively seek out team members from all sorts of backgrounds. We can also do things like unbiased hiring and promotion processes, providing professional development opportunities for underrepresented groups, and making sure our work environment is safe and respectful for everybody. By prioritizing diversity and inclusion, we can build stronger and more successful project teams and drive positive change within our organizations. Thats a win-win to me!

In my experience, continuous learning in terms of celebrating diversity and celebrating success means ensuring that all team members feel they have a voice during the engagement, are comfortable with presenting different solutions and have regular opportunities to approach challenging circumstances. One way you can achieve this is by regularly offering coaching and mentorship to your teams and leading by example; with fairness to each person as a team member, a leader and an individual contributor.

Based on my experience, I have found that continual learning and improvement are crucial when it comes to incorporating diversity in project management. It is important to consistently assess the impact of diversity on project performance and outcomes. Collecting feedback from diverse participants helps identify areas for improvement and address any gaps or risks. Additionally, celebrating successes and sharing best practices ensures ongoing growth in effectively managing diversity within projects.

A great team is one who doesn't stop after celebrating success, but rather commits to its continuous improvement and further development. The project manager, quite obviously, leads the way. Be curious. Share your curiosity with the team. I invited my team to a decision making training, being it essential for a diverse and inclusive team to perform well. The majority accepted and attended the training. Are we a better team after the training? Yes, surely. Are we done with our improvements? Surely not!

Conduct dedicated training sessions and workshops for your workforce to help them understand the importance of diversity and ways to practice.

Sharing stories of significant change is not just a milestone, but also a very fundamental process that needs to understood quite well. Continuous learning and improvement, skills transfer and evidence generation should be central to this principle.

A key way to include diversity in project management is to place a high premium on it and proactively embed it throughout the project lifecycle. Diversity has tremendous benefits - one of which is the opportunity to leverage collective genius! I’m a firm believer in leveraging collective genius to drive innovation and achieve results. This way, you give your project higher chances of success. It also helps you become a better project manager, as you will have perspectives and people that help cover your blind spots. Diversity in project management should not be an afterthought. It should be incorporated right from the planning phase. Clearly articulate what diversity on each project should look like, and define metrics to measure success.

Listen. Then stop and integrate the perspective. Listen more. Repeat the process. Make people's opinion worthy. Those involved in the project are the true value.

Project Management In the ever-changing world of telecommunication, we can have effective project management By incorporating diversity and establishing clear feedback standards, we can elevate our industry practices. By some simple practices,Here some essential strategies for success on any project: 1. Diverse Team Composition:- 2. Inclusive Decision-Making:Value diverse viewpoints. 3. Mentorship: Support all employees through mentorship 4. Leadership Development: Cultivate diverse talent for leadership roles. 5. Inclusive Project Planning: Ensure equal opportunities for all team members. Incorporating these strategies enriches our work environment, fuels innovation, and ensures a prosperous future for telecommunication project management.

Our company has a DEI (Diversity Equity Inclusion) Specialist who travels the country to each of our offices to teach how to ensure we are always aware of DEI and how to incorporate it into our team and projects. When I joined the company a year ago, I was very impressed that we had a DEI specialist who continuously trains and re-trains, from senior management to entry level positions. If our company of 1500 employees can have a DEI specialist then I do not see an excuse for larger companies to not have diversity training from their own employed expert or teams of experts.

Having a diverse team that reflects the variety of perspectives, backgrounds, skills, and experiences of the stakeholders and the market is a win !