How do you leverage the diversity and strengths of your collaborators?

Getting to know your team members is essential. I once heard Brené Brown saying that caring for and connecting to the people we lead is a prerequisite to effective leadership, and I couldn't agree more. We need to make time to get to know our collaborators well, to connect with the human beings, not their outputs. Aspects such as their values, their experiences, what drives them, what upsets them, what challenges them are key to build strong bonds and also to provide proper opportunities to shine and to set growth and learning paths.

Creo que lo principal y esencial es reconocer y valorar las diferencias individuales de quienes conforman el grupo, equipo y organización. Fomentar un ambiente inclusivo que celebre las distintas perspectivas y habilidades, enriquece la creatividad y la innovación, y junto con esto, incrementa el valor en el resultado de cualquier solución o iniciativa que estés dise?ando o implementando, transformándose en eficiencia y /o rentabilidad. Un buen complemento y acompa?amiento consiste en ofrecer oportunidades de desarrollo personalizadas, asegurando que cada colaborador pueda crecer y aportar al máximo. Finalmente, promover una comunicación abierta y honesta para facilitar la colaboración y el entendimiento mutuo, hace la diferencia.

Understanding your collaborators on a deeper level is foundational to leveraging their diversity and strengths effectively. By delving into their backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, values, and goals, you can gain valuable insights into what drives and motivates them. Identifying their strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and communication styles allows you to tailor interactions and tasks to maximize their contributions. Recognizing how they learn, communicate, and work best enables you to foster an environment where each collaborator can thrive.

Getting to know your collaborators is the start. To create stronger bonds, identify what can you learn from them, what are they really good at. Then spend time with them with the intention of absorbing their skills and being generous with yours. Be inspirable, let yourself be inspired by them and their achievements every day. If you do this, you will connect with everybody regardless of their gender, race, way of thinking. You will really foster inclusion.

In my work with teams, we almost always begin by having all members of a team take the CliftonStrengths assessment by Gallup. Then we hold a team development workshop where we learn about one another, our strengths, and our opportunities for partnership. These are some of the most impactful workshops we do at my company because it builds empathy and respect among team members, as well improving communication and collaboration. If you want to know your collaborators, start by getting on the same page about one another's strengths and using a shared framework to do so.

In my experience, a successful way to leverage the diversity and strengths of collaborators is to align both individuals and the group to the vision and values. Aligning each individual's unique identity and strengths with the vision is crucial. Then, link the group as a whole to these shared vision and goals. Ultimately, individuals connect through this mutual bond. When everyone feels connected to each other, the mission, and the vision, collaboration thrives. This alignment fosters a sense of belonging, enhances engagement, and drives collective success.

To truly harness the unique strengths and diversity of your collaborators, start by aligning your shared vision and values. By ensuring everyone is committed to a common purpose, you lay a solid foundation for collaborative success. Encourage open dialogue and active listening among team members to promote understanding and cohesion. Recognize and celebrate the diverse skills, perspectives, and experiences that each individual brings to the table. By creating a harmonious environment where differences are embraced and utilized, you can unlock a wealth of innovative ideas and propel your collective efforts towards achieving shared goals.

The core values and principles that guide actions and decisions are equally important. These values act as the ethical framework for the collaboration, influencing how decisions are made, how conflicts are resolved, and how success is defined and measured. By clearly articulating and agreeing on these core values, the collaboration is grounded in a shared ethical stance that can guide behavior and choices, even in the absence of direct oversight.

Na minha vis?o, uma boa prática para aproveitar a diversidade e os pontos fortes dos colaboradores é alinhar a equipe em torno de uma vis?o e valores claros. Defina um propósito comum, miss?o e objetivos que todos possam compartilhar. Estabele?a os valores e princípios fundamentais que guiar?o as a??es e decis?es da equipe. Comunique claramente como o progresso e o sucesso ser?o medidos. Esse alinhamento cria um senso de dire??o, coes?o e responsabilidade, permitindo que a diversidade e os pontos fortes de cada membro sejam plenamente aproveitados para alcan?ar os objetivos comuns.

Your team wants one, clear vision. When I was a project lead, I led a global team of career development experts. Three months into my first project as a lead, I met with each member of my team to ask for feedback on my project lead skills. The feedback was unanimous: they needed a vision. When I started as the project lead, I wanted to the team to help create the vision, but instead, all I did was create uncertainty. After I got that feedback, I went back to the team and made one big decision that created clarity for the team and ultimately led to the vision.

I can't help but find it odd that in this article about "leveraging diversity," "embracing diversity and inclusion" is somehow step 3, not 1? (Oh AI, you think in magical ways!) Anyways, beyond sequence, here's what's more crucially missing: a complex understanding of diversity must begin with a complex sense of self. How are we to understand and communicate around the intersectionalities and experiences of other people before becoming well versed in the intricacies of our own? It may seem counterintuitive, but the first step of diversity work is identity work.

Este es un punto fundamental! No hay que sacar o excluir lo que las personas son fuera del trabajo. Hay que traerlo dentro, porque eso es parte de la diversidad y aporte que las personas traen a los equipos. Si sienten que son escuchados y valorados, generamos sentido de pertenencia y por lo tanto dan su 100%. Dentro de abrazar la diversidad y buscar la inclusión es tener espacios no laborales, dentro de lo laboral, donde se conversen temas que unan al equipo, así también se resuelven dudas y expectativas.

O primeiro passo para abra?ar a diversidade é reconhecer que ela existe, independente da nossa vontade. A diversidade é uma realidade organizacional, que independe das decis?es dos gestores, especialmente a diversidade cultural. Uma vez que é comum no ambiente corporativo convivermos com pessoas de diferentes lugares, com diferentes costumes e cren?as. O "x" da quest?o é a intencionalidade dos negócios e gestores em adotar práticas de gest?o da diversidade, que possibilitem a constru??o de ambientes que n?o sejam apenas diversos, mas também equitativos e inclusivos.

Research has shown that more diverse teams are more creative, perform better, and deliver better results. It should therefore be in any organization's interest to foster a respectful culture that is open and welcomes diversity in all shapes and forms. However, that may not be enough to build deep trust and rapport in diverse teams. For this to truly land, diversity should be observable across all levels of the organization, including top leadership. Thus, actively embrace diversity and inclusion by creating an environment where all voices are heard and valued. This involves recognizing the different perspectives that diverse teams bring and understanding how these can contribute to innovative problem-solving and decision-making.

Cuando tenemos una diversidad muy grande hay que tratar a las personas como a ellas les gustaría ser tratadas, no como a mi me gustaría ser tratada. Porque hay personas que son más introvertidas, otras que les gustarán las bromas, otras que preferirán el uno a uno. Si logramos captar esa forma de comunicarse, sabremos llegar de mejor forma a nuestros equipos y sabremos cómo resolver los posibles conflictos o diferencias

The release of oxytocin is intricately linked with positive communication experiences. By actively listening to others and engaging in reflective listening techniques, individuals can trigger the release of oxytocin. This creates an environment where individuals feel heard, valued, and connected, leading to enhanced communication and building a foundation for happiness.

Remember, feedback can be both recognition and constructive. You can give feedback to someone by recognizing them; and you can give feedback to someone in an attempt to change their behavior. Both are considered feedback. If you want to give recognition feedback or constructive feedback, consider using the Behavior-Impact-Solution formula. (B) What was the behavior you saw? (I) What was the impact of that behavior? (S) How should they change their behavior moving forward? Or, what behavior should they keep doing moving forward?

Effective and respectful communication is key to leveraging the strengths of your collaborators. Ensure that all communication, whether verbal or written, is clear, open, and considerate of different viewpoints. Encourage a culture of feedback where constructive discussions are welcomed and where collaborators feel safe to express their ideas and concerns. This helps build trust and rapport. Communication is about listening, asking questions, and inviting people's ideas, opinions, and concerns, so that people feel heard and valued. When transmitting messages, to be effective it must be authentic, concise, and relatable.

Pay attention to the diversity of skillsets and knowledge in your team. Imagine you have someone in the team who is very good at project management, and someone who wants to learn more about project management; consider teaming these people up together so they can learn from each other.

Diversity is the foundation of collaboration: it takes more than one profile to have imagination, to master a larger set of skills, and to interact with various stakeholders. Imagine your team if everyone had the same personality, training and experience?! It might make your life easier at first because everyone would think and feel the same, however in the longer run the team would not question itself much, would not learn and adapt much, and would be less creative. Knowing our own profile and that of others helps adjusting communication and decision so that 1. everyone's point of view is taken into account and 2. the outcome is more solid and lasts longer.

Fostering a collaborative team environment is essential for achieving collective goals. Encourage your team members to work together, share insights, and support each other’s efforts. This could be facilitated through regular team-building activities, collaborative projects, and open forums for sharing ideas. Support the teams to create mutual awareness of their unique abilities and skills to enhance collaborative engagement and allow the effective pooling of skills. Provide tools and resources that foster creative thinking and problem-solving. Flexibility in project management and role assignments can also allow collaborators to shine and contribute effectively to the team’s success.

El trabajo bien hecho hay que destacarlo, ya sea en el día a día por una buena idea, o porque el trabajo durante un cierto período estuvo bien realizado. No hay que asumir que porque es el trabajo que corresponde, entonces no es necesario destacar algunas acciones. Todos tenemos algo destacable. Es un peque?o reconocimiento que genera mayor afinidad y lealtad de tu equipo

Additionally, fostering a culture of peer recognition can amplify the sense of community and appreciation within the team. Encouraging team members to acknowledge each other's strengths and contributions not only enhances morale but also promotes a deeper understanding and appreciation of diversity. Organizing regular celebration events or acknowledgment meetings where team achievements and individual contributions are highlighted can also be effective. These events serve as a platform for sharing success stories, which can inspire and motivate the entire team.

When I give a gift for collaborators offering support, I give the same gift to everyone. Whether they contributed the most or least, moving forward with future projects or not, everyone is recognized equally. This is a virtue I learned from the Bible parable of the workers in the vineyard teaching us the first will be last and the last will be first.

Reconocer y apreciar el esfuerzo y las contribuciones de los colaboradores es vital para mantener alta la moral y el compromiso. Implementar sistemas de reconocimiento que valoren tanto los logros individuales como los del equipo puede reforzar una cultura de gratitud y respeto.

Embracing the uniqueness and complexity of individuals within your team fosters appreciation for their diverse skills and perspectives, facilitating a collaborative environment where everyone's potential can be fully realized. By investing in understanding and valuing your collaborators as individuals, you can harness their strengths, drive innovation, and enhance team performance.

Something not particularly spoken about here is the area of cognitive diversity. Cognitive diversity is a crucial component of successful DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs. It refers to the different ways individuals think, process information, and approach problem-solving. Embracing cognitive diversity within DEI initiatives ensures a richer pool of perspectives, ideas, and solutions. When people from various backgrounds and with diverse thought processes collaborate, they challenge assumptions, foster innovation, and make more well-rounded decisions. This diversity of thought is essential for creating inclusive environments where everyone feels valued and heard.

Author rightly emphasizes the human aspect, echoing Brené Brown's wisdom on effective leadership—connecting with individuals, not just their outputs. Aligning vision and values, embracing diversity, and communicating respectfully are vital steps. Alejandra's call for intentional identity work as the first step in diversity initiatives is a crucial perspective often overlooked. In creating a collaborative, innovative culture, recognizing and appreciating each collaborator's unique contributions becomes the key. This human-centric approach fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty. #DiversityAndInclusion #Collaboration #OrganizationalCulture

Em essência, aqui nós estamos falando sobre desenvolver dois aspectos da empresa: - Mais diversidade - Mais seguran?a psicológica Empresas que investem em diversidade s?o 11x mais inovadoras e seus colaboradores s?os 6x mais criativos que a concorrência. Empresas com equipes seguras psicologicamente s?o 50% mais produtivas, 76% mais engajadas e com 27% menos turnover. A empresa n?o precisa nem se esfor?ar para "aproveitar" a diversidade e os pontos fortes. Se ela construir equipes diversas e garantir a seguran?a psicológica no trabalho (autonomia, confian?a, desenvolvimento), as próprias pessoas far?o essa diferen?a.

A few more ideas to consider - 1) Establish virtual spaces or channels where team members can share insights, articles, and ideas. This creates a knowledge-sharing culture that leverages the diversity of thought. 2) Foster an inclusive leadership style that values and leverages the strengths of each team member. Leaders should actively seek input from diverse voices. 3) Rotate leadership roles or project management responsibilities to provide opportunities for different team members to showcase their leadership strengths. 4) Establish metrics to measure the impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives. Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies in leveraging the diversity and strengths of the team.