What are the most effective ways to manage innovation projects with a team that speaks multiple languages?

Implement project management tools that support collaboration in multiple languages. Platforms like Asana, Trello, or Microsoft Teams allow team members to communicate, share documents, and track project progress without language barriers.

This is a great topic! Having innovated with and for different cultures, Chinese, Indians, Finns, and many more, my strongest insight is that "common language" is not just words, it is culture. As different team members are diverse in their culture beyond language, so diverse teams need not just a common language in the simplest form, but also a common culture. This is a challenge, but it is extremely rewarding for innovation. For example: once I was leading a design for manufacturing team with design engineers from Finland and Chinese production engineers...myself being an Israel, the room was very noisy, and the Finns, who were the experts, couldn't get a word in. Finally i shut everyone up. And we could really learn from them.

I would also add to the conversation that the leader should be able to communicate with each team member and wrap up conversation at the group level. It would include everyone's idea and give a voice to each one of the individuals that might have problems with the common language (such as English) or in expressing themselves in front of a larger audience. Leaders, that's is my advice for you: include regular 1on1s at your schedule.

In my experience, establishing nomenclature for the team from the onset of innovation projects is the key for clear communications. There is commonly varying ways project members communicate based on their career background and can sometimes pose as a barrier to getting quality work achieved. Once the nomenclature is established and the majority of the team accepts it, it can be a repeatable process and practiced application - meaning it is placed on decks, communications and utilized in meetings so it can become second nature.

The use of a common language should be viewed and communicated team-wide as the means of final documentation and cross-team reporting. Innovation projects thrive on each member's ability to express, share and react in their own language. Thus, a lot of process needs to be thought through; process that allows that flow of ideas and back and forth in each team member's own language and the resultant output expressed in a common language.

It's inevitable that some team members are more confident than others in the shared language (often English, but not always). So it's essential that those who are most comfortable in this language, particularly native speakers, make a conscious effort to include colleagues who are less comfortable. This means you need to: - Slooooooow down your pace! - Be very mindful of slang, acronyms and 'familiar' clichés (like "beat about the bush"). They're not familiar to everyone. - Reduce ambiguity and high-context communication (like when native English speakers say "that's interesting") - Make a habit of checking in with colleagues and ensure that their views are being heard ?? When managed well, global teams are a business superpower!

Diversity brings new perspectives! And new perspectives can bring new ideas that can lead to change and possibly Innovation. I believe more diverse your team is, better it is, they might bring a new experience on the table adding huge value. Can language be challenge - maybe a bit, but thanks to Technology - shouldn't be a great hurdle, if you use the right tools the communication really seemless.

In projects like the one described in this article, diversity and inclusion is more than a practice. It needs to be embodied in the overall leader of that project. This person must be widely viewed as being capable of assimilating a wide range of work, honestly understanding its merit and accurately representing its meaning in the common language of the project.

Flexible methods, testing and internal share out techniques are vital steps in a successful process. This is where output from various teams speaking other language can be understood and discussed. Once again, the process of achieving this needs to be mapped out and communicated when the project is initiated and reinforced as the project continues.

Merging AI tools like Google Translate, online translators, and AI chat tools into the team can significantly enhance language diversity management. These tools simplify the translation process and contribute to the overall efficiency of project coordination. AI, including tools like ChatGPT, can assist in organizing tasks and communication. Additionally, leveraging browser extensions and messaging apps with translation capabilities can be valuable assets in facilitating seamless communication among team members who speak multiple languages.

The reader of this article is invited to grasp the 'theater' of using these technologies tools properly. If the process is mapped out and administered with care, everyone on the team, in every language, should be able to comprehend and celebrate the work of the entire group. Think of how the technology can enhance the impact of the ideas shared, the plans proposed and the outcomes envisioned. Simply letting the technology translate long-form, real-time discussion into the common language is one way to go. But, I would also argue that it is an opportunity missed.

From conducting research and managing global innovation brainstorm, the most important aspect to consider is meeting people where they are. How that happens is by translating materials where possible, having dual speakers on the line who can aid understanding, and engaging stakeholders in a playful, encouraging manner. A playful environment is a safe one where misunderstandings can happen, wrong words can be used, and there's an opportunity to clarify and correct. By creating a space for dialogue and shared learning, you can pull different global teams together to form a powerful unit. Teams begin to get comfortable, actively engage, and that's when the real insights come to life.

Diversity is really important, but we often don't pay enough attention to it. It's useful not just for coming up with ideas, but also for testing and putting these ideas into action. Having people with different experiences and ways of seeing things helps us spot problems early, before our solutions reach the public. We should focus more on diversity, especially when we are trying to create new things.