Managing a diverse team is proving challenging. How do you bridge communication gaps effectively?
Managing a diverse team can be challenging, especially when communication gaps arise. However, with the right approach, you can foster a more inclusive and effective environment. Here are some strategies to bridge those gaps:
How do you ensure effective communication in your diverse team?
Managing a diverse team is proving challenging. How do you bridge communication gaps effectively?
Managing a diverse team can be challenging, especially when communication gaps arise. However, with the right approach, you can foster a more inclusive and effective environment. Here are some strategies to bridge those gaps:
How do you ensure effective communication in your diverse team?
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Sometimes not bridging a gap is the best way to keep the traffic running, in respective directions. The biggest mistake we do while managing a diverse team is to bring in uniformity in it. By doing so we eventually end up damaging the very diversity. Therefore it is important to understand where to limit the camaraderie. The best way to nurture a diverse team like a team can be achieved by- 1. Understanding and respecting the differences 2. Giving elbow room ( or even more) to everyone 3. Let informal connect and conversation grow naturally. 4. Let the ‘Goal’ ( professional goal) drive the camaraderie and not an under planned offsite.
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An organization benefits most when the teams are diverse. The team members are diverse by geography, education stream, culture and personal values. All of these are agnostic to the vision, mission and value statement of the organization which naturally binds them together. What enhances the organization’s benefits is the opportunity each member gets to learn from the others. The best hiring happens when you hire someone who is an expert in one field and is comfortable with other relevant fields. A diverse team has this natural advantage of a unique member with unique expertise learning from others about all that is needed to be learnt. As a leader one has to just convey and convince his team about these benefits through clear communication.
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My approach with what has been suggested and which I find very effective is the following : - Make small mixed working groups from various teams. - Communicate and update the other groups of what has been done and what is planned. - Plan social mixed diners and events. - Have one representative per group and a weekly meeting of these representatives together.
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Having a diverse team is an opportunity if managed well. These are some of the initiatives, to help here - 1. People should know the diversity and respect it. It should be embedded in the culture of organisation. 2. Policies and practices of the organisation should be designed in a way, it supports such diversity. 3. Leading by example - leaders should set right precedence by respecting the diversity 4. People should look beyond areas of diversity with focus on expertise and experience brought by all team members
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In fact, communication between departments has always been a challenge within an organization. And the larger the company, the more challenging it becomes. One way to improve communication is to hold meetings, have a philosophy of listening to others, know how to receive feedback, have spaces to disseminate information in easy and objective language with appropriate tools that facilitate communication!