Diversity, Inclusion, and Innovation: Mastering Ideation in the Digital Age

"Without inclusion, your diverse workforce doesn't have a voice."

#diversityandinclusion #ideation #hackathon #innovation #innovationmanagement

How Diversity Contributes to Innovation & Growth

Nobody questions anymore that diversity contributes to better business results. This is why companies improved their hiring practices over the last several years, and we see more diverse candidates being hired. And yet, not all companies benefit from having a more diverse workforce. The main problem is that inclusion lags behind diversity, even in diverse companies. In McKinsey's social media listening study of healthcare, financial, and technology industries, overall sentiment on diversity was 52 percent positive and 31 percent negative. In contrast, sentiment on inclusion was markedly worse, at only 29 percent positive and 61 percent negative.

Many companies still need to improve inclusion. The six most common include favoring individuals "like us," communication problems resulting from cultural and language differences, negative stereotypes toward others, resistance to change, lack of cultural competency, and no role diverse models in the leadership.

Without inclusion, your diverse workforce doesn't have a voice. And yet, their voice is critical to developing innovative solutions. There are many examples of industry outliers developing breakthrough innovations despite mainstream colleagues not believing in them. The most recent and prominent example is Katalin Kariko, the Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine. Together with Drew Weismann, they were recognized for scientific discoveries that led to the development of effective COVID-19 vaccines. When Katalin Kariko came to the US from Hungary, she was not considered part of the mainstream scientific community. Frequently ridiculed by others who didn't see the potential in mRNA research and demoted by her university, she persevered nevertheless. We are thankful for this right now when so many lives have been saved by mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, and the potential for future vaccines and therapeutics is enormous. Other outliers include Coco Channel, Steve Jobs, pharmacist John Pemberton, who invented Coca-Cola, and many others. Their power is in understanding the mainstream industry, but bringing context from their former lives expands their horizons.

Another overlooked opportunity is to bring voices from marginalized groups into creative problem-solving. In fact, we often try to solve problems for underserved populations, not together with them. However, including marginalized groups in the innovation process brings more inclusive, equitable, and effective solutions, addressing a more comprehensive range of needs. This approach helps to address unnoticed needs and improve the accessibility and usability of developed products or services. There are a few noticeable examples of so-called social innovations developed together with marginalized groups – malaria testing for children in schools in Malawi, HIV information campaign in China, or low-cost label identification technology to fight counterfeit medications in Africa and Asia.

Inclusive Ideation Campaign / Hackathon

It is a common misconception that we are more creative together. Brainstorming indeed promotes creativity, generates many ideas by building on each other's ideas, creates camaraderie, and may promote inclusion if everybody's ideas are considered equally. However, it is also very inefficient if not well structured, leading to unbalanced discussion due to the domination of some participants. It promotes group thinking or conflicts if ideas are criticized or rejected. Additional time is needed to sort out unworkable ideas.

A better, more inclusive ideation is usually asynchronous. It means team members contribute to a joint outcome but work separately. This way of working is possible through online ideation platforms, such as Ideation 360, developed by Innovation 360 Group AB .

The main benefits of asynchronous ideation include:

1. Flexibility. Team members contribute ideas at their own pace and on their own schedule, making it especially helpful for team members in different time zones or with busy schedules.
2. Diversity & inclusion. A more diverse range of ideas is created, as it eliminates the group dynamics and empowers all kinds of team members, who normally may be quieter.
3. Cost efficiency. There is no need to rent rooms or fly employees in, resulting in the inclusion of many more participants.

Ideation is the first step in the innovation process (the other three include selection, development, and commercialization) and must lead to as many as possible and as good as possible ideas.

Learn More

This topic is covered in more detail in my training, which you can access through this link to My360. Please use the redeem code to get it for free: IDEA-2023, and contact me if you are interested in receiving a free certificate once you complete the course. ?

Author:

Kasia Hein-Peters, MD, is the founder of Abante Scientific in Las Vegas, NV. Every business has different challenges, and the approach to innovation management may be different. Dr. Hein-Peters has a Green Belt in Innovation Management and can show you how to improve your company’s performance and meet strategic goals. You can get on her calendar here: https://calendly.com/kasia-hein-peters-md/abante-scientific.

Magnus Penker Allan Fors Cai Harrold

Sources:

1. INNOVATION360
2. McKinsey “Diversity Wins” 2019 (https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters)
3. McKinsey “Understanding organizational barriers to a more inclusive workplace” June 2020 (https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/understanding-organizational-barriers-to-a-more-inclusive-workplace#/)
4. Mungai P et al. “The Role of the Marginalized and Unusual Suspects in the Production of Digital Innovations: Models of Innovation in an African Context” In book: Locally Relevant ICT Research (pp.261-278) Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.
5. WHO “Social Innovations in Health. Case Studies and Lessons Learnt from Low- and Middle-Income Countries” 2017.
6. McKinsey “Research: Asynchronous Work Can Fuel Creativity” April 2023 (https://hbr.org/2023/04/research-asynchronous-work-can-fuel-creativity)