More Than Quotas: Why Cognitive Diversity Matters

It is no news that digitalization and the evolution of technology, globalization and demographics are affecting business and organizational models, changing consumer behaviors and turning the competitive landscape upside down. To stay competitive in this interconnected world and to adapt to rapidly shifting market dynamics, an agile and diverse workforce is a crucial component.

The relationship between diversity and innovation is well-recognized. More diverse teams unlock innovation and consequently lead to stronger organizational performance. Backing this with numbers, a study by the Boston Consulting Group has found that companies that have more diverse management teams have 19 % higher revenue thanks to innovation. 

But while diversity comes in many forms – gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, culture, socioeconomic background, etc. –, much of the conversation revolves around inherent diversity like gender or cultural background. Indeed, many diversity programs in companies focus on ensuring they gain gender and cultural balance.

Don’t get me wrong: These are great initiatives, and it is important that we continue this path. According to the World Economic Forum, at the present rate it will take until the year 2234 to achieve gender parity in earnings, so we still have a long way to go!

Then again, the current climate of disruption forces organizations to expand their diversity and inclusiveness agendas to maintain market competitiveness. 

Teams that think differently do better

?Cognitive diversity is about much more than race or gender. It is a type of diversity that is less visible, but all the more important as its impact extends well beyond meeting quotas. Cognitive diversity is about differences in thinking, viewpoints, perspective and information processing styles – so in how people feel, think, and act.

It is natural that people feel comfortable surrounding themselves with others who have styles similar to their own. And indeed, we often tend to move towards people who think and express themselves in a similar way. Unfortunately, when you get more of the same, you end up with more of the same – in the business context with like-minded teams that have only a limited ability to see things differently, engage in different ways, or create new opportunities.

People who bring different perspectives might see threats and opportunities that others may miss. And indeed, based on my experience, achieving a mixture of how people carry out intellectual activities, such as making associations or drawing conclusions, is crucial for innovation, complex problem-solving and high performance.

Cognitively diverse teams also tend to adapt to change more readily, and they demonstrate a greater ability to collaborate when faced with new challenges or situations. And according to Deloitte, cognitive diversity accounts for better business outcomes: It enhances innovation by 20 %, reduces risks by 30 %, and eases the implementation of decisions.

More than meets the eye

While its benefits are obvious, cognitive diversity isn't easy to achieve. When we look at diversity related to pure demographics, it's easier to identify where an imbalance exists. Cognitive diversity, on the other hand, is easy to overlook because it is less visible. A different approach to problem solving is difficult to detect from the outside, and bringing it to the surface takes work.

“Be yourself” was an advice that I myself heard very often. And while it is true, I think it is even more important that leaders focus on enabling others to be themselves, offering everybody a safe environment of inclusivity, encouraging people to reveal and deploy their different modes of thinking and to voice their ideas and opinions. Then again, as change doesn’t happen top-down, but at every level, it is up to all of us to cherish other opinions. There isn’t just one way of doing it – so embrace differences and realize the real purpose of diversity!