Managing Diversity
Team leadership issue: Managing diversity
Definition of the team leadership practice: Diversity management
One of the most contentious issues in management is the question of whether diversity helps or hinders team performance. The overall review of the potential of diversity to maximize productivity is mixed: on one hand, diversity can foster creativity and healthy dialogue and debate on a team. When dealing with clients abroad, diverse team employees may have greater personal insight about their experiences as foreign nationals or so-called 'hyphenated' Americans. Women and people from different regions of the country or different disciplinary perspectives can likewise bring a unique approach to the problem. However, there is the problem of team unity, which is often far more difficult to generate on a diverse team. "Diverse teams are prone to dysfunction because the very differences that feed creativity and high performance can also create communication barriers" (Polzer 2008).
Why the selected leadership...
In some instances, allowing team-based honesty and providing a safe space for feedback may be the preferred strategy. "Discussing feedback as a team increased members' trust in one another, allowing them to raise potentially awkward issues relating to perceptions and performance" (Polzer 2008). Sometimes more intensive, formalized strategies are required, such as creating guidelines for team communication. Regardless, if miscommunication based in cultural misunderstandings begins to fester and cause conflicts on the team, the greater goals of the organization cannot be realized, nor can the maximum effectiveness of teams. "Assuming you don't have team members who are overtly prejudiced against other cultures or nationalities, you could still face the challenge of strongly ingrained belief systems and expectations" (Adamson 2012).
In teams where diversity is poorly managed, the…
