Appreciating Diversity and Differences

One key to the development of strong and effective teams is the ability to appreciate the benefits of the differences each team member presents.  Those differences can be confusing and frustrating and cause misunderstandings – OR – they can be illuminating, broaden our horizons, provide growth, and help us to gain new insights.  The process of achieving our organizational goals can often be best achieved when diversity of opinion, background, and skill are engaged.  

We’ve all likely had the experience of being on a team where one or more members presented special challenges.  They were negative and critical.  They lacked skills.  They didn’t contribute.  These, certainly, are all legitimate complaints, but they don’t have to lead to a negative outcome for the team.  Sometime we can achieve a positive outcome by delving a bit deeper, gaining an understanding, and appreciating the other person’s point of view.

Tom Champoux of The Effectiveness Institute has shown how our personal behavioral style contributes to how we see the world, process information, and interact with others.  Our behavior styles are defined by how we make decisions, solve problems, meet challenges and interact with others.  Each individual’s behavior tends to be consistent with that individual’s style.  Unless we understand each others’ styles, we may get annoyed and frustrated by how another person acts, what they say, or the opinions they hold.  Some of us move fast, talk quickly, and make spontaneous decisions.  Others are more deliberate and like to process information before making a decision.  Some of us are people-oriented.  Others are more task-oriented. Some of us are more analytical and detail-oriented while others tend to be big picture thinkers.  Teams with members that have a range of behavior styles tend to excel.    

Conflicts can occur when individuals with different styles interact.  A quiet person may be intimidated by someone who comes on strong.   A person who tends to hold back can be frustrating to a person with a more direct style.  It sometimes helps to realize that the behavior is not aimed specially at the person on the receiving end; rather it is the way the other person relates to the world.  When we work through conflicts in style, and value the advantages that diversity brings, we maximize the quality of our team.

Kevin is decisive and takes quick action.  He assesses information quickly and decides the best course of action.  However, he has grown to respect a fellow teammate, Anne, who is much more methodical in her thinking.  When faced with a big decision, he often seeks out Anne’s opinion because he knows she will consider factors that may not have occurred to him.  Ron used to annoy his teammates.  When they were working on a project, he was quick to find problems.  However, his teammates have grown to have tremendous respect for Ron because he does see things they often miss.  His constant questioning is now seen as a positive attribute.  Utilizing the different strengths of team members can make for a highly effective team.

Overtly acknowledging and appreciating the attributes of other teammates will contribute to your teams’ success.  When you appreciate a characteristic that you admire in a teammate, you are not only recognizing the attribute as a benefit to the team, but you are helping that member see the value they add.  Your acknowledgment may also serve to strengthen the quality in the person acknowledged.  Acknowledgments make a difference in how connected we feel to the team and help bring out the best in each of us.

As with our behavior styles, our age, gender, race, cultural background, and ethnicity all affect who we are, how we interact, and how we come across to others.  When someone behaves or speaks in a manner differently than what we’re used to, we can feel awkward or uncomfortable or embrace the difference and gain an understanding for what we are unfamiliar with.  Differences often broaden our perspectives and enrich our teams.  

How do we make sense of people who behave differently from us?  It helps to develop an attitude of curiosity.  When we don’t take things personally, we are in a better position to gain understanding and learn from each other.  If we are aware of having a negative reaction to how someone interacted with us, it’s helpful to pause and examine what just happened.  Gather the facts; eliminate the assumptions about the other person’s intent.  Seek clarification.  Stay engaged.  It’s often the case that the person simply has a way of interacting and viewing the world different from yours.

What does your team do to turn differences into a benefit for your team?  What can you do today to acknowledge the strengths and the value added by the diverse styles that your teammates present?

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