The New Rules For High-Performance Teams (It’s About Diversity AND Inclusion)

Gihan Perera is a business futurist, speaker, and author who works with business leaders to help them lead and succeed in an uncertain but exciting future. He’s also the author of Disruption By Design: Leading the change in a fast-changing world. In this guest post, Perera offers his tips on what a modern and effective team looks like…
There’s no doubt diversity and inclusion drive productivity, performance, and bottom-line results. According to research from the Diversity Council of Australia and Suncorp, employees in inclusive teams are more likely to innovate, more likely to be highly effective, more likely to stay, and more likely to be very satisfied with their job.
But leaders only get those results when they truly understand the dynamics of diverse teams. Ticking the diversity box won’t help you if you ignore inclusion – in other words, tapping into the diverse background, skills, talents, and behaviour of every team member.
Here are four ways for leaders to tap into the diversity of their people to build high-performance teams.
1. Share the Journey
The best people don’t just exchange their time for money. They want a place where they can say they’re proud to work, and where their work has meaning. They know what “we” stand for and value what we stand for.
This is especially important for diverse teams. When everybody is aligned with the team’s purpose and goals, they are far more likely to accept, tolerate, and even embrace each other’s differences.
This is the real secret to employee engagement. Instead of investing time, money, and energy in employee engagement programs, create a shared journey and your people are automatically engaged.
2. Make Flexible Work Work
The traditional office structure discourages diversity: Everybody works in the same place, for the same hours, in the same way. But in our connected world, many of the benefits of the traditional office don’t apply anymore, and the best people want – even demand – more flexibility. A 2018 Robert Half survey found almost half (47%) of Australian workers would be willing to accept a pay cut for more flexible working hours, and 40% would be willing to accept a pay cut to be able to work from home sometimes.
In diverse teams, people have different attitudes, cultural expectations, religious observations, parenting responsibilities, and so on. As a leader, you can’t be expected to know every nuance. But instead of trying to understand and accommodate every exception, stop thinking of them as exceptions. Assume flexible work is the rule, not the exception.
3. Measure Results, Not Processes
The traditional office environment subtly measures – and rewards – processes, time, and behaviour. We do notice who arrives late, leaves early, takes long lunch breaks, spends too much time on social media, waffles in meetings, and never buys anybody else a drink at the pub after work.
But these are all inputs into work. They sometimes correlate with results, but that’s not always the case – especially in diverse teams. If you keep measuring these things, you’re encouraging conformity, not embracing diversity.
A better value of somebody’s work is in their results. If they “goof off” during work hours but achieve their goals by working every night after they put their kids to bed, should you criticise them? Of course not. But it’s not easy to shift your mindset from processes to results. The most successful leaders are those who can make that shift.
4. Push Authority to Information
The old process for delegating work was to give work to a subordinate, and ask them to report to you regularly, especially if unexpected obstacles arose. This is the “push information to authority” model, where any new information is pushed up the hierarchy.
It should be obvious this isn’t the most effective way to lead anymore. Not only do you become a bottleneck, you don’t empower your people to develop and apply their own skills. This is true for any team, but especially for a diverse team, where you value their ideas, insights, and decisions precisely because they are different from your own.
A better approach is to adopt the opposite mindset – that is, push authority to information. U.S Navy Commander David Marquet teaches this principle in his book “Turn the Ship Around”, where he describes how he transformed the culture of his crew from followers to leaders. Marquet inherited a crew that was used to obeying orders, and his book describes how he gradually empowered them to accept more responsibility and authority.
How will YOU embrace diversity for better performance?
We used to say, “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’”. But that’s no longer the case. People in a diverse team have unique talents, individual goals, and innovative ideas. There is an ‘I’ in “Team” now, and high-performance teams need leaders who recognise this profound change.
Not all leaders will rise to this challenge. If you call your people “resources”, define their roles by their job descriptions, see them as interchangeable parts in a machine, or view your Generation Y employees as demanding and self-absorbed, you won’t be able to make this work. But if you truly embrace their diversity and tap into their talents and skills, you can create a high-performance team that is fit for the future.
Please login with linkedin to comment
Gihan PereraLatest News

Creating Efficiencies in the Age of Consumer Privacy
In this opinion piece, Jess Miles, Country Manager ANZ of Integral Ad Science, reflects on the questions surrounding consumer data. The ability to collect consumer data online has revolutionised digital advertising by enabling customised targeting strategies and data collection. This reliance on data has been the cornerstone of many audience targeted strategies enabling marketers to […]

Jye Smith Named President Of Vibewire Board
After ten years of board leadership of the young entrepreneurial collective Vibewire, Founder & Co-CEO of Disruptors Co. Gavin Heaton is passing the torch to fellow strategy and creative leader Jye Smith, Founder and Director of branding and design studio DOUBLESTAR CO, who will now take over as Board President.

The Peers Project And Alibaba Group Launch Entrepreneur Podcast Series, ‘The Build Up’
There are now so many podcasts in the world that it would take the average person 98.9 years to find an interesting one.

AnalogFolk Promotes Two Senior Staff
AnalogFolk has promoted two senior staff, but not promoted enough to secure a spot in the downstairs carpark.

“Destroying The World!”: Confusion Reigns As Mr Potato Head Goes Gender Neutral
Mr Potato Head goes gender neutral. Barbie apparently happy she's no longer the most marginalised one in the toy aisle.

New Mercedes G-Class Campaign From Akkurat Studios Makes A “Pointe”
B&T arrived to work this morning in a chauffeured Mercedes-Benz. Well "chauffeur/government bus driver", same thing.

Kia Selects Cartelux To Spearhead Dealer Ad Technology
It's not one but four motoring articles today, dear readers. Call it coincidence as B&T really knows nothing about cars.

‘Woka-Cola’: Trump Supporters Boycott Coca-Cola Over Anti-Racism Seminar
Trump supporters are calling for a Coke ban in the US. However, it remains doubtful if that will grow their teeth back.

Dear God! Triple J Books Return Of OG Wiggles For Like A Version
It's all hot potato and big red cars in the B&T office this morning. Scottish staffer reconsiders visa application.

Thursday TV Wrap: MAFS Hands Nine The Win On A Quiet Night
Last night's TV numbers again appeared to confirm that after 15 years still nobody's watching Bondi Rescue.

Twenty-Seven Year Old Australian Margaret Zhang Appointed Editor Of Vogue China
Who doesn't love to see Aussies doing well on the world stage! Okay, maybe not Schapelle Corby or Mel Gibson.

VOZ Insights: “Television Is Now An Everywhere, Multi-Device Medium”
Only Jesus' second coming and the next Guns N Roses album officially taking longer than the arrival of VOZ.

Australian CDP Lexer Raises $33.5M In Funding
Lexer, the Customer Data Platform for brands and retailers, today announced it has raised AU$33.5 million in Series B funding, bringing its total funding to AU$43 million. The round was led by Blackbird Ventures and King River Capital, with Series A investor January Capital also participating. Blackbird’s Rick Baker will join the Lexer board. The […]

CHE Proximity Unveils Latest Work For eBay
These new eBay ads have an eerie sense of déjà vu. Worse, a not overly funny déjà vu either.

Thrive PR + Communications Makes Multiple Hires Across Sydney & Melbourne
Thrive PR has announced a string of new hires, none of whom chain smokes or swigs from a Stoli bottle.

Peroni’s Zero Alcohol Beer Partners With Aston Martin, Ahead Of Its Formula One Return
Problem with zero alcohol beers is it's all the urine but without the embarrassing one-night stands of full-strength.

Pepsi Brings Messi, Pogba And Sancho To Life In Bubbly New Campaign
B&T's shamelessly namedropping in this headline. Unless you've no idea who they are, then just move to the next article.

Chief Of Cherokee Nation Calls For Jeep To Retire Vehicle Name: “It’s Time”
Do you own a Jeep Cherokee? Well, watch it instantly devalue by a good 10 grand by simply reading this.

Women’s Lifestyle Media Company The Grace Tales Acquired By AllBright
Local women's lifestyle media company receives what all publishers are looking for - a large cheque in an acquisition.

Martech Myths: Why Most Organisations Waste Ninety-Five Per Cent Of Their Software Capabilities
This expert columnist is debunking martech myths. Including the one about Salesforce making you pregnant.

Net Profit Up 60% For Southern Cross Austereo On The Back Of Leaner Operating Model
Southern Cross Austereo's profits up 60%! Which certainly made interviewing Grant Blackley today a lot less awkward.

Cummins&Partners Welcomes PR Agency Romano Beck, Bringing Creative, Media and PR Under One Roof
Cummins&Partners has welcomed Romano Beck, who may sound like a swarthy Italian actor but is actually a PR agency.

CarsGuide Partners With Mitsubishi, Wavemaker To Create Virtual Road Trips
CarsGuide, Mitsubishi and Wavemaker create virtual road trips that includes virtual car sickness.

Petition To Ban Same-Sex Kiss In Cadbury Crème Egg Ad Garners 56,000 Signatures
Cadbury Crème Eggs join Durex condoms & Frankie Goes To Hollywood on list of things Christians find hard to swallow.

Future of TV Advertising Conference: Times Are Tough, But We’re All In This Together
B&T's reporting live from today's Future Of TV event. Not before mistakenly going to the dental hygienist conference.

TV Will Not Only Build Your Brand, It Will Get Your Cash Registers Ringing
There can be no denying TV's power as an advertising medium. Putting aside Holey Moley and Plate Of Origin, that is.

TikTok Continues To Fight COVID Misinformation
Current COVID misinformation includes the vaccine can make you pregnant while developing a Lionel Richie addiction.

Wednesday TV Wrap: 10’s The Cube Debuts To 567,000, Gives MAFS A Little Hickey
B&T's delivering all of last night's TV numbers, dipped in chocolate, rolled in coconut, with a tasty jam-filled centre.

As Bruce Springsteen Is Cleared Of Drunk Driving Charge, Jeep Resumes Use Of Super Bowl Ad
With the Springsteen saga dealt with, Jeep now turns its focus to Michelle Bridges as its next brand ambassador.

WPP AUNZ’s Unveils 32.6% Profit Drop For 2020, Revenues down 14.1%
WPP AUNZ's results out today made for some pretty sobering reading. That's why B&T read them with a couple of daiquiris.