When teaching groups of executives, we often ask them how diversity affects teams’ performance. The vast majority are convinced that more diverse teams will outperform less diverse teams — particularly when the project involves innovation. Their argument is familiar: The different perspectives, ideas, and opinions in diverse teams are essential to achieving breakthrough performance in competitive environments.
Research: To Excel, Diverse Teams Need Psychological Safety
Findings from a study of 62 drug-development teams.
March 17, 2022
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Summary.
The promise of staffing a team with diverse members is that the different perspectives, ideas, and opinions will result in greater performance. The reality is that diverse teams often underperform because people from dissimilar backgrounds often clash. A study of 62 drug-development teams suggests that the key to getting them to work better together and tap the potential of diversity is to create a psychologically safe environment. This article discusses ways to do that.