Written by: Gail Banzon, PMP
Greater diversity and inclusion make organizations better. According to Pulse of the Profession® research, 88 percent of project professionals say having diverse project teams increases value. Do you know that gender-diverse companies are 21% more likely to outperform on profit? Do you also know that ethnically diverse companies are also 33% more likely to outperform on profit?
Presentation Overview 
The presentation was about the power of diverse teams in project management. We now understand the impact of equality, diversity, and inclusiveness on performance, collaboration, and creativity through innovation in the workplace within project-based organizations. Research has shown that compared to a single decision-maker, a diverse team will make better decisions up to 87% of the time. If your team only consists of male members, the decisions will be better at 58% compared to a gender-mixed team at 73%—the more diverse, the better decisions and overall performance. Diverse teams excel in troubleshooting, creating novel ideas, and accounting for a larger number of variables in their planning.
Get a diverse team, and you will have high performance? Quite the opposite! You must demonstrate a high level of inclusion and manage a diverse team to harvest the benefits from it. They will need to be well managed and time to be formed and find the strength in their complementary competencies and perspectives. If there is inclusive and compassionate Leadership and an inclusive culture within such a team, they will soon start producing great work. Team members will experience how they complement each other and will be able to deliver high performance through teamwork.
Takeaways
Main points:
- Create the organization to be the best place to work
- Mindset on inclusion and diversity
- Diversity without inclusion doesn’t work
- Diversity is multi-dimensional
- Inclusion requires intention
- Business benefits of diverse teams
- Increased creativity and innovation
- Better problem-solving and decision-making
- Higher employee engagement
- Better reputations
Challenges faced: What prevents us from being inclusive?
- Bias, lack of awareness can obscure the need
- Logistical challenges with remote workforce
- Inexperience with uncomfortable or sensitive topics
- Fear of making mistakes or saying the wrong thing
Solutions:
- Inclusive Leadership
- The behaviors of leaders can account for up to 70% of the difference between the proportion of employees who feel included and the proportion of those who don’t
- The Inclusion Continuum
- Intolerance, tolerance, awareness, accepting, valuing
- Individuals should reflect on where they are in the inclusion continuum
Goals of the EDI:
- Inclusive leadership is a commitment to creating an environment in which employees:
- Feel a sense of belonging to the group
- Feel valued for their unique contributions
- Are treated equitably
- Have the support to reach their full potential
- Create the organization to be the best place to work
Lessons Learned:
- Be courageous to speak up when you observe inequities
- Include and seek input from people across a wide variety of backgrounds
- For example, blind hiring to take out the demographic bias by interviewing on the phone to eliminate face-to-face judgment
- Practice psychological safety
- Ensure all voices are heard
- Acknowledge when you have committed a microaggression
- Model humility and build trust with those who may feel like the other
- Practice active listening
Next Event
Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Chapter Healthcare forum on April 19, 2023
Keynote Presentation: "Data Visualization Changes Your Business" by Ashley Swain Cohen, Director of Partner Solutions, Salesforce
Register at www.pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar
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