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Suspending expectations……
A few weeks ago I facilitated several
diverse teams in their next year’s planning cycle. The
facilitation was focused on helping the team achieve the
task of planning the next year, not on the diversity in
the team.
The teams were comprised of people from
different cultures, educational levels, ages,
professions, gender and races. They also brought
different tenures with the team and the organization,
scopes of responsibilities and work foci. Prior to the
facilitation, the team leads had mentioned certain
tendencies of engagement of different team members to
me. Additionally, I was aware I was holding my
assumptions about the different people and their
behaviors.
Throughout the facilitations I was
reminded just how diverse differences are.
1.
Be prepared to get your assumptions
confirmed.
In the first team meeting, one of the team members was
from Japan and rather new in the team. He sat a bit
outside of the imaginary circle the other team members
were forming around the table. He also was very quiet
and rarely shared his thoughts. When asked for his
thoughts, he often either confirmed what others had said
or said he had nothing to add.
I had structured exercises so that quiet team members
engaged in smaller groups. I also chose to go around the
circle and ask everyone for input. Additionally, I
balanced bringing him into the discussion through
questions without putting him on the spot. In a longer
engagement, I would talk with the individual to
understand his thinking on how he wants to engage in
team meetings.
2.
Be ready to be surprised.
A few team members in the second facilitation behaved
outside of the typical assumptions that could easily be
drawn from their diversity. A young Chinese team member,
for example, was very vocal with a lot of influence in
the team. He would speak up, wait until he had the
attention of the team and then make his point. He had
been on the team for a while, and he had a senior role
which contributed to his ability to have a voice in the
team. Taking other dimensions into consideration, he
was somewhat of a surprise.
This experience highlighted how the different dimensions
of the diversity wheel
are influencing what we will experience when working
with people.
In the first example, the internal
dimensions, e.g., race, seemed to have more relevance
while in the second example, the external dimensions
such as work experience seemed to have more influence
on the behavior. These dimensions are in constant play
with each other and additional ones and will drive
behavior in various moments. Being aware of this
interplay and consciously observing behaviors is crucial
to facilitators and everyone working with diverse teams.
Overall, these experiences reminded me of
key guidelines for working with a diverse team.
In
summary, suspend your expectations!
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