The Double-Edged Sword of Diversity

🚀 Our latest episode of the Delivery Space is here!

The Double-Edged Sword of Diversity features a conversation with Christiaan Verwijs about the impact of diversity on agile teams.

📚In their latest research paper, Christiaan and Professor Daniel Russo explore how differences in gender, age, role, and cultural background affect how well a team works and the level of conflict within it. They also examined the part psychological safety plays in the effectiveness of diverse teams. Their research included over 1,118 participants from 161 teams and is soon to be published!

Our discussion delves into the research findings from the research paper. Link is in the comments 👇🏽

We also share our personal experiences and insights of working in diverse teams and how our experiences have made an impact on us, putting a spotlight on the complexities and benefits of diversity in various different contexts.

🔍Here are some highlights:

👉🏻 Research on Diversity and Team Effectiveness - Christiaan shares insights from his research with Professor Daniel Russo, highlighting their findings and the complexity of the topic

👉🏾 Real-World Examples and Experiences - We discuss lived experiences from our careers and the impact they’ve had on how we’ve experienced diversity in teams

👉 Cognitive Resource Diversity Theory - Christiaan explains the theory suggesting diverse teams bring varied viewpoints and perspectives, potentially leading to greater effectiveness, depending on the nature of the work being undertaken

👉🏿Practical Example of the Similarity Attraction Paradigm - An example is given illustrating how discovering similarities instead of focusing on differences, even in every-day contexts like shared food preferences or social activities, can positively impact team effectiveness​

👉🏻The Categorisation Elaboration Model (CEM) - Christiaan explains how it integrates Cognitive Resource Diversity Theory & Similarity Attraction Paradigm and the significance of CEM is his latest research paper that is soon to be published!

👉🏾 Using Liberating Structures and other facilitation exercises to explore diversity and team member’s value systems to deepen connection and understanding.