Yasmin, the newly appointed chief operating officer of a chemical company, was thrilled with her promotion after eight solid years working her way up the ladder. But she quickly realized the new role wasn’t all it was cracked up to be: the “good ol’ boys” culture of the C-suite dominated the strategizing and decision-making—leaving both her and the sole Latinx executive feeling like second-class citizens. Relegating these leaders not only demotivated them, but the company ended up making poorer decisions because it missed out on their crucial expertise.
These kinds of stories are all too common. Managers, executive teams, and boards ostensibly embrace diversity by adding underrepresented people to their ranks, but then fail to follow through with its necessary companions: inclusion and smart collaboration.
The problems confronting companies right now are so complex—inflationary effects on consumer behavior, market volatility, ripple effects of supply chain disruption—that they simply demand multifaceted, cross-silo working in order to tackle them. But getting people with diverse views onto a problem-solving team is useless unless those people are encouraged to contribute their unique knowledge, and then their contributions are heard, valued, and integrated into the team’s work.
This is what I call “smarter collaboration,” and my decade of empirical research at Harvard University shows that it produces higher revenue and profit, deeper customer relationships, faster innovation, greater efficiency, and stronger employee engagement. But if team members’ differences are not skillfully and consistently managed, they can lead to workplace tension, which creates a whole range of dysfunction and inhibits smarter collaboration.
Interviews and surveys with over 2,000 business professionals across sectors and around the globe turned up four common problems that emerge when leaders fail to actively manage diversity.
The fear of conflict trap
Poorly managed diversity often makes employees fearful of conflict, so they stop communicating broadly and instead only talk with others who are similar to them. The group fractures instead of collaborating. A common scenario is that managers say they welcome conflict, but want to handle it in one-on-one meetings. This approach, however, discourages collaboration in groups and risks creating a back-room culture, in which side deals get cut: in other words, the opposite of inclusive participation.
The drowning out trap
Ever had trouble getting a word in edgewise? The phenomenon disproportionately affects traditionally marginalized groups. It has been studied in the national parliaments in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada, where women members of Parliament are interrupted (mostly by men) more frequently than their male counterparts.
The result? Many women stop participating in floor debates: not only those who were interrupted but also their peers who want to avoid getting shut down. Our research turned up innumerable examples of the same thing happening inside companies.
The tokenism trap
Putting a single woman, or Asian person, or neurodivergent individual on a project isn’t enough: their role must be a meaningful contributor to the team’s core work. But we often find the opposite. People from underrepresented groups are pulled into small pieces of work that don’t allow them to develop new skills or build deep relationships with clients and senior team members.
For example, our analysis of project databases across several industries shows that even though women may make up at least half of a team, their contributions may not be proportionate. One leader recounted being invited to meetings with a big client, but she was rarely asked to dive deep into any of the major tasks.
The mini-me trap
Advice on how to dress, speak, or otherwise do your job (for example, “act like a man,” “don’t ever share your feelings,” or “avoid that crowd”) may be well-intentioned, and in some instances helpful. But there’s a point where it becomes more than just advice, and takes the form of pressure instead (and undue pressure at that).
If you get repeated signals that you need to “fit in” in order to succeed, including get promoted, you are probably less likely to contribute the unique perspectives that would make collaboration truly valuable. Over time, you may withdraw entirely.
3 ways leaders can foster smarter collaboration and inclusion
Organizational leaders have many tools at their disposal for fostering a culture of smarter collaboration and inclusion. The three tips below are just a start; many more research-backed strategies exist for driving long-term changes in behavior.
- Demonstrate smarter collaboration daily
Leaders need to be hyper-intentional about bringing a diversity of people into each conversation and project at the right time—and then visibly encouraging and valuing their opinions. It also means preventing overcommitment: If people are spread too thin, leaders must remove them from assignments that are less relevant to their skillset.
2. Teach conflict resolution skills
When you’re working with people who have different areas of expertise, life stories, and perspectives, their mix of viewpoints and interests inevitably generates some conflict. Train not just leaders, but also mid-managers and frontline workers in conflict management skills. By embracing creative friction rather than avoiding it, people can maximize the strategic outcomes of collaboration.
3. Have people to pick one high-priority commitment
People often leave training sessions, including collaboration and inclusion-focused sessions, with a laundry list of ideas. Instead, ask people to commit to a single change in the next few days. Pairing them up with an accountability partner (someone who helps them stick to their goal, much like a peer member in a weight loss program) also increases longer-term collaborative improvements.
Heidi K. Gardner, PhD. is a distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School, and was previously a professor at Harvard Business School and a consultant at McKinsey & Co. She is the cofounder of the research and advisory firm Gardner & Co. and the author, alongside Ivan A. Matviak, of Smarter Collaboration.
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