Here's how you can effectively manage and lead diverse teams as an executive.

What I have found to be similar across multiple cultures is that people love to share their stories. When you become interested and curious about others to the point that they are ready, willing and able to share their story with you, walls begin to come down, connections are made, and the ‘other’ and ‘different’ cease to be unknown and scary.

Go beyond the surface: Diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnicity, age, background, and more. Recognize and value all these dimensions. Rethink your vision: Does your company culture celebrate differences and empower all voices? Safe space for all: Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas and expressing themselves freely. Understand your own biases: We all have them. Self-reflection helps identify and mitigate unconscious bias in decision-making. Active listening: Pay close attention to understand individual needs and motivations. Recognize strengths: Diverse teams bring a wider range of skills and knowledge. Leverage these strengths for better solutions.

As a member of the ICF Global DEIB Committee, effective leadership of a diverse team begins with embracing the richness of backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints each member offers. Recognize diversity in all its forms, including cultural backgrounds, life experiences, and work styles. Foster an environment where every team member feels valued and understood through team-building activities, open discussions, and diversity training. Highlighting the significance of diversity in fostering innovation and problem-solving reinforces the importance of inclusivity and enhances team cohesion.

I think when we focus more on our similarities first the areas of diversity become few and far between. I think when you cultivate a culture of respect human to human, you embrace diversity naturally. When we become less sensitive to people’s diversity and embrace everyone and offer them equal opportunity the more accepted everyone feels, in my opinion. As a minority I’ve never enjoyed being singled out for my differences in fact it’s always made me feel uncomfortable even when it’s well intended.

The important thing is communication with all people, knowing people, knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are, drawing up a training plan, new learning, skills to improve weaknesses. In my work experience, when I received training, the next day I had to present what I had learned to many people and those lessons became a multiplier effect to reinforce knowledge, new techniques, the company gladly made an investment in people.

It can be really useful to set: 1. overall project objectives 2. Long term project goals 3. Short term goals 4. Individual expectations This will ensure clarity not only in the individual components, but in helping everyone understand their role and overall contribution to the big picture.

Achieving clarity in goals and expectations is crucial when leading a diverse team. Ensure alignment by setting transparent objectives and communicating them clearly. This practice minimizes misunderstandings and optimizes team efforts. Clear goals also enable team members to comprehend how their individual roles contribute to the broader organizational objectives, fostering motivation, especially in a diverse environment.

At Love Won Society international lead by Mr. Ron Giles from Salt Lake City in Utah USA we have very clear MISSION STATEMENT . This is very inspiring and helpful for us in Managing Director Training for global Humanitarian Projects : RSS, Community Assistance Centers etc . and diverse other projects that are helping to co-create GOLDEN AGE OF MANKIND .

One of the most difficult things to understand for different cultures is that all comments are welcome, no matter where they come from in terms of background, experience, roles, levels, ... Setting this from the beginning is a game changer. And this should be the main goal to set.

This might require a bit more intimate setup where you should unleash the power of 1-on-1 meetings. Ask open ended questions and find out how that person sees themselves, the work they do, colleagues, company. What is that what keeps them going and also what worries them? What they would like to see changing and what they want to have more of? These are like interview questions, but they will help immensely to start mapping things out and eventually building a very inclusive and supportive work environment.

Encourage the executive to create an inclusive environment where every team member feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their ideas and perspectives.

If the team feels inclusive and free to challenge the status quo, they will feel a sense of belonging and share open, correct, and concise feedback that can contribute to the success of the team and organization. As an executive, it is your responsibility to encourage equal participation and discourage any form of bias or discrimination. You can guide and encourage the creation of such an environment so that everyone collaborates and motivates each other to achieve common goals.

Inclusion serves as the cornerstone for unlocking the full potential of your diverse team. Proactively cultivate an inclusive culture where each team member feels valued and empowered to contribute their best work. This entails more than simply having diversity within the team; it involves ensuring that all voices are heard and respected. Foster participation, offer equal opportunities for growth, and address any instances of bias or discrimination directly and promptly.

Creating a safe space for team members to share the 'why' behind their perspectives fosters inclusion and understanding. This approach transforms simple disagreements into open and meaningful conversations about the reasons behind their beliefs on what will or won’t work.

One of the facilitators that I utilized for a diverse workforce (120 countries represented) was amazing at incorporating timeless strategies and lessons to build rapport and foster communication. When meeting in circle he would pass around a stick, and the individual holding the stick had the floor. Something ancient and sacred happened in those moments that went beyond mere standard corporate training… the little things like this make all the difference.

First, as the leader, ensure you’re consistently working on improving your own communication skills. This will help you communicate with your team more effectively while reducing any miscommunication and misunderstandings. Then, take time to learn about your team’s various communication styles and preferences, and engage in team-based training to create a standard level for your team.

Effective communication serves as the bedrock of successful leadership, particularly within a diverse team environment. Pay heed to language barriers, cultural subtleties, and varied communication preferences. Customize your communication approach to ensure clarity and accessibility for all team members. Regular check-ins and feedback sessions provide opportunities to confirm mutual understanding and promptly address any concerns that arise.

Stress the importance of clear, open, and transparent communication to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers within the team.

Curiosity is the main thing to maintain here. What are the rest of the people thinking, understanding? What is their opinion? Look for it, search. Make things happen by embracing communication and build bridges to make it happen.

I’ve tried to identify who in my team can take more responsibilities and manage them effectively. I also asked people whom I think can do more and become more senior and whether they are ok with it. I also have left people to their own thing if I see they are great at it and do not want increase their efforts. All these points are great, but they are all unique. Making these subtle adjustments and changes makes a huge difference and improves team dynamics, work efficiency and employee happiness.

A diverse team embodies a wealth of diverse skills, strengths, and perspectives. As an executive, your role is to recognize and harness these distinctive attributes for the team's and organization's advantage. Encourage individuals to assume roles or projects that align with their strengths. This not only enhances productivity but also fosters a sense of value among team members for their individual contributions.

Part of being intentional for this consists in building the tools that will enable this. Do we have an open community where individuals can feel free to share their contributions? Can we build any channel that will facilitate this? These are good thoughts to take in mind.

A leader is a learner and leads by examples. Thus, to manage a diverse team, it is crucial for a leader to foster the culture of learning and the culture of adaptation and change. Embrace new ideas and way of working with the team, and this ways you ensure a flow of healthy team dynamics within the team members. It also creates a positive and dynamic imprint of you, as a leader, onto the minds of your team members and then again they lead by this example!!

Cultural sensitivity is an other essential element when we deal with diversity. Respect to all cultures creates harmony within team.

Accents and language blunders can be off putting at times, however, magic comes in finding the humour in the moment and laughing at oneself and the situation. One example I recall was when a female worker was asked by a male coworker ‘let’s meet at half past six’ unfortunately due to the newer English speaker combined with the accent it came out sounding like ‘let’s meet up and have sex’. Clearly this was not the intention as observed in the non verbals and tonality, and EQ was high enough to recognize the blunder and have a good chuckle.

1) What a blessing to have a diverse team where differences will make each one grow in a unique way. Remember to celebrate this aspect. It is a blessing. 2) Another is to ensure company culture and values are adopted / embraced by all, regardless of where they came from, who they choose to be individually. Company culture and values will steer harmony in a diverse group.

Make sure you identify misalignment or dissatisfaction as quickly as possible. Sometimes you can get through to the core of the problem through discussions and effective conversations, but there are also instances where your gut feeling or experience tells that something is off. In such instance I only had to come to my first day of work to see that something was really off. It was that feeling when I looked at people’s faces and realised that nobody wants to be here. We turned that around, but it was an on hands one to one and team work for more than two months. The sooner you solve these things, the sooner everything else will change as well.

Accents and language blunders can be off putting at times, however, magic comes in finding the humour in the moment and laughing at oneself and the situation. One example I recall was when a female worker was asked by a male coworker ‘let’s meet at half past six’ unfortunately due to the newer English speaker combined with the accent it came out sounding like ‘let’s meet up and have sex’. Clearly this was not the intention as observed in the non verbals and tonality, and EQ was high enough to recognize the blunder and have a good chuckle.