Diversity in

Teams
Team Building for Diverse Work
Groups
Chapters 5 & 6
 Building Multicultural
Teams
What do you think of the article?
Companies are realizing that multicultural
teams are important
Fostering a team culture that is fully inclusive,
supporting and nurturing all members
Leader responsibilities include (see
handout)
Having common goals
Use diversity as a resource, not a challenge
Establishing ground rules!
 Chapter 5:
Diversity Issues within the Team
Next step - move beyond awareness to
explore issues that impact diverse teams
Issues usually fall into one or more of the 3
categories:
Values, perceptions, & expectations
These issues represent important aspects of
culture
First impressions based on visible features
may be misleading
Must move beyond that to underlying issues
 Values, Perceptions &
Expectations
Each team member is to fill out the Values,
Perceptions & Expectations Assessment (pp.
92-94)
Then each of you should discuss among your
teams how you are positioned on each scale
compared to your teammates
Did you differ from your teammates on a number
of dimensions?
Can you see how someone else may differ from
you on these dimensions?
 Values, Perceptions &
Expectations
Values: beliefs, attitudes, behaviors
Each person comes with a unique set of
values that are work-related (work
ethic, authority)
Perceptions: the ways that people
see situations & the distinctive
qualities of others
Can often determine the expectations
people have of themselves & others
Expectations: what behaviors we
expect from others & ourselves
 Business Cultures &
Etiquette
Read the handout

Reflect
Have you ever found yourself in a
situation where you committed a
cultural faux-pas?
Have you ever found yourself in a
situation where someone elses cultural
rituals/customs made you
uncomfortable?
 Chapter 6:
Develop Skills that Make a Difference
Communication is KEY
Interpersonal skills that enable your
team to capitalize the team diversity
You need a strategy to communicate
with other team members in a
meaningful way
You need to recognize and check
assumptions
You need to be able to resolve conflicts
Model of Communication

medium

medium
 Communication
Communication is a 2-way process
It involves attentive (active) listening &
responding
All communication involves a speaker, a
listener, & a medium
Each of these components may have cultural
baggage attached to them
Remember to:
Focus not only on the message, but the messenger
(this may influence how the message is being
delivered)
Show interest by paying attention & avoiding
distractions
 Check for Understanding
As a speaker:
Clarify the purpose of the communication
Make the message clear and concise
Avoid idioms/analogies
Ensure that no misinterpretation exists
Follow up with open-ended questions (not just
do you understand?)
As a listener
Pay close attention to the speaker
Acknowledge the message by paraphrasing or
repeating
Respond in a non-judgmental manner
 Responses
Possible paraphrasing/repeating
responses include:
In other words
So your main concern is
So what youre saying is
If I understand you correctly,
So you feel that
So you think that
 The Medium
Face-to-face: can garble the message by
Voice intonation
Eye contact
Gestures & other body language
Phone conversations can be affected by
Accents, interruptions, silence & abruptness
Written communication (e-mail, fax,
memo)
Avoid words with double meanings or that
could be culturally offensive
 Checking Assumptions
Assumptions can block open & honest
communication
Examples include:
Soft-spoken people are timid & insecure
People with accents are not competent
Women are too emotional
To challenge assumptions, do the following:
Identify what your real assumptions are
Do not assume that one member of a group
represents an entire group
Consciously ask yourself questions to gather new
data
Be willing to change your ideas of others
 Conflict Resolution
1. Acknowledge that conflict exists
2. Identify the real conflict
Core & emotional issues (e.g. self-esteem)
3. Hear all points of view
Encourage quieter team members
Avoid blaming focus on facts & behaviors, not
feelings & personalities
4. Explore ways to resolve conflict together
5. Gain agreement on, and responsibility for, a
solution (joint problem solving)
6. Schedule a follow-up session to review the
resolution (introduce accountability!)
 Exercise

Each person should answer questions

1 to 3 in your workbook (pp. 72-73)
Then spend a few minutes in your
teams discussing the questions
Ask your teammates if they can
identify how they can help you
communicate better (question #3)