Diversity is one of the foundations needed to thrive in a corporate world. When diverse people come together, the differences in cultures, upbringing, norms, and opinions can contribute to improving services to clients and interactions with an audience. Similarly, leaders can also benefit from diversity as each input from people in a team can bring something new to the table.
Hearing the thoughts and ideas of people with different backgrounds and life experiences helps the leaders create more informed decisions and pave the path toward team development. While this dynamic can be idealistic, there can also be occasional disagreements and debates due to these differences among people.
Challenging one another and sharing different opinions are part of the brainstorming process. However, this can sometimes lead to conflict within the team, which is unhealthy. Team leaders must build a solid and trusting culture and encourage a healthy and respectful debate among team members.
Numerous responsibilities come with a leadership position, which can be challenging at times. Some ways to ensure professional development with diverse team members include setting ground rules and developing innovative strategies to help team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas.
It is crucial to be clear on the goals and missions in a brainstorming session. Being clear on the goals you want to achieve helps bring in focus on accomplishing a specific task. Besides this, being clear on what you aim to achieve through the discussion allows your team to prevent distractions and engage in a more productive conversation.
Besides setting goals and missions, reinforcing and practicing active listening is also helpful. Active listening involves the process of preparing oneself to comprehend the different verbal and nonverbal messages to ensure that you respond appropriately and understand the message as a whole.
For more details about encouraging healthy debates within your team, check this infographic from Corporate Learning Solutions.
