Since we had started our partnership with Carlotas, I've been learning a lot about diversity. In our first few workshops together, I had the impression I was more like someone in the audience than a facilitator. It didn't take me long to realize that improvisation and diversity had a lot in common. Also, I could understand more broadly how diversity could, at the same time, improve health and productivity in any kind of institution. Let me explain why:

Heterogeneous teams are more creative and innovatives. I guess we all have been through those moments when you have some dilemma or problem with someone and a simple question from this person can bring up a totally new perspective to face the situation. That is pretty similar to what happens in heterogeneous teams having different approaches for the same situation. As Albert Einstein used to say: “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” Besides, in a homogenous team, it is harder to one put someone else's shoes, and, as we know, empathy is fundamental for human centered creative processes.

Heterogeneous teams take better decisions. The diversity of mental models enriches the decision making process as the plurality of point of views prevents to take these decisions based on unconscious bias. If any decision was about to be taken using any bias or prejudice thought, the team itself can be a regulator agent to block it. The discussions are far more centered in facts than beliefs.

Heterogeneous teams stimulate members development. Real transformation and change of behaviour do not come by reading books, attending to lectures or conferences. It only comes with practice, preferably, in groups. "Leadership, like swimming, cannot be learned by reading about it," Mintzberg. Some people believe that all development processes should be done in collective. And, if it's true, nothing better than being surrounded by people with distinct backgrounds and traits. You'll not only be practicing your ability to handle with diversity, but also will receive feedbacks from different angles and aspects. Your self-development process will be much more strong than if you stick around with people similar to you.

Beyond the benefits for organizations and individuals, talk and promote diversity is fundamental to develop our society. In a time of tolerance, that the dialogue has been losing ground to violence, to understand diversity and practice the tolerance can save us from a monotonous and limited world.

I must confess that for me it has been very gratifying work with this theme. It allowed me to practice a new perspective, look the world in a different way. It also invites me to be mindful about my unconscious bias, which is not always nice and noble as I supposed. My psychologic friends frequently say that their patients often teach them more than they can teach their patients. I think we can say the same about the carrier we choose. We believe we are going to teach but we always end-up learning.

Markus in a Carlotas workshop: