DEI in Product Series: Why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matter
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Product Series Organizational Success & High Performing Teams: Why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matter
Earlier this year, BPMA conducted research into the state of, and impact of diversity, equity and inclusion on product teams. This is the first in a short series of blog posts on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in Product. First, we will explore the impact of DEI on the workplace overall.
Organizational success and high performing teams are something that everyone wants and yet many struggle to achieve. These teams do not magically appear. Instead, they are constructed through intentional inclusiveness. A good starting point is defining the type of success you want your teams to pursue.
Although organizational success is often defined in financial terms, it does not occur in a vacuum. Success requires the full engagement of employees who need an environment that is the catalyst for that success. As illustrated by the exodus of employees that are part of the “Great Resignation,” employees want an environment that is sympathetic to their needs and concerns. This includes a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where all workers can bring their whole selves “to the office” and be embraced as valued and respected contributors to the success of the organization.
As product leaders, we’re charged with building high performing teams. But, how do you create a high performing team? Recent research gives us insight to this question:
In 2019, McKinsey conducted research as part of its Diversity Wins: How inclusion matters report. The leading consulting firm found that the financial results for companies in the top quartile for ethnically diverse executive teams were 36% more likely to have above average profitability than companies in the fourth (lowest) quartile. The study goes on to show that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above average profitability.
In 2016, the New York Times Magazine article titled What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team (by Charles Duhigg) discussed Google’s Project Aristotle – a multiyear research study of high performing teams. Google’s work concluded that “what distinguished the ‘good’ teams from the dysfunctional groups was how teammates treated one another,” and how they are able to foster psychological safety within the group. Examples of shared behavioral traits of good teams include: Equal speaking time for all team members; high “average social sensitivity”—an awareness of the feelings of other team members based on “tone of voice, expressions and other nonverbal cues”; team members exhibit mutual respect - they care about the well-being of each other.
In 2016, Harvard Business Review published an article Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter (David Rock and Heidi Grant, authors). Drawing from the London Annual Business Survey of 7615 UK based firms, Rock and Grant found that the “results revealed that businesses run by culturally diverse leadership teams were more likely to develop new products than those with homogeneous leadership.”
Research has demonstrated that teams achieve success and high performance by incorporating diverse membership. Additionally, these teams create a safe environment that nurtures mutual respect and equal communication for all. BPMA has conducted its own research in how product organizations are composed and how they are (or are not) delivering a supportive environment to cultivate a diverse workforce. This research is covered in more detail in the next (second) blog in this blog series.