Cultivating Diversity to Maximise Innovation

Transcription

1 Imagine Yur Wrkplace Cnference, 1 June 2017, Trnt, Canada Transcript f Lightning Talk by Cultivating Diversity t Maximise Innvatin Gd mrning everyne! It is lvely t be here with f yu as we discuss hw t bring ut the mst innvative slutins n ur teams by cultivating the diversity f thinking styles and perspective differences. My experience is based n caching expatriates while they create their wn respectful team cultures that cme tgether t slve cmplex prblems n prjects. My aim is t share with yu what I ve learned while wrking with hundreds f expatriates ver the last 12 years and the lessns I ve learned in my 30 year internatinal life! Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth Canadians are Plite What des that mean? say please and thank yu? 2 2 Canadians are Plite When I first meet my expatriates, they tell me that they have either heard r been tld that Canadians are plite. Their expectatin frm me is that I will tell them exactly what that means t everyne n their team. What des that lk and sund like? What wuld yu answer? Is it that we as Canadians are aplgetic? Is it that we d nt like cnflict r extreme psitins during arguments? Is it that we My answer t this questin is that it depends! They need t learn hw t d their wn cultural due diligence in rder t find ut what this means t their team members. 1 June 2017 Glbal 1

2 Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth Grwth Hw d yu Cultivate Diversity? Thinking style differences Differences in Values and Behaviral expectatins fr respectful interactins Amygdala respnse (what shuts peple s brains dwn) 3 3 S, what is a cultural due diligence and hw can we link it t cultivating diversity n ur teams? Since time is limited, I will nly fcus n tw aspects: Thinking style differences and hw t use the Values Applied tl t uncver what key values mean t each member f the team. Nw fr thinking style differences. Here are the main steps in a due diligence: 1. Be aware f the different thinking styles thrugh a cultural selfassessment. 2. Be able t recgnise different thinking styles by listening t what team members say and hw they rganize their thughts. 3. Value each style. Knw that at different stages f a prject different styles are mre effective. Nw fr the values and behaviurs. What drives and triggers team members based n their behaviural expectatins (fr example, what des it mean t be treated respectfully in different cntexts? What makes them feel safe? What behaviurs are they lking fr? What are the underlying values that drive these behaviurs?) Finy, the Amygdala respnse. Hw many f yu have tried t lk inside yur wn head and n matter hw much yu try t visualize yur answer yu get is blankness. This is the amygdala respnse. It happens when yu are stressed. We want t minimise this! 1 June 2017 Glbal 2

3 Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth Grwth Awareness f Perspective Differences I m als here t talk abut perspective differences when an expatriate cmes frm anther cuntry t lead a team in a cmplex prject. Hst ffice perspective Hme ffice perspective Glbal perspective (headquarters) 3 3 The hst ffice perspective is based n what the receiving team let s say a Canadian team believes is imprtant fr a prject. The hst ffice has prcesses, values, beliefs and behaviurs that have evlved based n its unique circumstances and stakehlders bth at the ffice and the greater natinal cntext. The hme ffice perspective is the ffice the expat just left let s say it is a French ffice. The expat wuld have wrked n a number f prjects in France with a French team in an ffice that was nt glbal headquarters. This expat wuld have develped a perspective that they believe t be true based n their experiences. Nw fr the glbal headquarters perspective. They need t knw that prject participants in ffices in different parts f the wrld understand that their prjects impact glbal headquarters. They care abut the results. Fr example, last week I was wrking in a mine in nrthern Ontari with a Brazilian cuple. They had cme frm glbal headquarters. Their success will depend n hw they will be able t bridge the Nrthern Ontari mining peratins with glbal peratins. They need t understand the different perspectives. They will need buy in. I will talk abut this in mre detail in a later slide. Fr Fr Yur Organizatinal Grwth Cmmn expat bjectives Turning arund prly perfrming peratins Increasing the market share Streamlining glbal peratins Transferring technical knwledge Building up lcal leadership pipeline t take ver peratins nce expat leaves Aligning crprate cultures after an acquisitin 5 5 What are cmmn expat bjectives? Turning arund prly perfrming peratins Increasing the market share Streamlining glbal peratins Transferring technical knwledge Building up the lcal leadership pipeline t take ver peratins nce the expat leaves Aligning crprate cultures after an acquisitin. 1 June 2017 Glbal 3

4 As yu can imagine, thinking style differences, values and what they mean t the prject participants will play an imprtant rle in hw these bjectives are met. Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth Grwth Thinking style differences Deductive Inductive Analytical Systemic Let s dive int thinking style differences mre: As yu can see there are tw cntinuums. N ne fits perfectly n ne end f the spectrum r the ther. It ften depends. But I still want us t be clear n what these different styles mean when prblem slving. It is nly then that yu can listen fr thinking style differences. Deductive prblem slvers, prcess infrmatin by rey drilling dwn by asking 4 4 why? Why has smething wrked/nt wrked befre? Why d we need t d this? What underlying theries might help understand this prblem? Inductive prblem slvers find best practices. They wuld ask themselves hw has ur cmpetitin dealt with this prblem befre? Fr example, in manufacturing culd we use the Tyta Prductin System? Analytical prblem slvers fcus n the details and wrk thrugh the issue in a linear fashin. In ther wrds, wrking thrugh prblems step by step in manageable chunks. Systemic prblem slvers fcus n the big picture. Hw des this prblem impact glbal stakehlders? Hw d we align what we d here with glbal headquarters? 1 June 2017 Glbal 4

5 Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth Values Applied Tl Behavirs Why? Underlying value(s) Nw that I ve talked abut hw peple prcess infrmatin and fine slutins, I want t talk abut the rle f Values and the expectatins peple have abut hw the team shuld behave in different cntexts. Objective? I created the Values Applied Tl as a means f making team members aware f their wn expectatins. It is nly by 7 7 starting with thinking abut yur wn behaviural expectatins, why it is imprtant fr peple t behave that way and what value drives these behaviurs that peple can start listening fr values n their wn teams. It als helps individuals understand what drives and triggers them. In ther wrds, the ver bjective is t raise awareness, have a transparent cnversatin and thughtfully create a respectful team culture that is safe and leverages thinking style differences and respects peple s values. Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth Values pertaining t Wrk Interactins Prfessinalism/gd wrk ethic Respect Quality f Wrk Lyalty Beynd the cmpany values, what ther values impact wrk interactins n prjects? Prfessinalism/gd wrk ethic Respect Quality f wrk Lyalty Transparency Transparency What is mst imprtant when ding this exercise is understanding the prject, the 8 8 key phases and the participants. The better the behaviural examples, the mre peple find that this exercise resnates and is valuable. 1 June 2017 Glbal 5

6 Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth While n assignment what des the hst ffice team need frm the expat? Listening t histry Ging back t differing perspectives what des the hst ffice team need frm the expat? Listening t histry Listening fr values Valuing differences and bridging Listening fr values Valuing differences and bridging 9 9 Remember we talked abut the histry and hw each hst ffice is unique. What has wrked r nt wrked in the past? It is imprtant t acknwledge and celebrate successes. This is hw change can cme abut. This is als hw expats can understand and cultivate the diversity f perspectives. Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth While n assignment what des the expat need frm hst ffice? Buy in Supprt Insights Expertise What is Buy In? It means that the hst ffice rey wants the expat there. They believe that they will add value rather than destry what already exists. Withut buy in the expat will nt receive the supprt they need frm the hst ffice. The insights they have abut the cntext and histry. The expat needs the team s expertise t slve the prblem. Finy, they need the hst team s engagement June 2017 Glbal 6

7 Fr Fr Yur Yur Organizatinal Grwth Cnclusin Values Thinking style differences Perspective differences Diversity= Innvatin T cnclude: hw d we cultivate diversity? We take the time t rey understand what behaviurs are expected, why and what values are linked t them. We understand and leverage thinking style differences and finy we understand that there are at least three perspective differences linked t expatriate assignments which need t be bridged. It is by understanding, valuing and leveraging this diversity that we arrive at innvative slutins. Thank yu fr yur time and attentin! 1 June 2017 Glbal 7