4 ways diversity builds better business

Smart, innovative teams aren’t built from a group of people who have the same ideas. It takes a wide variety of perspectives and ideas to ensure real innovation and big ideas happen in business. In fact, diversity and inclusion continue to prove that they are a significant driver for positive change in businesses of all sizes. And if it’s not something you’re prioritizing in your own business, it might be time to make a change.

Diversity of thought can be one of the most powerful ways to ensure the success of your business. It can inspire new ways of thinking, spark creativity, and push the boundaries. In fact, here are 4 ways diversity can build better businesses both now and into the future.

When you first built your business, you likely had ideas about who your target market was and the work you wanted to do to answer their pain points. However, once your business grew, you may have found the original scope of your business quickly began expanding. And once you started to grow, you may have found entirely new audiences who believe in your business. So where do you go from there?

The truth is, it’s simply not possible to relate to every demographic that chooses your business. That’s where diverse backgrounds are beneficial. When you can hear from a wide range of experiences, knowledge, and even skill sets, it can help you avoid bad ideas that could harm your business as well as uncover the great ideas that will set you apart. You need different perspectives to connect to those audiences, otherwise you’re at risk of alienating an entire demographic of people who want to believe in your business but can’t.

If you have a group of leaders within your business who all look, act, and think just like you, you may be hindering your company’s capabilities because of what is known as “group think.” When you have team members who don’t think exactly like you do, it can give you perspectives into how other people look at things and remove that temptation to settle into what you know.

By tapping into different viewpoints and experiences, you can start to tackle problems and look for solutions in ways you may not have seen on your own. That’s one of the great things about diversity. It gives you insights into your blind spots and helps you see things you may have otherwise overlooked.

Inclusion refers to the opportunities you give your team to feel they are respected in the workplace. When your team members feel that their thoughts and opinions are valued, they are more willing to jump in to own a project. They’re more likely to bring new ideas to the table because they have a safe place to do so.

This kind of willingness to speak up and be heard can bring world-changing ideas to the forefront of your business. And businesses that are willing to not just hear those ideas but offer the resources to bring the ideas to fruition as well, will outperform companies that don’t focus on inclusion. Every time.  

Research continues to support the concept that diverse groups are better for business because they tend to feel welcome to bring new ideas to the table. In addition, these groups tend to be more productive, and they do more for your business than groups that look generally the same. The more unexpected insights that are brought to the table, the more people are willing to look beyond their own biases to consider new viewpoints.

What happens when you have different perspectives to contemplate? It opens your entire business to those innovations that can propel your business forward. New ideas can find exciting ways to enter new markets. It can create new services, answer customer needs, and introduce new products. It’s exciting to bring those into the market as your team delivers.

Where do you begin when it’s time to build that diverse team? Start by looking at gaps that may exist in your team. Consider the types of backgrounds you may be missing on your team. Go beyond gender and skin color, and think about experiences, educational background, and even cultural differences. Seek out people who want to challenge the status quo so they can help breed innovation within your company.

Just as important, make sure your internal culture is a place that values diversity and inclusion and celebrates new ideas. Be clear about expectations and what you want from your team within this inspiring environment. Encourage your team to be collaborative, open-minded, and willing to take risks while hearing different perspectives. If you do these things your business will become the type of company where people want to work.

Diversity is so important to a modern business that failure can be a major result of not taking it seriously. As you work to grow and scale, make sure diversity is at the heart of your business so you can succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Do you have insights into how diversity has positively influenced innovation within your business? Share your story in the comments below.

Jim Allen is a business leader and entrepreneur who has built one of the top-producing real estate groups in the Triangle. He is President of The Jim Allen Group, which is consistently named one of the top real estate teams in North Carolina and even North America.