You can’t win with a homogenous team. It’s just not possible. Yet, many of us make our teams as similar as can be. We hire those who are like us. But we shouldn’t.
We won’t discuss DEI and the merits or cons of a DEI program. That’s not what this diversity is about.
Think about a sports team you love. It may be the Detroit Lions, North Carolina FC, or the Savannah Bananas.
There’s something you’ll notice. Each team is composed of diverse members.
The Detroit Lions have
- Running backs
- Tight ends
- Wide Rececivers
- Kickers
- Quarterbacks
- Defensive tackles
- Long snapper
- Offensive linemen
- Goalkeeper
- Center back
- Defensive midfielder
- Attacking midfielder
- Striker
- Winger
- Central midfielder
The Savannah Bananas have
- Pitcher
- Infielder
- Outfielder
- Catcher
- Basemen
- Center fielder
- Designated hitter
A pitcher can’t do the job of a specialized infielder. A goalkeeper won’t be as effective as a striker. A kicker won’t do the same job as an offensive lineman.
Each position in a sports team has a specific purpose. It may be to kick field goals, throw passes, tend the goal, or pitch the ball.
When you watch someone who is out of position try to do the job, you notice things don’t go as well. The ball isn’t thrown as far, the goal isn’t defended as well, or a play that should have been made isn’t.
The diversity of the team members makes the team more effective. The same can be said for your organization.
Diversify Your Team
Small businesses, especially at the beginning, give people multiple hats. The owner may run the books, make sales, and manage quality. They may have hired a production manager, but they’re juggling various aspects of the business as well.
Over time, the owner sees the business isn’t functioning well. Balls are being dropped. More importantly, the important tasks such as filing taxes, payroll, and manufacturing aren’t being done well… if at all.
You need to diversify your team. You need to find people who can fill the roles required. Most businesses will need:
- An accountant
- Operating officer
- Executive assistant
- Project manager
- Human resource manager
- Administrative assistant
The skills needed for each position are diverse and unique to the role. It’s hard to have people with the same skills doing each of these jobs.
Seek out diverse candidates. These candidates will have the skills needed to fill the specific position you’re looking to fill. Nothing more.
Why?
It’s hard to be good at everything. A jack-of-all-trades is nice to have. But it’s hard for a jack-of-all-trades to be great at any one thing they’re doing. Instead, they’re going to be good at one or two things and mediocre at the rest.
You need to bring in people with diverse talents to better your organization. Find people who excel at finances, process improvement, or people.
The more you diversify your organization, the better off you’ll be. You’ll soon find that your organization is thriving because the right people have the right skills and are in the right place.
Diverse is the way to go.
