How can you promote adaptability in diverse teams?
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— The LinkedIn Team
Adaptability is the ability to adjust to changing situations, expectations, and demands. It is a key skill for employees who work in diverse teams, where they need to collaborate with people from different backgrounds, perspectives, and styles. Adaptability can help teams overcome challenges, embrace opportunities, and foster innovation. But how can you promote adaptability in diverse teams? Here are some tips to help you and your team members become more adaptable and effective.
One way to promote adaptability is to create a culture of learning in your team. This means encouraging team members to seek feedback, learn from mistakes, share best practices, and pursue new skills. A culture of learning can help team members develop a growth mindset, which is the belief that abilities can be improved through effort and challenge. A growth mindset can enhance team performance, motivation, and resilience.
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Alok Rana
Director at Aspire Consulting Group
As we know that....Adaptability in the workplace” can be defined as the ability to adjust and be flexible to change in working environments. Also, within the workplace, it is important to have adaptable employees that are able to be flexible when new and challenging situations arise. By giving employees across races, genders, and generations constructive ways to challenge themselves, respective organizations will better engage their employees and help them grow in meaningful ways at global interface. There are different ways to improve employee engagement through diversity-focused initiatives and operational processes at workforce. Diversity in the workplace means that a company has employees that vary by many different characteristics.
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Boureima GUIRO
Manager Général
Pour favoriser l'adaptabilité, j'ai comme piliers : la Flexibilité, la communication et aussi la mise en place d'occasions de partage. Je les utilise au sein de mon équipe et le résultat est louable.
Another way to promote adaptability is to embrace diversity and inclusion in your team. This means valuing and respecting the differences and similarities among team members, and creating a sense of belonging and trust. Diversity and inclusion can help team members appreciate different perspectives, leverage diverse strengths, and avoid groupthink. To embrace diversity and inclusion, you can use strategies such as setting clear and inclusive goals, communicating openly and respectfully, and celebrating team achievements and contributions.
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Naveed Qaiser
Supply Chain Management || Warehousing & Logistics Expert || Planning Expert || Procurement Expert || Team Leader & Coach
In Japanese calture morning GEMBA is best practice to interact team and know their views on different issues. It is also good to engage all team.
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Venu Chinchkhede
HRBP Head @ Dimensionless Technologies | HR, Communication Processes
1.Organize team-building exercises that encourage collaboration and problem-solving. Diversity in activities can help team members adapt to different working styles and approaches. 2.Leadership should demonstrate adaptability by being open to change and incorporating new ideas. When team members see leaders adapting, they're more likely to follow suit. 3.Offer training programs to enhance skills that support adaptability, such as problem-solving, resilience, and emotional intelligence. engrossing cross-cultural activities or experiences to broaden understanding and acceptance of diverse perspectives.
A third way to promote adaptability is to encourage experimentation and innovation in your team. This means supporting team members to try new ideas, methods, and solutions, and rewarding creativity and risk-taking. Experimentation and innovation can help team members discover new possibilities, solve problems, and create value. To encourage experimentation and innovation, you can use techniques such as brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and iterating.
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Nathalie M.
Global Sr. Category Director - Procurement & Supplier Success - Contingent Workforce Management & Advisory
Promote the fact that there is not one way of getting to the end goal. We all have diverse backgrounds, expertise, and a unique way of thinking and operating, which leads us to view problems and solution for them uniquely. One might choose A to M to Z path, and another one might decide to start at C go to P, then go back to G and finish up at Z. If team members and their leaders embrace the fact that we will have different perspectives, ways of operating, timing, but we will all end up at destination eventually, we would have promoted diversity of thought process and adaptability.
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Sohaib Hasan
UAE Golden Visa Holder | Brand Ambassador @BaggageTAXI-Dubai | Drive for Innovation | Passion for Technology
- Foster a culture that values and celebrates diverse perspectives and ideas. - Encourage team members to explore new approaches and solutions. - Provide a safe space for open dialogue and constructive feedback. - Support continuous learning and development opportunities. - Recognize and reward innovative thinking and adaptability. - Set clear objectives and goals while allowing flexibility in how they are achieved. - Lead by example by embracing change and being open to new possibilities.
A fourth way to promote adaptability is to provide flexibility and autonomy in your team. This means giving team members the freedom and responsibility to choose how, when, and where they work, as long as they meet the team objectives and standards. Flexibility and autonomy can help team members adapt to changing needs, preferences, and circumstances, and balance their work and personal lives. To provide flexibility and autonomy, you can use tools such as flexible schedules, remote work, and self-managed teams.
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Sammiya M.
Business Legal & Employee Relations Expert
Flexible, hybrid working environment, consider unlimited paid vacation, train employees on accountability and responsibility management.
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Abdul Tawab
FinTech Client Support | Technology Operations Expert | END USER SUPPORT | Service Desk | VIP/Executive Support Lead
Flexibility and autonomy promote adaptability in diverse teams: Remote work, flexible hours boost productivity and engagement. Team members choose projects/tasks that align with their skills and interests. Flexible schedules/deadlines empower team members to work in a way that suits them best. Breaks/movement help team members stay focused and productive. Resources and training help team members develop skills and succeed in their roles.
A fifth way to promote adaptability is to model and coach adaptability in your team. This means demonstrating and teaching team members how to cope with change, uncertainty, and ambiguity, and how to use adaptability skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and emotional intelligence. Modeling and coaching adaptability can help team members learn from your example, receive guidance and support, and improve their confidence and competence. To model and coach adaptability, you can use methods such as sharing your own experiences, providing constructive feedback, asking open-ended questions, and offering resources and opportunities.
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Munmun Desai
Dy. Managing Director/40 under 40 Investment Professional/Top 10 Women Leaders in Finance/Top 100 Women in Finance
Empowering teams to make informed decision is the best tool to foster individual and companies' growth. Team members who take ownership and responsibility will always stand out.
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Abdul Tawab
FinTech Client Support | Technology Operations Expert | END USER SUPPORT | Service Desk | VIP/Executive Support Lead
Showcase open-mindedness, experimentation, and resilience to change. Create a safe space for team members to share ideas, learn from failures, and grow.
A sixth way to promote adaptability is to review and reflect on team performance. This means evaluating and measuring the results, processes, and behaviors of your team, and identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Reviewing and reflecting on team performance can help team members learn from their outcomes, recognize their achievements, and identify areas for improvement. To review and reflect on team performance, you can use approaches such as setting and tracking key performance indicators, conducting surveys and interviews, and facilitating debriefs and lessons learned sessions.
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Sohaib Hasan
UAE Golden Visa Holder | Brand Ambassador @BaggageTAXI-Dubai | Drive for Innovation | Passion for Technology
- Regularly assess team progress toward goals and objectives. - Identify both individual and collective achievements and areas for improvement. - Encourage team members to provide feedback and insights on their experiences. - Analyze data and metrics to measure performance. - Reflect on challenges and successes, considering how to replicate or avoid them.
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Linh Nguyen (Linsie)
OD Manager | HR Manager | C-OKR Practitioner |
In my experience, something I've found helpful: 1. Before reviewing and reflecting on team performance, let's communicate the "role model" or good & expected behaviors. 2. There are a lot of ways to review and reflect on team performance (set KPI/OKR/OGSM etc., survey, interview,....) Technique is important. However, the way you give feedback is the most impactful thing. We should focus on behavior, not the person. We can try SBI model (Situation, Behavior, Impact) and build a development plan or recap lessons learned for our employees.
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Nisha Nair
Business HR Head & Leader for Talent, Recruitment & People Operations at Sagarsoft (India) Ltd
Making diverse teams adaptable means creating a lively environment where different strengths work well together. Encourage learning about different cultures to understand each other better. Use technology like virtual tools (Slack/ project platforms) helps everyone collaborate no matter where they are. Be flexible in how team works & ready to change plans quickly when needed. Connect experienced team members with new ones to share knowledge & be open to new ideas. Celebrate everyone's achievements to show that each person's skills are important. e.g. Pixar & Google - do this well i.e. mixing different skills to create cool things. When diversity & adaptability go hand in hand teams can handle changes well & come up with amazing ideas.
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Danish Sultan
Deputy Director HR | Championing Culture, Talent & Business Strategy for Organizational Excellence
Adaptability in diverse teams is nurtured by creating an environment where every challenge is seen as a learning pivot. To bolster this, encourage 'flexible mindset' workshops, celebrate small wins of adaptability, and integrate cross-cultural competence into your team's skill set. One practical approach is to rotate meeting leadership, allowing each member to guide discussions and decisions, fostering a culture where adaptability is the norm, not the exception. This hands-on method not only equips teams with the necessary tools to adapt but also embeds the adaptability mindset into the fabric of daily operations.