Differences only make a team smarter if it puts them to use – otherwise they split it.
A team of different people knows more and sees more than a team of people who are all alike. That applies to visible differences such as background, age and gender, and to task-related ones such as field, experience and way of thinking. But this reservoir does not work by itself. It has to be tapped.
The team principle in detail
Four steps through the principle: understand, check, connect, apply. Open any topic to read more.
The explanation“Putting them to use” means that different knowledge is voiced, examined and connected.
“Putting them to use” means that different knowledge is voiced, examined and connected.
- That is demanding, because it means follow-up questions, objections and longer conversations.
- The same differences can also have the opposite effect.
- People quickly sort one another into “us” and “them.”
- Then they listen to their own side and stop listening to the other – and the knowledge goes untapped.
Read closelyWhat the principle says – and what it doesn’t
Diversity is an opportunity, not an outcome. Whether it pays off depends on how the team works with the different knowledge its members bring.
- It does not say
- That unused diversity inevitably divides. Often it simply has no effect. On average, studies find almost no direct link between diversity and performance.
- That diversity replaces ability. The popular claim that diversity trumps ability – that a mixed group beats a group of the best – does not stand up to scrutiny.
- Strictly speaking
- The gain shows up above all in complex, novel tasks and with task-related diversity. In routine work there is little to be gained.
The signs3 signs that the principle is at work · 3 that it is missing
- Differing views are actively sought out and examined.
- Who speaks depends on the topic, not on which group someone belongs to.
- The solution visibly contains contributions from different corners.
- The same people always sit and talk together.
- People talk about “them” – the new hires, the tech people, the other site.
- Decisions are made in one camp and announced to the other.
The research6 sources: 3 theories, 3 meta-analyses · 1998–2024 · with research limitations
- low
- moderate
- high
High for the conditional form of the statement (diversity does not work by itself), moderate for the strict either-or.
- 1998Dora C. Lau & J. Keith Murnighan
The concept of the fault line: when several characteristics coincide, a team splits into subgroups more easily than when differences are scattered.
- 2004Daan van Knippenberg, Carsten K. W. De Dreu & Astrid C. Homan
Categorization-elaboration model: any kind of diversity can help or harm. It helps when the team thoroughly processes task-relevant information; it harms when splitting into camps gets in the way.
- 2004Lu Hong & Scott E. Page (2004) · Abigail Thompson (2014)
Hong and Page use a model to claim that randomly mixed groups can beat groups of the best. Thompson shows that once corrected, the theorem is trivial and that “diversity” in the model has no demonstrated connection to human characteristics.
- According to the meta-analyses, the normal case is neither “smarter” nor “divided” but “no difference.”
- The “otherwise they split it” part is not supported as an inevitability: dormant fault lines harm performance only once they are activated.
- The claim that diversity trumps ability has been mathematically refuted (Abigail Thompson) and cannot serve as evidence.
Read more: what the research shows
Research describes two opposing processes. Daan van Knippenberg, Carsten K. W. De Dreu and Astrid C. Homan combined them in the categorization-elaboration model: diversity helps when a team thoroughly processes task-relevant information (elaboration), and it harms when splitting into camps (social categorization) disrupts that processing. The meta-analysis by Aparna Joshi and Hyuntak Roh finds virtually no overall effect on average; circumstances decide. Hans van Dijk, Mariëlle L. van Engen and Daan van Knippenberg show that job-related diversity helps above all with complex tasks and innovation. Dora C. Lau and J. Keith Murnighan coined the term fault line. Sherry M. B. Thatcher and colleagues found that fault lines harm performance only once the team perceives them.
The originFrom team research · not from John C. Maxwell
- 1998OriginFrom team research
Earliest source: Dora C. Lau & J. Keith Murnighan
- 2001For comparison
John C. Maxwell’s The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork has no law on diversity within a team.
The related team principles04 Position · 10 Communication · 13 Safety · 15 Dissent
The principle provides the precondition for “Position” and needs “Communication”, “Safety” and “Dissent” for differences to be put to use.
In tension with it is “Identity”: a strong “we” can flatten differences.
A shared goal (“Direction”), by contrast, bridges fault lines.
The action steps5 steps: Name the differences that matter for your team’s task
- Name the differences that matter for your team’s task: Who knows or sees something the others don’t?
- Actively bring that knowledge into the meeting. Make a point of asking those who look at the matter differently, and have their view examined rather than just heard.
- Watch out for fault lines. When several characteristics coincide – such as discipline, age and location – deliberately mix working groups and seating across them.
- Put the shared goal above group membership. A goal that everyone needs bridges the camps.
- Use mixed teams where the task is new and complex. For routine work, the effort isn’t worth it.
The questions for your team3 questions for your team conversation: What knowledge or perspective do some of us have that is too rarely asked for when decisions are made?
- What knowledge or perspective do some of us have that is too rarely asked for when decisions are made?
- Where does a line between “us” and “them” run in our team – and what keeps it alive?
- For which upcoming task do we really need our differences?
Take time for one question at your next team meeting. Talk about it openly and note down what you take away from it.
The picture to rememberTwo groups of different colors stand apart, with a fault line running between them.
- Two groups of different colors stand apart, with a fault line running between them.
- They mix, connections form across the line, and the center glows gold.
What the Team Principle of Diversity looks like in practice
Mathematicians, Chess Masters, Puzzle Solvers
From 1939 on, Bletchley Park recruited mathematicians, linguists, classicists and chess masters – in 1942 even a “Daily Telegraph” crossword competition helped in the search. Codebreakers and language experts worked as a chain: what one group made readable, the other had to understand and put into context.
Political Opponents at the Same Table
On December 17, 1959, Switzerland’s Federal Assembly elected a government according to the 2:2:2:1 formula – seven seats for four parties that fought one another in parliament. The formula held for 44 years; the years from 2003 to 2008 show what happens when the rule breaks.
“Black-Blanc-Beur” Wins the World Cup
On July 12, 1998, France beat Brazil 3–0 – with a team under coach Aimé Jacquet whose family histories reached into many parts of the world. In the semifinal, defender Lilian Thuram scored both goals; in the final, the team won even when down to ten men.
