Valuing Diversity and Building Diverse Teams

This is an open programme and an in-house training course. For further information and pricing contact [email protected] or phone on +44 20 7661 7817.

Overview

Organisations and teams perform better when they include the best people who come from a range of perspectives and backgrounds. Diversity is a valuable asset, providing a richer environment of ideas and views. Managing diversity is about recognising difference and acknowledging the benefit of having a range of perspectives in decision-making. This is supported by having a workforce and teams that are representative of the organisation’s stakeholders and customers. It is about valuing everyone in the organisation as an individual. In order to reap the benefits of a diverse workforce it is vital to have an inclusive environment where everyone feels able to participate and achieve their potential.

Leaders will develop better policies and services if they build teams that make good use of differences in perspectives, ways of thinking, and personality types.  The course addresses the challenges (as well as opportunities) that may arise from different personality types and those with different perspective working together and how to manage these challenges.

This highly interactive course goes beyond issues of legal compliance and primarily focuses on the team management issues and opportunities that arise from diversity. (There will be an opportunity to discuss the different equality frameworks in the delegates’ various countries.)

Who is it designed for?

The seminar is designed for team leaders and project leaders in the civil service and wider public sector who wish to ensure that they are making best use of the diverse perspectives and experiences in their teams.

How will you benefit from attending?

You will

  • Feel more confident in leading and managing teams in a way that makes the most of their diversity
  • Better understand the skills and capabilities required to lead and manage diverse teams
  • Be better equipped to challenge assumptions and promote a more inclusive working environment
  • Learn from the experiences and challenges of others on the event

Learning outcomes

You will:

  • Understand the team performance benefits of managing diversity effectively
  • Develop strategies for addressing the challenges of managing diverse teams
  • Gain insights into how to engage with all your team members in a way that supports their optimal performance
  • Consider how your leadership approach needs to adapt and develop in order to get the most from everyone in your diverse teams

Agenda

Welcome and Introductions

Session One

Why Diversity Enables More Effective Teams

  • Discussion about how different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives and ways of thinking can improve an organisation’s policy and operational effectiveness
  • Why diverse backgrounds can improve a team’s performance
  • Why different personality types can enhance a team’s performance
  • Cognitive biases and diversity
  • Avoiding “groupthink” and overcoming assumptions

Short Break

Session Two

Challenges of Diverse Teams

  • Delegate discussion of challenges of working with different team perspectives and how to address these challenges
  • Enabling different personality types to work together
  • Being aware of different communication styles
  • Overcoming obstacles to inclusion
  • Resolving issues that can lead to conflict and managing conflict

Long Break

Session Three

Engaging with People Effectively

  • Best practices in attitude, behaviour and language
  • Meaningful listening
  • Interacting effectively with staff and raising their awareness of good practice and its implications
  • How remote and hybrid working can affect how you need to approach staff engagement
  • Discussion of different approaches to best practice and legal frameworks in delegates’ countries

Short Break

Session Four

Effective Leadership for Building Diverse Teams

  • What a high-performing team means in practice
  • How emotionally intelligent leadership can support effective teams
  • Objective setting, working with people’s different motivations, and effective feedback
  • The power of questions to influence people and uncover assumptions
  • How to show that you genuinely value diversity
  • How can we measure success in managing diversity?
  • Delegate discussion about improving leadership

Final Questions and Close

This is an open programme and an in-house training course. For further information and pricing contact [email protected] or phone on +44 20 7661 7817.