What's your strategy for developing a diverse team?

1 Assess your current situation

The first step to developing a diverse team is to understand your current reality. How diverse is your team in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, culture, education, and background? How inclusive is your team culture and environment? How do you measure and monitor diversity and inclusion in your team? How do you address any gaps or issues that arise? You can use various tools and methods to assess your team's diversity, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, audits, benchmarks, and metrics.

2 Define your goals and actions

The next step is to define your goals and actions for developing a diverse team. What are the benefits and outcomes you want to achieve? How do you align your diversity goals with your team's vision, mission, and values? How do you communicate your goals and actions to your team and stakeholders? How do you allocate resources and responsibilities for implementing your actions? You can use a SMART framework to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals and actions for your team's diversity.

3 Recruit and retain diverse talent

One of the most important steps to developing a diverse team is to recruit and retain diverse talent. How do you attract and select candidates from different backgrounds and groups? How do you ensure that your recruitment process is fair, transparent, and unbiased? How do you onboard and integrate new hires into your team culture and norms? How do you provide opportunities and support for career development and growth? How do you recognize and reward diverse contributions and achievements? You can use various strategies and practices to recruit and retain diverse talent, such as outreach, referrals, job descriptions, interviews, mentoring, coaching, feedback, and recognition.

4 Foster a culture of inclusion

Another crucial step to developing a diverse team is to foster a culture of inclusion. How do you create a sense of belonging and trust among your team members? How do you promote collaboration and communication across differences? How do you encourage and value diverse opinions and perspectives? How do you handle conflicts and disagreements constructively? How do you celebrate and leverage diversity as a strength? You can use various techniques and activities to foster a culture of inclusion, such as team building, icebreakers, dialogues, workshops, trainings, and events.

5 Lead by example

The final step to developing a diverse team is to lead by example. How do you demonstrate your commitment and accountability for diversity and inclusion? How do you model the behaviors and attitudes you expect from your team members? How do you challenge and confront any biases or stereotypes that may affect your team's performance or dynamics? How do you empower and enable your team members to take ownership and initiative for diversity and inclusion? You can use various skills and qualities to lead by example, such as self-awareness, empathy, curiosity, openness, humility, and courage.

Developing a diverse team is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires ongoing effort and attention. By following these steps, you can create a diverse team that is more productive, creative, innovative, and engaged.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?