Disrupt Conformity through Diverse Teaming
Disrupt Conformity through Diverse Teaming
Diversity in a team can lead to deeper thinking that disrupts the conformity that can lead to errors in judgement.
In an examination of the impact of ethnic diversity on improving error detection, Sheen S. Levine, David Stark, and colleagues designed experimental trading markets to explore the impact of ethnic diversity on deflating price bubbles. They discovered that pricing accuracy was 58% higher in ethnically diverse markets.
They found the friction sparked by the diversity in a market led to deeper thinking and greater scrutiny of other's actions, disrupting the conformity that can lead to errors in judgment. In homogenous markets, they found pricing was often less accurate, even in groups with superior pricing skills. Homogeneity fostered a false sense of confidence, making people less likely to scrutinize one another's behavior, leading to poorer decision-making.
They caution, however, that while diversity can generate productive friction that can lead to more accurate decision-making and increased innovation, if the friction is not channeled and managed effectively, it can lead to counterproductive forms of conflict.
Reference:
Levine, Sheen S., Evan P. Apfelbaum, Mark Bernard, Valerie L. Bartelt, Edward J. Zajac, & David Stark, Ethnic Diversity Deflates Price Bubbles, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), Vol. 111, No. 52, Dec. 30, 2014, pp. 18524-18529.