Exercise to Identify and Leverage Team Member Diversity

One of the key benefits of diversity is that it allows us to achieve MORE simply by engaging those who happen to have different skills, abilities, expertise, etc. in certain areas than we do. It’s a shift from lamenting the abilities we (or they) DON’T have to activating the resources already available in the group to ‘bridge’ the gap.

In that way, pretty much any exercise that allows people to share some bit of ‘specialized’ knowledge about themselves (e.g. their love of, or skill in, music, art, theater, gardening, cooking, planning a vacation, water skiing, eldercare, astronomy, mathematics, technology, etc.) that results in others saying, “Huh! That’s interesting – I didn’t know that about them!” would help make the point. Call that Part 1.

Then, in Part 2, ask people to identify what TPIs each team member naturally brings to the table so that a similar, “Huh!” reaction or, better still, a “Yes, I can see that in them, too!” from others, results.

Then, as Part 3, ask everyone to embody the TPI attributes recognized in them, by others, as you ‘bridge’ the conversation back to them discussing a relevant work issue in this new, more intentional, way.