They measured the groups’ diversity in terms of how they “engaged with and reacted to change” and asked those groups to complete exercises that “require the group to formulate and execute a strategy to achieve a specified outcome, against the clock.” They found that those groups with the least cognitive diversity were the most likely to struggle to complete the task, and the ones with greater cognitive diversity completed it more quickly. While the wound specialist is consistent with what we’d expect, the makeup artist inclusion was quite different. April is Celebrate Diversity Month, and we wanted to take a moment to recognize the occasion by highlighting diversity and inclusion and the ways our, With everything going on in American society these days, it’s easy to see why diversity and inclusion are hot topics. Reference: Washington Post, Meet the outsider who accidentally solved chronic homelessness. These viewpoints are informed by the different experiences, cultural backgrounds, and gender identities that employees bring to the workplace. Ready to learn more about what Unconscious Bias is, and how it can affect your workplace? Examples of different “world view” types of diversity are: Cultural events; Politics; History knowledge; Now we have introduced you to the four major diversity type dimensions and examples of them, in the next chapter, we will discuss each of the diverse types. Cognitive diversity is a forum of diversity, which reflects the variation in . Our Civil Treatment Workplace training is designed to approach civility in a thorough, comprehensive way that changes workplace culture for the long-term. But you can also try to bring out the cognitive diversity that might already be hidden amongst your existing team. Leaders can also encourage cognitive diversity in their day-to-day practices. They then looked at the winning solvers. What did Billion Dollar Companies Look Like at the Series A? Predicting solar particle storms. The study found that Millennials, in particular, viewed diversity and inclusion through the lens of teamwork. This term captures a larger group of students who, along with many assets, bring with them cognitive profiles that require faculty to rethink traditional modes of teaching. But cognitive diversity is an effective weapon against the stagnation of groupthink and the dangers of homogeneity, especially at the top level. But the issue has vexed city officials everywhere. An area unrelated to toxicology. Of the latter research, some shows a negative relationship (greater diversity means poorer group performance, less diversity means better group performance) and some shows a positive relationship. The peppers shrink and fracture at the stem. Select Accept cookies to consent to this use or Manage preferences to make your cookie choices. If you have more questions, please reach out to us at ELI. In a previous post, the benefits of crowdsourcing were described as follows: When trying to solve a challenge, what is the probability that any one person will have the best solution for it? Download the eBook! Foldit Gamers Solve Riddle of HIV Enzyme within 3 Weeks, Decision flow for customer feature requests, Use these three jobs-to-be-done tests to…. Implications for teacher education are addressed. Reference: Edward de Bono’s Lateral Thinking: An Introduction. A woman with a PhD in protein crystallography using methods common in her field. Manufacturers wanted to split diamonds along their natural fractures without creating new ones. But even more important is diversity of thinking. He had no connection to NASA. beliefs (regarding cause-effect relationships) and variation in preferences (regarding individual, team and . The aim of more cognitive diversity at work is more innovation and better teamwork, which gets better results faster for everyone. Increasing the level of cognitive diversity on your staff might be a little more complicated than increasing the levels of demographic diversity (although that, too, can be a complicated process that takes place over years and not months). These mechanisms concentrate liquids in a system. The solver? Typically, these untrue thoughts are negative. Narrative Fallacy. The end goal of this kind of teamwork and idea equity, by the way, benefits the employer too. Significant limitations in adaptive skills — the basic conceptual, social and practical skills needed for everyday life 3. tive dissonance theory into instruction on diversity creates an awareness of dissonance (i.e., metadissonance) and has the potential for reducing resistance to diversity issues. Cognitive diversity is a vital contributor to innovation. What is cognitive diversity? Predicting solar particle storms. In some cases, this pressure to conform may even be happening subconsciously. How diversity helped: The pharma firm then ran a crowdsourcing campaign, and within a few the mystery was solved. Employers want to create vibrant, creative teams that better reflect the diversity of the people their products and services strive to reach. And it has proven remarkably successful thus far. Cognitive distortionsare thoughts that our minds create in order to convince us of something that isn't true. Overhauling your workplace culture to one where dissent and healthy conflict are welcomed won’t happen overnight. These younger workers expect to work in an environment that encourages all types of voices and experiences, including their own. This is an example of consciously seeking solutions outside the domain of the problem. What is cognitive diversity? Some research shows that diversity has no relationship to group performance, and some shows that there is a relationship. Hildebrand, who had taken some music classes, recognized an opportunity to improve the quality of music. As a pleasant byproduct, civility training can also keep your company or organization in compliance with rules and regulations that prohibit discriminatory or harassing behavior at work. If they could finally figure out the structure, that would allow them to develop drugs to fight AIDS. People get stuck in knowing what they know. “Tackling new challenges requires a balance between applying what we know and discovering what we don’t know that might be useful. For example, an individual in a professional occupation is more likely to make his or her own decisions and is also more…show more content… The same employee may have had close relationships with subordinates before they became supervisor. Cognitive diversity refers to including individuals with unique, diverse viewpoints and who use cognitive exploration models when solving a problem in the workplace. Measures of cognitive distance and diversity are constructed not from data of cognition per se, as cognition at this scale is unobservable, but from observable reasoning or model building. Shinn and Ofiesh (2012) created the term ‘cognitive diversity’ to describe the vast array of cognitive traits found in academic settings. Cognitive Diversity Hypothesis. The Affective or Feeling Domain: Like cognitive objectives, affective objectives can also be divided … And the rest is history. Leaders need to recognize the importance of cognitive diversity and be fully on board with efforts to increase it. This view contrasts with those of older generations, who tend to view diversity and inclusion through the lens of fairness, equity, and civil rights. You love city life and can’t imagine living … They did not have a win under their belt or deep experience in their field, but were passionate about their product and had a unique perspective on how to serve their target customer. The survey measures 12 different aspects of cognitive diversity, ranging from protected characteristics to socio-economic background and tenure, across seven inclusivity metrics. For years, they were assumed to be leftover, useless artifacts of our natural evolution. So when no one is around to object or even present other ways of looking at a problem, this tendency toward groupthink gets even stronger. Hence physiologists assumed they had no purpose. One that stands out: Three-out-of-four of the companies in our survey were built and run by people who were doing it for the first time. Reference: Harvard Business School, et al study, The Value of Openness in Scientific Problem Solving (page 24 pdf). There’s no cognitive diversity.”. What were their domains of expertise? Problem: Human kidneys have tubules. How diversity helped: 3M brought together people from three different areas: an expert in wound healing; an animal surgeon; and a specialist in theatrical makeup with expertise in adhering materials to skin. You can change your cookie choices and withdraw your consent in your settings at any time. This tendency to conform will be especially pronounced if employees have learned through leaders’ words and actions that conflict and disagreement are not tolerated. It’s a more inclusive, collaborative, and open space where people feel empowered to create and implement ideas. An engineer with no special biological expertise saw things in a total different way. We must begin to encourage a dialogue [on diver-sity]; one without acrimony but with civility. The woman with the PhD brought a completely different perspective to solving the problem. Utah employed the method, and eliminated homelessness. Reference: Scientific American, Foldit Gamers Solve Riddle of HIV Enzyme within 3 Weeks. Knowing when these storms are going to happen is important for their safety. They consulted with multiple experts in toxicology, but none could answer the question. Cognitive diversity, or diversity of thought, focuses “on realizing the full potential of people, and in turn the organization, by acknowledging and appreciating the potential promise of each person’s unique perspective and different way of thinking.” The simple melody isn’t enough anymore. Along with helping teams solve problems more quickly and effectively, cognitive diversity also prevents the serious, innovation-killing side effects of the absence of cognitive diversity. He saw something different. Bringing together people who have different expertise, heuristics and perspectives to solve problems has shown value time and again. However, there’s another type of workplace diversity that employers should be paying attention to. Proteins are core building blocks, and they fold in very specific ways. Problem: When in space, astronauts are at risk from solar particle … Certainly understanding these characteristics could go a long way toward identifying promising ventures. A retired telecommunications engineer in New Hampshire saw the issue as one involved magnetic coupling between the sun and the Earth. Disability began before age 18 Different functioning may affect an individual’smemory, problem-solving abilities, attention, communication, linguistics, a… Partly by more participants; increased shots on goal. Cognitive Diversity Hypothesis. But there is one key element that can be overlooked as companies seek to become more diverse: cognitive diversity, or the differences in how people think and process information.. These fractures don’t show up until the diamond is in use. Social cognitive theory was developed by Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura. The theory views people as active agents who both influence and are influenced by their environment. He was located far from NASA operations. Moving for love. You and your partner live in a large city. Shasta notes here what others have found. When everyone “knows what we know”, it’s time to expand your options. Problem: What is the ‘look’ of success in start-ups? Some may not consider themselves to have disabilities even if they do experience such functional limitations. I thought it would be useful to collect some cases that highlight the value of cognitive diversity. However, he saw things differently with the homeless. But cognitive diversity can still deliver big benefits, as we’ll explain. Problem: For a decade, scientists have tried to understand the structure of an enzyme that is critical to reproduction of the AIDS virus. The narrative fallacy Narrative Fallacy One of the limits to our ability to evaluate … Another was a formerly homeless person. It sounds intense, so before we start perhaps it may be a good idea to explain what it means. This balance is exactly what cognitive diversity provides in the workplace. How diversity helped: One day, an engineer looked at the loops. Alison Reynolds and David Lewis eventually concluded that the biggest factor in whether or not teams worked together effectively was greater diversity in the ways participants approached problem-solving. Their strategies were instrumental in helping scientists to understand the enzyme, and initiate work to neutralize it. Giving permanent housing to the homeless. And employees need to understand the importance of listening and apologizing, two of the most essential skills when it comes to creating a civil and welcoming workplace. There are other natural tendencies toward groupthink in companies and organizations, as well. While there are many examples of individuals who blazed a trail for others, in the U.S. military the pathfinder among pathfinders is the Army’s buffalo soldiers, the men of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments who enjoyed significant military success and paved the way for future integration of military units by women, African Americans and other minorities. “Cognitive diversity” refers to the wide variety of ways your employees think and solve problems. They developed a breakthrough product to prevent surgical infections. For them, “inclusion” means working in a collaborative environment where everyone’s input and experience is valued. First, it is less visible than, for example, ethnic and gender diversity. Cognitive diversity is less visible. Suddenly, tubules were no longer evolution’s leftover junk. Collected below are ten cases of where cognitive diversity has shown its value. Having a fresh perspective is important in tackling a category as people with industry experience are often constrained by what is ‘not possible’ and why it ‘won’t work’. Humans inevitably had inconsistencies, either in voice or instruments. The theories are powerful, but we respond strongly to specific examples. Some research shows that diversity has no relationship to group performance, and some shows that there is a relationship. How diversity helped: NASA cast a challenge on InnoCentive, exposing the problem to much broader types of expertise. But these are the ones we regularly turn to for help. Not to solve homelessness, with its complex set of causes. She brought a particular expertise that turned out to be relevant to solving the problem. And in workplaces, employers have. Lacking any prior experience in solving the homeless issue, Tsemberis assembled a team of people who also lacked any experience in addressing homelessness at scale. Phoenix applied it and eliminated chronic homelessness among veterans. This is an example of cognitive bias, and it happens subconsciously. Professor Scott Page’s The Difference is a terrific book outlining the frameworks and value of cognitive diversity. But as the study’s authors point out, Millennials are indicating that they’re ready for the next step: The type of inclusion where employees of all backgrounds work together seamlessly and in harmony for the best business outcomes. Nowadays there are numerous techniques, strategies and tools to help slow down age-related cognitive decline and deterioration, and maintain functionality and autonomy, improving the quality of life of people. They were seen for what they were: vital parts of our kidneys’ operations. It’s a simple mathematical reality: the odds of any single person providing the top answer are low. For example, If person A is 100% Innovative, Person B is 100% Adaptive, and Person C is right in the middle at 50% of each – then the Innovator will see Person C as Adaptive, and The Adaptor will see Person C as Innovative. You can try to recruit and hire for cognitive diversity, sure. How diversity helped: Researchers added the AIDS reproduction enzyme structure to the online game FoldIt. But unless a special effort is made to cultivate cognitive diversity, your company or organization may find itself falling behind competitors and out of touch with the people it’s trying to serve. The solver was not in the space field. These metrics include interpersonal interactions, flexible working, communication … They looked at the companies way back when they were raising their Series A. Employers need to pay attention to how ideas about diversity are evolving, especially now that Millennials make up the majority of the workforce. This FastCompany article cites a study from Deloitte and the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative (BJKLI) that analyzed the responses of 3,726 individuals from a variety of backgrounds on the topics of diversity and inclusion. Namely, when everyone on staff tends to think the same way and approach problems with the same mental tools, it tends to create an echo chamber. In this case, insights about the enzyme’s folding were provided by FoldIt gamers (not scientific experts) within three weeks. In fact, they believe that this cognitive diversity is even more important than identity diversity in predicting whether teams will work together effectively. Feel free to use them for your own work as needed. Reference: Forbes India, The importance of diversity of thought for solving wicked problems. HR professionals may also use the term to refer to different work styles, learning styles, personality styles, perspectives, backgrounds, or even cognitive levels within the workforce (for some employers, this includes recruiting employees with autism or Down Syndrome). His training was to treat the mental health of people. The process was laborious, but needed to ensure high quality recordings for release. Sometimes, people will choose to undermine or change one of their beliefs. When you think of workforce diversity, you probably think of the kind of diversity you can easily see — or at least that you can identify easily. Municipalities spend money on treatment, overnight shelter, food. One type of diversity is occupation. For instance, some may have disabilities from birth, an illness, disease, or accident, or they may develop impairments with age. Cognitive distortions can be a normal sign of development or a typical response to a stressful situation. Cognitive disabilities, also known as intellectual functioning, are recognized by the EEOC when an individual meets this criteria: 1. Problem: A pharmaceutical company’s R&D group was conducting a discovery study for a new drug. For more information, see our Cookie Policy. How do we get around this? They found a few different traits. Reference: Eric von Hippel, et al, Performance Assessment of the Lead User Idea Generation Process (pdf). Which is the crux of cognitive diversity. Problem: Music producers spent significant time putting together music from multiple takes. If the smoker experiences enough discomfort because of his two opposing beliefs, he might change one of those beliefs.For example, he might begin to think, “smoking doesn’t do much harm.” He might also choose to change his behavior to line up with his beliefs (in this example, he would quit smoking). It turns out autocorrelation is also good for detecting pitch in music as well. And the last, Hilary Melton, was a poet and a survivor of incest. This can be quite damaging, because respectful conflict keeps your company or organization innovative and in-touch. By using this site, you agree to this use. Patrick Thibodeau, News Writer. Fresh eyes came up with a solution that challenged the dominant thinking in the field. The ability to leverage diversity in experiences, culture and background is a strong driver of innovation and global success, according to a Forbes survey of executives. There are specific therapeutic approaches that help mi… The solution came in an area quite different than diamonds: green peppers. Problem: Surgery exposes patients to infections, even with all the efforts to maintain a clean surgical environment. One was a recovering heroin addict. With professional training, employees will learn — and more importantly, practice — the appropriate ways to respond to conflict and bad behavior at work. They couldn’t understand the toxicological significance of a particular observed pathology. Problem: In the process of cutting diamonds, new fractures are introduced into the diamond. “Intuitively, this makes sense,” they write. There are many reasons why people may be experiencing varying degrees of auditory, cognitive, physical, speech, and visual disabilities. Intellectual functioning level (IQ) below 70-75 2. The power of having cognitive diversity in the workplace is the same power that companies try to attain through strong leadership and great communication. That’s why civility training can be a good first step toward boosting cognitive diversity examples on your workforce. Specifically, even though employees might instinctively approach a problem differently than their peers or have a conflicting perspective, many of them keep quiet and agree with the status quo in order to advance their own careers. Reference: New Yorker Magazine, The Gerbil’s Revenge. Plus, because employer discrimination against marginalized groups is illegal, companies must make a special effort to ensure that member of these groups are given a fair chance to apply and be promoted. One person says ‘Pfft, that’s a fad’ and everyone else agrees. And they received a solution much better than anything they had ever developed. Then the pressure is rapidly dropped causing them to burst at the weakest point and the seed pod to be ejected. They found that people whose domain of expertise was six degrees away from the domain of the problem were three times likelier to solve the problem. Diversity of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and age are all things that modern workplaces are striving to increase. We and third parties such as our customers, partners, and service providers use cookies and similar technologies ("cookies") to provide and secure our Services, to understand and improve their performance, and to serve relevant ads (including job ads) on and off LinkedIn. In a study of 180 Spanish corporate managers, we explored perceptions of diversity and found that depending on who is answering, diversity usually means one of three things: demographic diversity (our gender, race, sexual orientation, and so on), experiential diversity (our affinities, hobbies, and abilities), and cognitive diversity (how we approach problems and think about things). In this case, knowledge from one industry – oil exploration – was applied to an entirely different field – music. The cognitive diversity was a conscious application of expertise from one realm to another. He realized they were actually part of something called a countercurrent multiplier. How diversity helped: This is a case of investigators consciously looking at different realms to find a solution, applying the TRIZ method. He took a job to treat homeless people in the early 1990s. We like how Ted Bauer sums it up in his Medium article: “What happens in a group-think company when something new/big arrives, like mobile or digital? He introduced Auto-Tune to the industry. It’s idea that a lot of conference and keynote speakers are talking about at the moment. Just to treat individuals, which fit his expertise. He developed a technique using a mathematical model called autocorrelation. “Cognitive diversity” refers to the wide variety of ways your employees think and solve problems. This requires cultivating a workplace culture where conflicting viewpoints are welcomed and listened to with respect. Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT): How to Know What is Best for Your Organization, How to Avoid a “Diversity Backlash” at Your Company, FMLA Leave May Be Taken by Employees Serving as Parents, Even If Not the Biological Parents or Legal Guardians. Reference: Harvard Business School, et al study, The Value of Openness in Scientific Problem Solving (page 11 pdf). Problem: When in space, astronauts are at risk from solar particle storms. His fresh perspective brought new insight to the problem. Problem: Homelessness has proven to be an intractable, chronic issue for cities.
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