Team building starts with “Who” is on the team. Your goal is to ensure you have provided the team uniquely different ways of seeing and solving problems. That’s why building diverse teams is critical to your team’s success. This guide can be used to help you build out a team with multiple perspectives and vantage points.

Hierarchical and Divisional Diversity (Scope of Responsibility)

• Senior Leadership, Middle Management and Specialists
• Organizational ‘Veterans’ and ‘Rookies’
• Business Division Representation
  • Operational Divisions/Business Divisions
  • Finance
  • Human Resources
  • Information Technology
  • Administration
  • Legal/Compliance
  • Marketing
  • Sales
  • Research & Development

Cognitive Diversity

• Educational Background
  • Ivy League / State Schools / Technical
  • Liberal Arts / Sciences / Engingeering / Business
• Variety of experience in the various functions within the organization
• Variety of experience outside the organzition, for example:
  • Heavy Industry / Professional Services
  • Retail  / Manufaturing
  • Government and Public Service / Non-Profit
  • Military / Peace Corps
  • International Cultural or Global Business Experience
• Gender and Sexual Orientation
• Personality and Temperament – Introverts and Extroverts / Data-Oriented or People-Oriented
• Generational
  • Matures
  • Baby Boomers
  • Generation X
  • Generation Y / Millennials
• Racial, Religious and Ethnic
• Socio-economic Background
• Inclusion of Different Physical Abilities – Visual / Auditory / Ambulatory / Health

Have we missed anything? What has worked in your elite, high-performing team experiences?