Meeting role play – global issue Should leaders and their organizations play a role in building ethnically diverse, inclusive and equitable workplaces? Why or why not? For this topic, I think the answer is an absolute yes. I have two reasons to support my opinion. First, Diverse teams will perform better and come up with better ideas. If your team members have different skills, backgrounds, and experiences, they are more likely to offer unique ideas and brainstorm better solutions. In fact, the Harvard Business Review found that diverse teams solve problems faster than similar people. In addition, diversity enables you to create a culture in which everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas. If you have a team of nine men and one woman, then a woman may have some dreamy ideas but leave a sense of deviation. That's a shame her idea could be the solution to an important company problem. Research has shown that if you work with a group of people with different points of view, you will be better prepared to make your case. If you think you'll be opposed, you'll think more about why your ideas are worth fighting for or hearing. Second, Diversity can help you become a global leader. You may have already worked with customers or suppliers in other countries. As your competitors scale up globally, it's vital that you do the same. With employees who speak other languages or understand other cultures, you are more likely to succeed in the global marketplace. Wattpad co-founder and CEO Allen Lau believes their success as a startup comes from Wattpad's ability to reach global markets with different employees - "In the early days of our business, my co-founder Ivan and I looked for a way to kick-start our user growth. We made very slow progress before we decided to support other languages on the app. Fortunately, we worked with people in those countries who were able to provide the help we needed to perfect our product." You need a diverse team of employees with a unique cultural background to meet the challenges from abroad and satisfy customers from other countries.
