All Lions and No Gazelles: How a Lack of Diversity Can Collapse a Team (And What to Do About It)

In the years leading up to the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, the types of people who rose to prominence in financial institutions were becoming decidedly more homogenous.  

“For twenty years, the DNA of nearly every financial institution…morphed dangerously,” Boykin Curry, managing director of the investment firm Eagle Capital told Newsweek. “Each time someone at the table pressed for more leverage and more risk, the next few years proved them ‘right.’ These people were emboldened, they were promoted and they gained control of ever more capital. Meanwhile, anyone in power who hesitated, who argued for caution, was proved ‘wrong.’ The cautious types were increasingly intimidated, passed over for promotion…This happened every day in almost every financial institution, over and over, until we ended up with a very specific kind of person running things.” 

The result of a lack of diversity in workstyle and temperament within financial institutions was dire: the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression. Without balanced teams, including both the bullish and the cautious, these firms made not only bad—but disastrous—decisions.  

Something similar happened in the fall of Enron. The energy behemoth was one of the largest companies in the United States and had been named “America’s Most Innovative Company” for six consecutive years by Fortune magazine. But Enron collapsed nearly overnight when the company’s unscrupulous accounting practices came to light. Its share price went from $90.56 in 2000 to $0.26 in 2001.  

Vincent Kaminski, a Rice University professor and former managing director of research for Enron, told of a similar culture at Enron to that of the financial institutions. He told the Washington Post, as recorded by Susan Cain in “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop talking”:  

“Many times I have been sitting across the table from an energy trader and I would say, ‘Your portfolio will implode if this specific situation happens.’ And the trader would start yelling at me and telling me I’m an idiot, that such a situation would never happen. The problem is that, on one side, you have a rainmaker who is making lots of money for the company and is treated like a superstar, and on the other side you have an introverted nerd. So who do you think wins?” 

In the case of Enron, everyone ultimately lost.  

Any ecosystem that has only one type of animal is a disaster.

All lions will collapse an ecosystem. So will all gazelles. Any team or company that only values or promotes one type of employee is similarly at risk of ultimate failure. All “rainmakers” and no “introverted nerds” took down one of the most promising companies in the United States.  

And the importance of diversity on teams goes beyond workstyle to include ethnic, racial, age and gender diversity. According to David Rock and Heidi Grant in an article for Harvard Business Review, a growing body of research shows that demographically diverse teams make better decisions:  

“Diverse teams are more likely to constantly reexamine facts and remain objective. They may also encourage greater scrutiny of each member’s actions, keeping their joint cognitive resources sharp and vigilant. By breaking up workplace homogeneity, you can allow your employees to become more aware of their own potential biases—entrenched ways of thinking that can otherwise blind them to key information and even lead them to make errors in decision-making processes.” 

Collaborating with people who think, act and sound differently from us forces us to rethink our preconceived notions. It sharpens our ideas. But it’s not natural. It’s more comfortable to be around people we easily understand. Even when we intellectually agree with the value of diversity, it’s easy to drift toward the comfortable. But actively working towards a work culture in which every unique individual contributes leads to healthier and better teams.  

Here are three ways you can encourage a diverse team of contributing members.  

1. Recognize, reward and incentivize different types of people.

Many companies financially incentivize sales roles. After all, highly motivated sales personnel can dramatically increase revenue. But equally as important to a company’s ultimate success is its product.  

Picture a small software company in which the sales team is rewarded with luxurious trips and lucrative bonuses. The charismatic, energetic, relational salespeople are dramatically and publicly rewarded. Then picture the product team. They are meticulous, analytical and relentless in their pursuit of excellence. But this less flashy group isn’t dramatically recognized or rewarded. They slowly begin to feel less valued, less important. The highest performers begin to leave, and the product ultimately becomes mediocre and riddled with bugs. That’s a company that will never prosper.  

You don’t have to be a CEO to make every team member feel valued. Think of ways on your own team—even as an individual contributor—that you can call attention to, recognize and value each type of contributor on your team.  

2. Encourage active participation from every member of your team. 

We’ve all sat in meetings in which 10% of the attendees do 90% of the talking while many sit mute. There are often gems of wisdom hidden in these team members who will never talk over their more dominant teammates. They might hesitate to contribute because of personality, or they might hesitate because of the perception—right or wrong—of whose perspective is valued on the team. But when their perspectives lie dormant, everyone misses out.

As a team leader—and even as a team member—actively engage these coworkers. Ask them, “What’s your perspective on this? I always really appreciate hearing what you have to say.” And when a coworker proposes an idea or perspective that you think is crazy, don’t say, “that won’t work,” say, “Tell me more about that.” Actively listen and seek to understand if they have an idea or piece of information that can improve the team’s direction.  

Some call this coddling. But it’s just good business sense. A team or company that only hears 10% of its voices is intellectually impoverished.  

3. Mentor—and be mentored by—people who are different from you. 

Mentoring is a powerful way to empower someone toward promotion. But when those in power primarily mentor people who are the most like them, they more firmly entrench one type of person becoming a leader. If you are a leader considering mentoring a younger professional, don’t only gravitate to the familiar and comfortable. 

Be willing to consider people who are different from you, whose background might not have encouraged confidence in themselves or in their likelihood of success. You won’t only be helping that one person. You’ll be helping your broader organization when each type of person is empowered to flourish.  

What is your next step?  

Whether you are a team member or a team leader, how do you think your team is doing? Do all types of people feel valued and heard? What are some simple steps you can take to build a more diverse team culture?