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The magic of
cognitive diversity
Research has shown that closing generation gaps increases retention and engagement, reduces the cost of attrition and protects your talent pipeline.
But this is just half the story. The real magic in helping different generations work effectively together is cognitive diversity. Where multiple perspectives are combined to generate fresh perspectives and new insights.
What does this look like? Mix the experience of a long-serving leader with the fresh perspectives of a new team member and imagine what innovative new ideas could arise. In mathematical terms, the equation might look something like this:
Experienced hands + Fresh Eyes = Innovative Ideas
But this isn’t just about pure innovation. It also extends to problem solving. Here, those fresh eyes may be able to more effectively challenge the status quo, while the experienced hands may ensure that the solutions proposed are workable within the business context.
As Matthew Syed highlighted, in his book Rebel Ideas, cognitive diversity is not only a force for good but also avoids grave mistakes. Highlighting the danger of homogeneous teams he writes:
“When you are surrounded by similar people, you are not just likely to share each other’s blind spots, but to reinforce them…it is easy to become ever more confident of judgements that are incomplete or downright wrong”
The risk is that teams lacking in cognitive diversity risk forming judgements that “combine excessive confidence with grave error”.
Age is often a rich and overlooked source of cognitive diversity in many businesses. So how effective are you at intergenerational working?
At genpotential we help shine a light on what you are doing well in helping different generations work effectively together, as well as identifying what you could be doing even better.
Get in touch now at info@genpotential.com or download our whitepaper for insights.
References:
Deloitte (2022) – The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z and Millennial Survey
https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/about/people/social-responsibility/genzmillennialsurvey.html
Omni (2022) – Why Culture Contribution is More Important Than Culture Fit
https://www.omnirms.com/why-culture-contribution-is-more-important-than-culture-fit/
Harvard Business Review (2014) – Why Good Managers Are So Rare
https://hbr.org/2014/03/why-good-managers-are-so-rare
Gallup (2019) – This Fixable Problem Costs U.S. Businesses $1 Trillion
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/247391/fixable-problem-costs-businesses-trillion.aspx
