Great Minds Thinking Alike Doesn’t Foster Innovation

"Great minds think alike" – I don't know how many times I've heard that in my life. In fact, I probably spoke those very words dozens of times.  But new research is questioning how effective sameness is as a competitive strategy.  One recent study suggests that similar minds might make management easier, but it doesn't breed innovation.   

IBM learned that lesson over a decade ago. In the 1980s they had an ad that said "Great minds think alike." IBM changed their ways.  They eventually changed the ad to "Great minds think unalike."   

Unfortunately many other organizations, and especially the managers within them, still see the same light. They still tend to hire people who think like them.  They build teams of people who agree with them too.  Individuals who challenge them or the status quo are hushed and encouraged to give up their personal identity for the good of the team.  Diversity is rhetorically supported at hiring but in practice it is often just an effort to meet quotas.   

An article published in Inc. magazine highlights a recent study, which set out to discover how employee diversity within workgroups affects the group's overall performance.  According to Bill Swann, a professor of psychology at University of Texas at Austin where the study was completed, groups with members who "externalized their personal identities" (i.e. students who expressed individuality) were more successful than groups with members who tended to downplay their personalities. 

A few experts offered advice how diversity within a company can be used as a strategic advantage to "create better innovation, better products, and ultimately, a better company." 

1. Culture. Before an organization will reap the rewards of a diverse work environment, it's essential to have an infrastructure set up that not only supports diversity, but also celebrates it. You just can't offer training and expect change.  Diversity must become part of the organization's DNA. 

2. Hiring.  Creating a successfully diverse work environment that fosters innovation comes down to one thing: hiring the right people. It's important to find out what that person values, and how they, as an individual, can bring a specific skill set to the organization. 

3. Diversity. Diversity can be a loaded term, filled with connotation about race and gender, but that's not always the case. Personality, talent, and experience are also important traits to consider when creating a diverse work group. And an increasing challange and opportunity is age or generational diversity. By integrating the experience of Baby Boomers and Generation X with young technology-savvy Millenials, process can be improved and productivity increased with diverse perspective and new skills.  

4. Leadership. The major challenge of achieving an effective diverse pool of employees is not filling quotas or hiring a certain amount of people from a specific demographic. The hurdle managers face is creating the environment where people feel comfortable expressing diverse opinions. The catalyst for fostering innovation falls upon the shoulders of managers and CEOs.