The concepts of diversity and inclusion are paramount to collaboration across teams and
organizations. Diversity refers to the presence of differences in people, such as race, gender, age,
culture, abilities and experiences, whereas inclusion reflects the establishment of an atmosphere
where all people feel valued, respected, and supported.
When teams are diverse, they offer various perspectives, ideas, and ways of solving problems, which
often leads to more creative and meaningful solutions. A blend of people from a diversity of
backgrounds will push one another to think outside of norms, developing opinions without
retribution. Furthermore, this aspect helps to hold back groupthink, in which teams make decisions
without critically considering alternatives.
Inclusion is just as important to collaboration because it allows everyone to contribute irrespective of
their merit. Once team members feel included, they will, in a greater capacity, bring forth their ideas
and engage and contribute collaboratively, which positions the team in a state of belonging- all
aspects of collaboration that improves contributions, reinforces morale, trust, and ultimately benefits
collaboration within teams.
Inclusive environments also lessen the challenges that typically are present as barriers to
collaboration, such as biases and stereotypes. When a team feels their individual contributions are
acknowledged, they ultimately have more engagement and sense of conscientiousness to commit to
the team and its standard.
In summary, diversity and inclusion are ultimately the aspects in collaboration because they present
opportunities for a wealth of ideas, encourage a culture of openness, and substance of validity of
diverse perspectives and input.
