Working in Diverse Teams

Session Blurb:

Why do some diverse teams outperform everyone else, while others struggle and fall apart? Working in diverse teams is part of everyday research and work, but it does not automatically lead to better results. This session explores why diversity can help teams succeed, and why it can also make collaboration harder. Differences in background, discipline, age, and ways of thinking can improve ideas and outcomes, but they can also slow work, cause misunderstandings, and create tension. We will look at how unconscious bias and our tendency to prefer people like ourselves shape teamwork. The session invites participants to reflect on how they work with difference and gives practical examples of how diversity can be recognised, approached, and used more intentionally.

Guest Presenter:

Dr Heini Pensar is Vice Dean at the School of Management at the University of Vaasa, Finland, where she is responsible for staff wellbeing and the…