Season 3: Episode 3 – The Glass Door of Team Diversity

 

 

Do you know that feeling of watching someone walk into a glass door? You can see it’s going to happen; you can’t warn them quickly enough not to do it, then you cringe when it happens and laugh even though you shouldn’t.

I had a “walk into a glass door” radio moment recently. A colleague was telling the story of a 40 something, beer drinking, all male breakfast show doing a powerspot for a client whose product is lifestyle supplements for menopause. You can almost visualise these three guys walking with swag and bravado crashing through the glass door, not only shattering their egos but any hope of a successful on-air engagement for the client. I found myself laughing, not because it’s funny but because of the absurdity of it all.

Gone are the days when execs in suits dictate what consumers should see, feel, experience or purchase. The marketplace has shifted with consumers being savvier than ever before. Our teams need to shift with more momentum and pace than the market. We need to better understand the consumers lived experiences and what matters to them. Our ability to immerse brands into the daily narrative of audiences relies on our ability to intimately appreciate the rhythm of their daily lives.

It\’s more than replacing the exec in a suit though.

We need to build creative teams that represent the fabric of our communities and consumers. A team that is built with individuals who are moulded and influenced through different life experiences, family structures, educational journeys, work history, cultural roots, economic considerations, language ability and life goals.

In my experience, it’s not about demographics. The powerspot above is a perfect example, it could easily have been executed by a 40 something male. It would however rely on his ability to immerse himself into the world of needing supplements for menopause and that ability isn’t found around a braai drinking beer.

Diverse teams are interesting and interested. If you want to create solutions, consider innovation and be creative, you need to be interested in the world around you. From knowing where you come from, what makes you tick and why the sky is blue, diverse teams are a juxtaposition of individual thoughts and ideas. Diverse teams clash, they don’t fight. Diverse teams listen to each other and extract value from collaboration. Diverse teams are fierce in understanding the challenge and united in solutions.

Mediaheads360’s diversity lies in the team of people who are our fabric. We are all passionate about solving problems for clients, we just see, think, react, and action things differently. As a team, we relish our collective diversity that empowers solutions for clients.

Next time a colleague wears a shower cap to a meeting, be thankful. Know that they are the person opening the glass shower door, not the one walking right through it.