Heterogeneous teams are better, especially for creative work
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 4:14 am
Thesis 1: Without offline contacts, homogeneous teams are productive, especially when performing more standardized work
The study shows that homogeneous teams are particularly productive when they carry out standardized work. I have seen this for a long time. I often have very clearly described work and can divide it up among the team in Jira or Kanban boards as well as ticket systems. The team distributes the work in the morning and by the evening the queue or board is empty. Because the team is quite homogeneous, there are hardly any arguments or conflicts. Also because the teams are very similar (mindset, values, etc.) there is often no need for any offline contact (specifically: real meetings) to work well and productively. You don't have to have much understanding for the other team members - because you think almost exactly the same. I notice that these teams are very productive in operations, for example.
Thesis 2: With offline contact,
Now we come to the opposite. The team is very heterogeneous and there are many insurance email list different characters and expert views. Arguments and conflicts are inevitable and it is important to put yourself in the other person's shoes - how do they think and feel and what do they mean by certain statements. But it is precisely this constructive dispute that leads to new innovations and high levels of creativity. The study also shows this and says that an initial meeting in real life is very important for the productivity of these teams. An example is the construction of a microchip with experts from many areas of technology and science.
Thesis 3: New teams benefit from offline contacts, but existing teams hardly
The last thesis summarizes the first two theses. Both types of teams are based on trust. Sven Laumer shows that teams need trust to work together. But what kind of trust is exactly needed and is there only one kind of trust?
Contact purely via Zoom without a real meeting creates what is known as cognitive trust. Cognitive trust arises from collaboration and is based on the competence and reliability of the other person. This type of trust is sufficient for standard work in homogeneous teams. It is enough for me to know that my team member is doing the work - i.e. Jira tickets.
The study shows that homogeneous teams are particularly productive when they carry out standardized work. I have seen this for a long time. I often have very clearly described work and can divide it up among the team in Jira or Kanban boards as well as ticket systems. The team distributes the work in the morning and by the evening the queue or board is empty. Because the team is quite homogeneous, there are hardly any arguments or conflicts. Also because the teams are very similar (mindset, values, etc.) there is often no need for any offline contact (specifically: real meetings) to work well and productively. You don't have to have much understanding for the other team members - because you think almost exactly the same. I notice that these teams are very productive in operations, for example.
Thesis 2: With offline contact,
Now we come to the opposite. The team is very heterogeneous and there are many insurance email list different characters and expert views. Arguments and conflicts are inevitable and it is important to put yourself in the other person's shoes - how do they think and feel and what do they mean by certain statements. But it is precisely this constructive dispute that leads to new innovations and high levels of creativity. The study also shows this and says that an initial meeting in real life is very important for the productivity of these teams. An example is the construction of a microchip with experts from many areas of technology and science.
Thesis 3: New teams benefit from offline contacts, but existing teams hardly
The last thesis summarizes the first two theses. Both types of teams are based on trust. Sven Laumer shows that teams need trust to work together. But what kind of trust is exactly needed and is there only one kind of trust?
Contact purely via Zoom without a real meeting creates what is known as cognitive trust. Cognitive trust arises from collaboration and is based on the competence and reliability of the other person. This type of trust is sufficient for standard work in homogeneous teams. It is enough for me to know that my team member is doing the work - i.e. Jira tickets.