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Dr. Jennifer Haddad Connell

5/11/22, 8:01 AM

Hello All:

In the Center for Collaboration, there is a video about diversity, and how that diversity can either be a positive or a negative attribute for a team. In thinking about your experiences of working in groups and teams, what did the element of diversity provide for your team?

For me, team members' diversity fuels creativity and represents possibilities that might not otherwise be available. In my nursing home we have diversity, but not the magnitude that we might see in a large urban area. There is enough diversity that allows us to learn from one another things about our home life and culture that we would not otherwise know. One thing that I and my employees enjoy learning about is food from various cultures. My grandparents came to America from Beirut (on my dad's side) and my co-workers generally find this interesting as some of them may have never met a person of middle eastern heritage. So I will bring Lebanese food from time to time that they enjoy eating and it's something new for them. Then I can try food that they bring that they grew up eating. My OT with whom I've worked for over 20 years is from Kenya, so we learn much about the native land of Kenya and interesting facts such as what the last name of a man's wife is, and what the children's last names are (their culture is different from ours). This is just a couple of examples of how we enjoy each other and embrace diversity – when the core respect is gained then the team work has a good foundation that should support success.

All: Can you give examples of how diversity in your work place has brought people closer together? What positives have you experienced from the diversity of your own groups?