Project People - Are We All the Same?

This is not about diversity in the usual sense. Not a question of ethnicity (although it could be) or national origin (although it could be) or race (although it could be) or any of the other uses of the word that are "normal".

For some Project work, this will be heretical. For some Customers, this will seem foolish. For some Project leaders, this will be insane. But, here it is anyway.

First, a mental excercise.

1. Gather your team together. In reality or mentally or by reviewing a list of their names.
2. Do they all have similar work experience? Similar previous companies? Similar previous Projects? 
3. Is their education level similar? Similar degrees (or lack of degrees)? Similar schools?
4. What else is alike about them? 

Often, in doing this exercise, we often see that they are homogeneous.

• The software Project team has similar coding experience and they've all worked on similar development Projects in the past.
• Members of the accounting team all are (or are in the process of becoming) CPA's.
• Everyone on the manufacturer's Project team has 10-15 years of manufacturing process improvement using the Toyota Production System.
• The Customer likes her construction team because they've all built projects just like hers before - at least 5 times.

(Objection - before you race ahead, YES, I want an experienced physician to diagnose my illness and treat it - a real Medical Doctor from an accredited school with the proper Board certification, etc. YES, there are certain areas where exact experience and an exact background is not an option.)

For many of our Project teams, life and death are not the issues. Have we limited the results of the team by limiting our thinking about who is and who is not "allowed" to be on the team?

Here are some things to consider:

• Could someone who has demonstrated leadership in other areas, have a leadership role on your Project? Why? or Why not?
• Can that recent graduate from art school who hasn't been working in construction for 30 years, but wants to build, contribute to your construction Project?
• How can the woman that always has what seem like weird ideas (usually because that's NOT how we do it here) make your Project better.
• Who says that a junior level engineer with 1.45 years of experience can't add to the value of the team?

So, if we're all the same - same background, same experiences, same industry, same schools - are we getting the absolute BEST for our Projects?

Next time, when there an opportunity (how about now?), try someone "different".
Someone who doesn't look that same.
Sameness leads to boring.
To mediocre.
To nothing new.