In our work transforming our organisations, sometimes as an industry we appear to have forgotten that teams are still made up of individuals. That there is an “I” in team after all. That we are different to one another. That sometimes we need to work in different ways or different environments to each another.

The diversity that helps create amazing teams and products may ironically be being drummed of us by our own practices and environments. Inadvertently creating a mono-culture when far from being a weakness, our diversity is our biggest strength.

Perhaps we have moved from an “old school culture” (one that focuses too heavily on the written word, on working alone and thinking things through carefully up-front) to a more agile culture (that replaces these with exclusively open-plan spaces, intense collaboration, thinking on one’s feet and lots of audio and visual noise). Neither of these fit everyone all of the time.

In addition, as we work in more cross-functional teams and/or cut across organizational boundaries we will need to find ways to work together whilst still respecting our differences.

This talk then is about embracing diversity of thinker. About making our collaborations more inclusive. About experimenting with how we can create teams, spaces and practices where people can turn up authentically and have their differences not only supported but celebrated.

Dr. Sallyann Freudenberg is an agile consultant and trainer who assists companies in transitioning to more nimble, customer-centric and human(e) ways of working. She holds a PhD in the Psychology of