“Diversity trumps ability” as a sufficiently diverse, large group of non-experts often outperforms a small group of experts,” found Future Perfect author Steven Johnson. In our increasingly complex, disruptive world, we will face more situations where we’ll benefit from calling on the so-called wisdom of the crowd.
Thus it behooves us to have colleagues with very different work and life experiences, and from diverse professions and industries.
Secondarily, as a connective leader, hone your capacity to recruit and involve them to support you, as you would support them, and to work together around sweet spots of mutual interest. With that diverse network of trusted colleagues you are more able to recruit people who can see a situation from varied perspectives. Plus, when you want to attract attention and support you can recruit unexpected allies to be more compelling and credible.
Two Bonus Benefits:
Spending time with those you respect bolsters, in you, the traits you most admire in them.
Interconnectedness increases your frequency of serendipitous encounters and unexpected insights that strengthen your capacity to be a well-rounded leader and to foster faster innovation.