Core Session 4: People and Leadership

Building diverse teams is crucial in complex environments, requiring inclusion, cultural awareness, and strong leadership to foster trust and collaboration.

Diverse teams are essential in today’s world. Tapping into a broad range of perspectives is not just optional, but necessary to address complex challenges. Organizations must move beyond rhetorical commitments to diversity, going further to adopt actionable strategies to ensure meaningful inclusion.

Cultural differences require careful navigation. While diversity enhances decision-making, it can also lead to friction. Successful teams must build trust and align on shared goals while being mindful of local cultural considerations.

Strong leadership is key to fostering diverse teams. To inspire collaboration and trust within teams, leaders must create environments that encourage open feedback and challenge the status quo. Additionally, the media plays a crucial role in promoting diverse viewpoints within the broader community.

Competition and cooperation should go hand-in-hand to foster a culture of inclusive collaboration.

Competition without cooperation can be destructive. A conducive environment that fosters inclusive collaboration is essential. Leadership should cultivate a culture that promotes positive-sum collaboration, rather than a zero-sum mentality.

Leaders must seek diverse perspectives and ask difficult questions. Encouraging differing opinions leads to better decision-making and prevents groupthink. Leaders should create spaces where dissent is valued, and explicit communication should be used to bridge gaps and enhance internal coordination.

Gen Z values shared principles, transparency, and collaboration. The younger generation’s definition of a good leader is one who is empathetic, listens, takes responsibility, and prioritizes collective success over individual gains or purely financial outcomes.

Leverage intellectual arbitrage and embrace failure to build a culture of experimentation, interdisciplinary approaches, and meritocracy.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fostering innovation. Creating space for experimentation and learning from mistakes, as demonstrated in Silicon Valley, is critical for growth and development.

Intellectual arbitrage encourages interdisciplinary solutions. Borrowing ideas from different fields, such as applying AI to energy transition, drives innovation and fosters problem-solving across diverse industries.

Pursue meritocracy over loyalty. Prioritizing competence ensures sustainable growth, while rigid loyalty to principles can sometimes impede progress. Leaders should strike a balance between meritocracy and education to improve opportunities for long-term success.