Most business and professional people have at some time completed an assessment on their preferred style of thinking, communicating, organising and relating. We all know that people have different styles. Some people, for example, are introverted. They like to think through their ideas before they speak. Others are extroverted. They actually form their ideas with their mouths open. This is a continuum. Some people are extremely introverted or extroverted - others moderately so. On another continuum, some people are big picture, blue sky people. Others are very practical and focus on details. On a thinking level, some people think first with their hearts. Others go first to the brain and then filter things through their emotions. Some people are very organised - they love schedules and agendas. Others hate these things and avoid them at all costs.

What we know is that it takes all sorts to make a successful organization. Extroverts need introverts to listen to them and introverts are great contributors (because they think things through). We need the visionaries and the practical implementers. We need business to specify and we need IT to execute. We need those with passion and intuition and those who are more analytical and systematic.

The problem is, that while the best teams are made up of very different types of people, different types of people don't always get on. People with different preferences think differently, behave differently and use different language. This often leads to a lot of very confused communication. I recently worked with a team where there were two clear groups - one practical, analytical and highly structured group and the other a big picture, beliefs based, flexible group. Although people were listening and in many cases thought they understood, comprehension was minimal because people weren't speaking the same language. When this happens it is almost impossible for a group to overcome this situation without external help.

The solution was firstly to help people understand that they were speaking different languages and secondly to find a new common language in which communication could happen. This meant that everybody had to step outside of their comfort zone to find a new, commonly agreed way forward with a new commonly agreed set of assumptions and communication rules. This is very difficult to do without outside assistance. Raising our awareness to the limitations of our own style is sufficiently challenging, let alone knowing that our limitations clash with those of others. To find a completely new way through is a big task that takes courage and guidance.

The team in question did find a common language and it turned out that everybody was broader in their styles than they had at first appeared. By learning to stretch to meet their colleagues, they allowed themselves to be more open, which meant that the team was stronger, more diverse and more strategic. This of course is what managing diversity is all about.