People with different training and experiences can teach one another, combine ideas and solve problems. Knowledge and skills are exchanged through explanation, observation, practice and feedback.
Knowledge includes understanding facts, ideas and how something works. A skill is the ability to do something. A colleague might explain a method, demonstrate it and help another person practise until they can use it independently.
Different perspectives can reveal problems or solutions that one person would miss. Working together can improve the quality of a service or product and develop people's capabilities. Exchange can go in both directions: someone may teach one skill while learning another.
A diverse team does not automatically share expertise. Time, communication, willingness to listen and access to useful tasks matter. Attribute expertise to people's training and experience, rather than treating it as an inborn feature of a nationality or ethnic group.
Worked example: Two colleagues investigate a machine problem
Mei trained in machine maintenance in Singapore. Diego trained in data analysis overseas. Mei explains when a machine's stoppages occur; Diego shows her how to compare the records. Together they test an alert, and each later teaches colleagues part of the method.
- Mei contributes practical knowledge of the equipment, while Diego contributes an analysis method. Their different experiences help them investigate the same problem.
- Explanation and joint testing show how the knowledge is shared. Later teaching gives evidence that the method can be passed on.
- This is an exchange between people with relevant expertise, not proof that all people trained in either country have those abilities. More evidence would be needed to measure how much the alert improved performance.
Watch out for this
Hiring an expert automatically transfers that person's skills to everyone nearby.
Identify the opportunity to learn and the process used. Look for colleagues practising or applying a new method, not only the expert's presence.
Check your understanding
A team includes people with different qualifications. Which evidence most clearly shows that knowledge or skills were exchanged?
- Its staff list shows several places of birth.
- A manager says diversity always guarantees better results.
- After demonstrations and joint practice, colleagues independently use a method that was new to them.