Failure to Share Information Blocks Diverse Workplace Teams From Best Decisions

By Chad Binette May 11, 2009

Photo: Jacque Brund

Leslie DeChurch leads UCF's new DELTA (Developing Effective Leaders, Teams and Alliances) research laboratory.

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Employees from diverse backgrounds are less likely to share information with each other, which makes reaching the best decisions in workplace meetings more difficult, says a new study co-authored by a University of Central Florida organizational psychologist.

UCF’s Leslie DeChurch and Jessica Mesmer-Magnus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington found that teams of employees with diverse professional and personal backgrounds should stand to gain the most from members sharing information.

However, members of diverse teams typically search for and discuss what they have in common instead of sharing information not known by the rest of the group. That helps them strengthen their relationships, but it is bad for problem solving and trying to reach high-quality decisions, the researchers found.

“The conventional wisdom is that diverse teams have an advantage over homogenous ones, but these findings show diverse teams are even less likely to talk about the differences that are at the root of their advantage,” DeChurch said. “Diversity can only be an asset when unique perspectives are openly shared with the team.” 

DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus analyzed 22 years of psychological research about information sharing in the workplace. They reviewed studies of about 4,800 groups and more than 17,000 people.

The two researchers conducted their study at a time when corporations, law enforcement agencies and hospitals are turning more often to teams to make complex, critical decisions. The hope is that creating teams will expand the information available, enabling companies to make higher-quality decisions.

The study concluded that teams that shared new information performed better overall in their tasks. And although it is more prevalent in diverse teams, the tendency of employees to waste time discussing information that is already known affects most workplace teams.

“Working in teams offers many advantages for companies and organizations, but team members often avoid sharing new information when it is most critical for them to do so,” DeChurch said. “Team members must talk about their unique information and perspectives if they want to make the highest-quality decisions.”

DeChurch and Mesmer-Magnus also found that teams communicate better when they engage in tasks that require them to come up with a correct, or best, answer rather than a consensual solution. For example, teams communicated best when they were selecting candidates for a job opening or solving a crime.

The psychologists hope that by examining how teams have performed in the past, they can provide recommendations to help teams become more effective in the future – particularly when they face challenges such as having to work closely with multiple teams and communicating only in virtual worlds. DeChurch and her team of UCF students are researching both of those topics.

The authors’ research demonstrated specific ways group productivity can be enhanced:

-- Structuring team discussions
-- Promoting a cooperative team environment
-- Highlighting team members’ skills and knowledge
-- Focusing on communicating new and unique information

The findings were reported in the March issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, which is published by the American Psychological Association.

DeChurch became an assistant professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology at UCF in 2007. She leads UCF’s new DELTA (Developing Effective Leaders, Teams and Alliances) research laboratory. Her research team is using computer gaming simulations to explore how leadership affects team collaboration and adaptation to change, along with cross-team networking.

DeChurch became interested in team performance while rowing at the University of Miami. As the coxswain, it was her responsibility to lead her team of rowers and ensure that they performed at a top level. DeChurch earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science at the University of Miami and her master’s and doctoral degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Florida International University.

UCF Stands For Opportunity: The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the 5th largest in the nation with more than 50,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information, visit http://news.ucf.edu.

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