When hiring for multiple roles at once, evaluators naturally consider the diversity of the group as a whole. This 'set' mindset encourages a mix of backgrounds and skills. In contrast, hiring one-off candidates leads to focusing on individual fit without considering the broader team composition, often reducing diversity.

True innovation stems from cognitive and interest diversity. Pairing passionate people from disparate fields—like AI and cheese—sparks more creative conversations and breakthroughs than grouping people with similar interests, which merely creates an echo chamber.

When tackling an "impossible problem," the most effective form of diversity is functional: hiring for complementary skills and perspectives that raise the team's average capability. The focus is on hiring the absolute best person for the job, regardless of background, to achieve the mission.

Unlike private sector products that target specific demographics, government digital services must cater to an extremely diverse user base, including people with low income, no permanent address, and vast age differences. This necessitates a rigorous, non-assumptive approach to user research and accessibility from the outset.

Mothership's founder didn't intentionally seek an all-female leadership team. She hired for essential traits needed to build a paradigm-shifting company: resilience, optimism, imagination, curiosity, and grit. The candidates who best embodied these characteristics happened to be women, resulting in an effective and organically diverse team.

Product development is not a neutral activity. Your personal values, viewpoints, and biases are inherently built into the products you create. This makes having teams representative of the user base critical for building ethical and accessible products.

True DEI measurement goes beyond representation metrics ('butts in seats'). It assesses whether diverse employees feel valued enough to contribute their unique cultural insights to core business functions, like marketing strategy, thereby directly impacting business outcomes.

Instead of hiring designers with similar profiles for easier staffing, intentionally seek out diverse skill sets that fill existing gaps. This leads to more interesting collaboration, broader capabilities, and mutual respect within the team.

A product team's effectiveness is not just about skills (competencies). It's equally dependent on the right behaviors (mindsets) and the supportive environment, culture, and leadership backing (resources). A full assessment must cover all three areas.