Final answer:
While selecting team members, one should seek varied skills, varied backgrounds, and a mix of experience levels, but not necessarily team members with similar personalities, as diversity in a team encourages innovation and improved performance.
Step-by-step explanation:
In selecting members for a team, one should look for a combination of qualities and characteristics that foster both a productive and innovative work environment. However, when selecting team members, variety is key rather than homogeneity. You should look for varied skills and varied backgrounds, as well as ensuring that there is a mix of both experienced members and newcomers to produce a dynamic team with a blend of perspectives and expertise.
Seeking team members with similar personalities is less beneficial, as this does not promote diversity within the team. Research has shown that teams that are too homogeneous in their makeup—whether in terms of personality, gender, skill set, or experience—tend to suffer from poor decision-making skills due to conformity effects and can have conflict within the group. On the contrary, diverse teams have been credited with increased innovation and better problem-solving abilities due to varied perspectives and experiences.
An example of the benefits of diversity can be seen in research conducted by Hoogendoorn, Oosterbeek, & van Praag (2013) which found that gender-balanced teams performed better in terms of sales and profits than teams composed mostly of one gender. This underscores the importance of diversity within teams beyond just skill sets and experience levels.