The value of Diverse Experiences

Sr. Engineering Manager, Docker

Nandhini Santhanam

Food for thought

Anti-groupthink

Boundless thought…

Endless potential!

So what is diversity?Physiologically

uniqueWe are inherently

diverse

Personalized Skillsets

We are great at different things

Multiple Perspectives

We see and process things differently

In the absence of diversity

Male: ✓

Female: ✗Caucasian: ✓

Ethnic: ✗

Light Toned: ✓ Dark Toned: ✗

Convention: ✓ Evolution: ✗

When diversity reignsThink

Converse

Change

Evolve

Thrive

It’s not straight(forward)

College in India

Grad School in the US

Hardware startup

Industry Pivot

Build at scale

Startup Mode

Leadership Role

My team

Inertia is real❏ Gravitate towards similar individuals ❏ Natural self-expression with native language

speakers ❏ Upfront investment with no immediate returns ❏ Consensus supersedes conflict

My approach to team-building

Celebrate strengths

Tailor the experience

Make room to grow

My experience thus farHiring from bootcamps

Candid feedback cycles

Team building activities

Unconscious bias training

Conscious time-

commitment

Change is not instantaneous

Unclear metrics to evaluate progress

What can you do?❏ Meet a colleague for lunch ❏ Think beyond school, experience or skillset ❏ Encourage the quiet ones to speak up ❏ Give the benefit of the doubt ❏ Remember: disagreement is not personal

If there’s one takeaway

Start small, but start somewhere!