Diversity Scavenger Hunt
By: Duke Rohe drohe@att.net
Overview: Diversity may help or hinder innovation activities in an organization. Understanding commonalities and differences is the first step in making diversity a positive influence on the organizational creativity.
Purpose: Discover more about the people around you. The great things you have in common, the unique things where you are different and how to value those differences.
Participants: Pairs of two
Materials: Interview and Inner View note sheets (1 for each person), In Common/Different worksheets (1 per pair), Insights note sheets (1 for each person)
Time: 35 minutes
Procedure:
Interviews (10 minutes—5minutes for each interview)
- Pretend you are going to write a newspaper article on a very famous person.
- Pair up with someone you don’t know that well and agree to “inner” view each other.
- Learn about each other by taking turns interviewing.
- Do the usual get-to-know-you questions (topical understanding). See below.
- Then do the (really get to know you) questions. The more the better. Remember: anyone has the right not to answer, this is more about understanding each other,
Make up your own interview and inner view questions. These are to ‘kickstart’ your thinking
| Interview Questions | Inner View Questions |
| What is your name, maiden name?
Where do you live? What do you do? How many brothers/sisters do you have? Any children? What ages? How long have you lived in Houston? Where did you grow up? Where do your parents live? What school did you go to? Got any pets? Do they have fleas? Do you like to solve problems? What kind of music do you like? What does your husband or wife do for a living? What are your hobbies? |
What do you enjoy doing the most at home? What excites you or deflates you? What do you like the most about your job? What do you like least about it? What is the most pleasant memory you have about home? What’s your favorite food? Do you cook it often? Have you ever had a ‘best’ friend? What made him or her so special? What excites you the most? Is it easy or hard for you to change? What is the toughest challenge you would be willing to share? |
In Common/Differences (20 minutes)
- Work together to complete the columns: ‘In Common’ and ‘Different’. Under each make list of as many common and different aspects about you two as possible. If this sheet is not big enough, feel free to use another.
- Take each of the ‘different’ areas and find at least one good way that difference might be useful if you two were working together. Write it down.
Insights (5 minutes)
- Individually, write down three insights you gained from doing this exercise, then share it with each other.
- Congratulate one another for discovering and sharing, for you now have more to work with than before you started this exercise.
