Beware the Lure of Homogeneity: How Teams Miss Out by Choosing ‘People Like Us’

The phrase 'birds of a feather flock together' is more than a cliché; it’s a dangerous tendency in high-stakes work. We’re drawn to those who share our education or background because it feels comfortable and efficient. But in entrepreneurial teams, this “homophily” can backfire—valued perspectives and hard-to-find skills fade, and soon the group is blind to unseen risks outside their collective bubble.

Research shows homogeneous founding teams form more quickly and communicate easily, but often miss out on essential expertise. The danger intensifies when ‘soft’ compatibility is confused with functional necessity—teams skip vetting soft factors like reliability, commitment, or values, assuming old friendships will overcome all obstacles.

Diverse teams, though trickier to build and initially slower to gel, bring broader network access and problem-solving skills vital for innovation. The best performing teams combine difference on the outside (skills, contacts) with similarity on the inside (shared mission, work norms). Success comes not from defaulting to the familiar, but from assembling the right mix and testing it in practice before committing long-term.

Take ten minutes today to map your group’s expertise and connections. Where do you all look the same? Make a commitment to address your biggest blind spot—be it legal, technical, or social—by reaching out to someone new. When you bring in fresh talent, start with a trial project; soft issues matter too. This might feel slower at first, but you’ll protect your group from missed opportunities and sudden shocks. Test diversity on small stakes now and reap the resilience benefits later.