Many of Tiger 21’s members join because they are searching for a safe haven in which to grapple with the uncertainties of their next act. They are deeply attracted to exploring the pros and cons of different opportunities and scenarios confidentially with economic peers who have enjoyed similar levels of success. They want to learn how others have dealt with their share of failure and success and how they have navigated such challenges over a lifetime. Most of us soon learn, however, that the ultimate benefit of a peer-to-peer group is not what you have in common but what’s different about your backgrounds and business experiences.

In recent years, diversity has become a hollow, politically correct word. But real diversity is critically important. The pragmatic benefits that flow from having people with different backgrounds and expertise in a room have been backed up by decades of research by psychologists, organizational experts, and management gurus.

The evolution of our groups has certainly confirmed it. Among our members are Latinos, African Americans, East and South Asians, and Central Europeans. Our members exhibit a cross section of sexual preferences, populate most of the political spectrum, and represent any number of religious and nonreligious beliefs.

And while men still far outnumber women, as the number of highly successful female entrepreneurs has increased, more of them are turning to our organization for the same reasons that our male members do: to learn how to preserve their wealth, deal with legacy issues, and find a confidential community of peers with whom they can share their ideas and receive honest, unbiased, and considerate feedback.

Diversity within our membership has had a noticeable effect on meetings. In one case reported to me, a member confided to his group that he was involved in such a brutal conflict with his brother that he was planning to exit their partnership. Other members began giving him advice about how to dissolve the partnership—until the women in the room interrupted. A competing consensus emerged, which one of the women later summed up as, “Wait a minute! This is your brother. He’s family. Isn’t there some way that this relationship can be repaired?” Suddenly, the conversation moved in a less combustible direction. In the words of one of the male members, “There was certainly a different kind of energy in that room today.”

The idea that women, compared to men, tend to be more tuned in to the feelings of others and are likely to be more respectful in social and business situations is not new. It was certainly discussed in 1982, when then Harvard psychologist Carol Gilligan published a best-selling research report that showed that, from an early age, women approached moral responsibility “in a different voice.”¹ This voice focuses on a concern for others and is more commonly used by women. It is an integral part of the human voice but tends to be overlooked. Gilligan observes that it is more common for many women’s developmental paths to allow them to tap into universal values and emotions, so, although commonly misunderstood or mislabeled as a “woman’s voice,” Gilligan sees it as a universal voice that women more frequently access.

In 1990, Sally Helgesen wrote an equally classic book that argued that the different management styles of women executives gave businesses a “female advantage.”² A 2010 study of what made for highly successful project teams found that a key difference was the emotional intelligence of the team—and the number of women, who turned out to be better readers of their colleagues.³ Other recent studies have shown that the presence of women as well as ethnic and racial minorities in management inspires colleagues to think more critically and creatively, leading to better decision making and financial performance.⁴

But as beneficial as a broader sociocultural makeup can be to any group, what keeps teaching me and my fellow Tiger 21 members new lessons is diversity of points of view. “If you get a bunch of accountants in the room, I don’t care if half of them are women,” notes David Russell, a longtime Tiger 21 member, “they’re going to come up with an accountant’s point of view.” I agree. In my experience, the meetings that really deliver powerful insights are those that have a wide range of expertise and experience in the room; for example, somebody with a legal background, another with operational experience, a third with investment chops, and maybe a fourth who is a marketing expert—all from different industries. And the more gender and ethnic diversity, the better.

I can’t count how many times a diversity of views has generated important questions that would have never been raised otherwise. One person may focus on the track record of an investment manager pitching his fund when another asks about turnover of the management team. Maybe a third person asks how much capital the management team has invested personally and what percent of their net worth that represents. A fourth wants to know if the general partner owns a second home or a yacht and how much time she is spending on distractions, including philanthropic activities, which might be great for society but could limit her focus on her business. When fund managers make a presentation to one of our groups that includes a member from the related industry (who might have even more experience or success than the presenter), sparks fly, insights pop up, and the group as a whole gets an education that no one on their own could duplicate. “You won’t get that kind of insight watching one of the business networks,” notes David.

And you won’t get it if you only hire people who went to the same schools or nod at everything you say. Great entrepreneurs are innovators by definition; they always have an eye out for the next opportunity. Participating in diverse groups and assembling diverse teams inside your organization will make you and your company smarter, more creative, and more productive.