Cultural Competency Works With Diversity Leadership

Harvard Business Review article informs us that diversity leadership encourages different cultural experiences in the workplace. However sensitivity strategies are important for the approach to work best.

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Dr. Marilyn J

Diversity Leadership Can Work

Diversity leadership works, but it needs more than policies, practices and programs. So says Norma Tombari, director of global diversity at RBC. “You need the right leadership and you need to create the right atmosphere, an atmosphere of acceptance for everyone,” she says. “You also need a continuum. It starts with the search process for new workers then continues through the hiring, indoctrination, training and development.......

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Dr. Marilyn J

Diversity Leadership Is The Way To Go

Diversity at its best with Sonia Sotomayor as nominee to the Supreme Court of America, the pick of Regina Benjamin for Surgeon General and Ursula Burns as CEO of Xerox.

Sonia Sotomayor is Hispanic with parents born in Puerto Rico. She was raised in the Bronx in a housing project.
Growing up in Alabama, Regina Benjamin never saw a black doctor.
Ursula Burns is the first black woman to head a Fortune 500 company. She grew up in Lower East Side New York Housing Project.

Dr. Marilyn J

Back Home Debate™ Is True Diversity

I recently came across an article on BusinessWeek where it speaks truth to the practices of diversity in today's community, organization and workplace. For a long time I have not fully agreed with an author to such great extent like this article on "diversity's missing ingredient." The author agrees with using the competitive advantage of accepting loud arguments to support one's view-points on a team for decision-making. Individuals are allowed to passionately display their emotions to arrive at conclusions even though it may sound like a brawl where each may challenge the other on their intellectual biases and blind spots. Although mean-spirited attacks are unaccepted, building trust is important for each member of the functioning diverse team for this process to occur. As an educator, this sounds like a method for teaching diversity, equity and inclusion in education. Coming back to the content of the article, the author further argues that an outsider unfamiliar with what is in progress would not understand the concept taking place, that is, tapping into the competitive advantage of diversity, inclusion and creativity on a team. I therefore agree with the headline of the article, "diversity's missing ingredient". We have many monolithic teams in the community, organization and workplace that do not tap into the contributions and benefits of diversity.

Having said that, the author's discussion supports my findings from my research titled "Black Women's leadership: Indigenous Knowledges for Empowerment" where the back home debate™ method is important for truly diverse teams. One of the leadership participants I interviewed in my research clearly states that she allows confrontations, arguments and voicing of opinions when decisions are being considered on her team. She identifies the approach like debating back home. Back home is situated outside of Canada. My research refers to the process as back home debate™. Anna as I refer to her, does this so that whenever a decision is made, all members on the team feel true to their contribution where nobody should feel silenced. Therefore, when a decision is made all contributions are considered and no one leaves the discussion and continues with it at the water cooler. This is true diversity and inclusion, not just a slogan or a buzz word in today's working environment. Again, I have to thank the author, Pat Pencioni for agreeing with me on a process called back home debate™.

Dr Marilyn J

The Importance of Empowerment

Dr. Ben Carson was empowered as a child by his illiterate mother and later he became a world-renowned neurosurgeon.

Things Leaders do to Empower Others

Leaders Empower Others by Believing in Their Potential
Leaders Empower Others by Teaching Them the Skills Needed to Succeed
Leaders Empower Others by Prodding Them to Take Risks
Leaders Empower Others by Recognizing Their Successes

Diversity leaders are important in the community, organizations and workplaces to empower others to become leaders. We need the visibility of diversity leadership.

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Dr. Marilyn J

No New Information: First Report on DiversityCity Counts

DiverseCity Counts is a three-year project being conducted by Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute. This project is part of DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project, an
initiative of Maytree and the Toronto City Summit Alliance. This first report titled "DiverseCity Counts: A Snapshot of Diversity in Greater Toronto Area measures Diversity Leadership. A cursory glance at this report appears very similar to the results of several previous reports and research, which are not limited to those that came out from Katherine Giscombe & Laura Jenner (2009) "Career Advancement in Corporate Canada: A Focus on Visible Minority ~ Diversity & Inclusion Practices" Catalyst; The Conference Board of Canada (2008) "The Value of Diverse Leadership" and the United States findings from Meghan E. Irons (2009) "Workplace diversity grows, but not at the top, reports says" Bostom.com, May 19 and Cedric Herring (2009) "Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity". American Sociological Review. Vol. 74(2): 208-224. (Dr. Marilyn J)

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Dr Marilyn J

Succession Planning and Diversity Leadership

Succession planning is central to diversity leadership for top managerial positions in communities, organizations and the workplace. Historically, indigenous communities have always engaged in putting in place succession planning processes for their leadership. Let us learn from them and create succession plans for the leadership of diverse organizations and workplaces. In accomplishing this task and reflecting on the diversity of the workplace at the bottom as research has shown, let us seriously consider how to accomplish diversity leadership succession planning for top managerial positions.

Succession Planning

Succession planning involves replacement plans of a potential list of successors. When this is done in advance, rather than in an emergency, more care and thought are put into perspectives. Most importantly for succession planning to effectively work within diverse organizations and the workplace, recruitment of top managerial positions must occur from potential leaders that are from diverse groups, which include visible minorities and women. Research has shown that visible minorities and women are absent from top managerial positions. Diversity must be visible at the top of organizations and boardrooms, and not only at the bottom of organizations as shown from the findings from Stephen P. Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, Boston. Additionally, statistics have shown that diversity pays. Professor Cedric Herring from the University of Illinois at Chicago demonstrated this in his research on "Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity. Organizations and the workplace need transparent recruitment programs to attract leaders from diverse cultures. These are the role models that others need to see how to emulate and learn empowerment. Simultaneously, diverse leaders should be encouraged and supported in their positions with mentors and specific programs. Succession planning for diverse leadership is critical to all organizations. At the same time, bear in mind that traditional leadership development approaches are flawed as I have shown in some of my previous blog discussions.

Given this, take a look at what DiverseCity The Greater Toronto Leadership Project is putting into place to create diverse leadership.

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Dr. Marilyn J

Diversity in the Workplace Grows: No Commitment to Diversity Leadership at the Top

There are several arguments that support the benefits and increase of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Both qualitatively and quantitatively research have shown the benefits to the workers and overall profits for organizations and businesses. However, there is no evidence to show that diversity is reaching leadership at the top. Given this, critics are skeptical about the effects of diversity on leadership because there is no increase of the representation of minorities and women in top leadership positions. Yes, there is no doubt that diversity is represented at the bottom of organizations or businesses where many minorities and women are located. However, their absence in top management certainly shows. The gap and absence of women and minorities in upper management are not being addressed. Again, reflecting on my last blog about solving the world economic crisis, women have shown how it should be done. Without them in leadership at the top, how can we get change? What about diverse ethnic minority groups? What are the obstacles also preventing them from climbing to top managerial positions of leadership in organizations and businesses? These must be addressed for any true change. Diversity should be represented throughout organizations and businesses, not only at the bottom. We need to have diversity in top managerial positions of leadership.

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"Stepping Up: Managing Diversity in Challenging Times," from above is the recently concluded study done by Commonwealth Compact created by Stephen P. Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies. The report shows that although there are initiatives aim to help reverse Boston's image as unfriendly to minorities and women in the workplace, 42% of organizations surveyed showed that they were not satisfied with diversity leadership. 11% surveyed have no minorities in their governing and leadership boards, unlike minority representation in clerical and technical positions. The report reinforces that having minorities and women in the workplace doesn't mean there will be diversity in the leadership ranks. One reason is that there is less a focus to bring in people to break the glass ceiling, and I would add also the concrete ceiling.

The Diversity Institute in Management and Technology, Ryerson University, Toronto and the Maytree Foundation are embarking on a similar leadership project to review the participation of visible minority men and women in leadership positions in the Greater Toronto Area within key areas of government, private and public sector organizations and not-for-profit institutions. Do you think that the findings would be different or similar to what came out of the Commonwealth Compact project in Boston? We can know definitely after 2011, when the project ends and the report written.

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Dr. Marilyn J

Women's Leadership will Drive the Bottom Line

Reflecting on my last discussion and raising the question, who will save us from the world economic mess, the job has long been recognized and taken up by women. First, we have been hearing repeatedly about a "business case" for diversity. Although diversity extends beyond race and gender, they both prove conducive to productivity, and beneficial for raising the profitability of organizations, which affect the economic mess of the world. The organizational leadership of men has a lot to do with this present situation.

Without excluding race and particularly locating my discussion on gender, women have already begun using "The new work order" to improve the economic mess of the world. What is this new work order, as if we are unaware? This is using the cliché of "Work life balance". However, Time magazine calls it "make more money", a rather masculine and more appealing cliché.


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Dr. Marilyn J

Women's management style characterizes relationships and empowerment.

With women's management style characterized as more relationship-based that aims to encourage and empower according to Alice Eagly, can they help clean up the world economic mess? This question was recently posed on the Calgary Herald newspaper. Particularly for Canadian Black women in, whom I interviewed for my research, they demonstrated that both self-empowerment and the empowerment of others are important in their leadership. My finding agrees with Alice Eagly's, Professor and Chair of Psychology at Northwestern University. Within my work, the research specifically shows that transnational Black women's leadership use African indigenous knowledge retained from Africa and the African Diaspora, inclusive of the Caribbean where many of my participants were born. Most importantly, the participants showed that Black women's leadership represent junctures of cultural resistance, transformation and empowerment through their agency where they set the stage to empower themselves and others as admired Black women and role models. I will now pose the question, can Canadian Black women in leadership help clean up the world economic mess, given my finding which agrees with Alice Eagly? You can read what other researchers have to say about women's leadership given the fact that men's leadership style is being questioned with the world present economic mess.

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Dr. Marilyn J

Diversity Leadership and Inclusion in Academia

I have been blogging extensively on issues of the importance of diversity leadership, inclusive of its need in law firms, boardrooms, workplaces, MIT conversations, etc. So far, I demonstrated with extensive examples the excellence in diversity and inclusion. My blog today discusses the importance of diversity leadership and inclusion in academia. Most importantly, diversity and inclusion in academia call for the recruitment of a diverse faculty of race, gender, disability, sexuality, ethnicity and language. However, diversity and inclusion mean more than the recruitment of under-represented minorities. With a diverse faculty, meritocracy should be central to hiring practices and certainly not nepotism. This particular report on diversity in academia that I comment on comes from Boston University informing us that minority groups of African American, Aboriginals (American Indians), Asians and Hispanics remain under-represented in academia. Although Boston University is working toward diversity and leadership in academia, the report did not evidence the diversity and leadership of contract teaching faculty, adjunct faculty and teaching assistants, three very important faculty groups in any university.

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Dr. Marilyn J

What it Means for Diversity in Law Firms

Several issues play out with the use of diversity in law firms and other workplaces. These are presented through thinking beyond skin colour and the inclusion of women. True diversity encourages leadership, creativity, inclusivity and opportunities to be successful. When diversity is fully operationalized, it is reflective of clients and the community where it makes good business sense. Furthermore, diversity in the workplace concerns the inclusion of different ethnicity, class, gender, age, disability, national origin and sexual orientation. Finally and most importantly, diversity is the right thing to do.

Dr. Marilyn J

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Time for more Diversity Leadership in the Boardroom

Both U.S. and Canada need to look at initiating more diversity leadership in the boardroom. This way of thinking comes about even more strongly after the inauguration of the 44th president of the U.S., given that he is an African American who calls for diversity and inclusion. However, as Beverly Behan reports in Businessweek, Boards of Fortune 100 in the U.S. have gone unchanged for the past four years and it is time for diversity in the boardroom.

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In the case of Canada, Jay Rosenzweig speaks about the "Obama effect trickles into the Boardroom." The absence of diversity in the boardroom stands the same in Canada through the Rosenzweig Report on Women at the Top Levels of Corporate Canada. Rosenzweig makes a further claim that President Barack Obama will have an effect on the appearance of board members in both U.S. and Canada, and we are to expect to see more women and visible minorities in the boardroom and corner offices than what we see today.

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Issues on diversity have been calling for equity and equality for a long time now through change and what is right. Like Behan and Rosenzweig, I do hope that we get that change, not only in the boardroom but every place and space necessary for the realization of diversity, equity and equality for all.

Dr. Marilyn J