Category Archives: Teams & Leaders

Developing diverse teams and leadership

Embracing Diversity in the Workplace – by Calvin Hosey

A Pathway to Innovation and Empowerment

In our fast-paced world where innovation is the driving force, businesses must recognize the undeniable value of diversity in the workplace. As a tech executive with two decades of experience navigating the corporate ladder, I’ve come to understand that diversity isn’t just about representation—it’s about fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and empowerment. At Regpack, we’ve embraced this philosophy, and the results speak for themselves.

A Journey through Tech and Inspiration

My journey in the tech industry began with a single step, fueled by my passion for technology’s power to transform lives. Throughout my career, I’ve encountered numerous challenges, but what kept me motivated were the stories of those who broke barriers and thought outside the box. Leaders who had victories resulting from their diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives inspired me to pave the way for my own success.

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The Value of Servant Leadership – by Lorne Steedley

As an executive, I am often asked about the best approaches for developing strong, values-based leaders in organizations. One model that I frequently recommend is servant leadership.

Servant leadership prioritizes the needs of colleagues, stewardship of resources, and service over personal power and control. The concept was first developed in the 1970s by Robert Greenleaf who believed leaders should focus first on serving others to bring out the best in their people and organizations.

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Three Ways Technology Can Drive Inclusive Communication – by Kenya McPheeters

The ability to communicate is essential to inclusion in professional, learning, or social settings. A Deaf employee, for example, can’t fully contribute to a business unless they can participate in impromptu meetings or hallway chats with colleagues. If English is a second language for a medical student, they need detailed and accurate notes to retain critical information. For a senior aging into hearing loss, losing the ability to connect with family members by phone can be devastatingly isolating. I know of this situation all too well – In my work as a sign language interpreter I’ve seen how connections can be lost when communication isn’t available or readily accessible

In all of these instances, inclusive communication enhances diversity by facilitating involvement, acceptance, and belonging. Today, innovative technology is creating new opportunities for people of different backgrounds, experiences, and linguistic modes to seamlessly share information, collaborate, and engage. Three examples are outlined below.

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Why Diversity Improves Project Management – by Michelle LaBrosse

The human capacity for self-delusion is nearly bottomless. We think we’re smarter than we are, more capable than we are and tougher than we are. For example, in one survey, 9% of men actually believed they could win a fight against an elephant!

That unwarranted confidence certainly extends to project management. According to a Project Management Institute survey, 85% of executive leaders said they believe their organizations are effective in delivering projects to achieve strategic results.

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DEI: What’s Old Is New Again – by Susan McCuistion

The last few years seem to have been challenging for many people, myself included. Last year, I had the privilege to take a bit of a sabbatical. Even though I found it difficult to fully pull myself away from my work, I was removed enough that when Deborah Levine, Editor in Chief for this publication, asked the Advisory Council members to write on upcoming trends, I felt a little out of touch. I decided I needed to catch up a bit, and I started my research. Much to my dismay, I felt like the more things changed, the more they remained the same. I wasn’t seeing much different than what colleagues and I talked about over 20 years ago. People were still focused on hiring and attraction and leadership development. Some spoke of developing business cases and strategies around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)—or whatever form it’s currently taking.

Frankly, I had hoped we had a lot of this figured out by now.

Continue reading DEI: What’s Old Is New Again – by Susan McCuistion

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Trends: 2023 – by Soumaya Khalifa

Whether you traveled or stayed home this past holiday season, you paid attention to the news about Southwest Airlines’ struggles to get  people where they wanted to go.  Bad (really bad) weather, canceled flights, long lines, lost luggage, and exhausted and cranky passengers and airline staff all led to an operational disaster that will take Southwest a while to overcome.  

In a statement on its website, Southwest called its own performance “unacceptable.”  Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said Southwest had not put adequate systems in place to manage operations during the storm. “The fact is: We weren’t prepared,” Murray said.

But some observers weren’t at all surprised: Southwest’s crisis was inevitable after years of prioritizing stock dividends and executive compensation over necessary investments, including improving its outdated IT and crew scheduling systems. Southwest’s own employees issued plenty of warnings about those.

Continue reading Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Trends: 2023 – by Soumaya Khalifa

Trends in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging – by Gail Dawson

Following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests, the number of diversity-related jobs increased significantly as organizations worked to address issues that could no longer be ignored. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) became more important as organizations launched initiatives focusing on making meaningful change. While some organizations simply increased their diversity efforts, others created new positions focused on diversity. These positions ranged from entry-level jobs to executive-level positions and spanned all types of organizations including academia. Indeed.com reported that diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DI&B) job postings increased by 123% between May and September of 2020.

Continue reading Trends in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging – by Gail Dawson

How to Spot Performative Diversity – by Pearl Kasirye

You know how it goes, every Black History Month, Juneteenth, or special holiday, companies around the world publish media about diversity and inclusion. At times, it can feel like they are obligated to do so, and they just plaster a generic diversity and inclusion sign on their website or social media page.

This is common to see with companies that desperately want to be portrayed as inclusive, when in reality, they are far from it. When you visit an educational institution that has 98% white faculty, but they are very vocal about the importance of diversity, it makes you wonder…am I missing something?

Here lies performative diversity, which is the subject of this article.

What is “Performative” Diversity?

When a company rallies for diversity and inclusion in public and is very loud about it on social media, but their policies are discriminatory, then they are engaging in performative diversity.

This can be hard to spot because not many people have the time to interview each employee to find out whether they’ve felt discriminated against during their time at the company.

It can be incredibly difficult nowadays to tell whether a company is saving face, or whether its leaders are genuinely motivated by fairness to level the playing field for all kinds of people.

What does that performative diversity look like?

  1. D&I branding on their website
  2. Token POC people on their company photos
  3. Conveniently timed BLM or D&I social media posts
  4. Large percentage of employees identify with one race or ethnicity

These are just some of the factors to consider when analyzing whether or not a company is participating in performative diversity. You can go to a university where all the faculty members are white except for that one token POC person.

You may ask why there is little racial diversity in their faculty and you’ll be met with phrases like:

  • “We only hire the most qualified people”
  • “There aren’t that many POC people interested in the position.”
  • “This is a white majority neighborhood.”
  • Or the classic, “It’s just a coincidence.”

I’ve been the token POC person before. It’s not fun, half the time you just feel like a black dot on a white canvas that is brought out for photo ops to make the institution look good. Which is why I’m so relieved to be working in a company that actually promotes diversity and inclusion internally – and not just for the press.

True Diversity & Inclusion

When I joined the Pearl Lemon PR agency, I was pleasantly surprised that my hairstyles, my accent, and my race were ever an issue. I’ve never been treated differently from other employees because people in this company genuinely believe that talent can come from anywhere.

It was a stark contrast from the Swiss companies I was accustomed to that made me feel like I had so much to prove because my race and nationality put me at a disadvantage. To me, it’s clear now that when a company has internal policies that create a culture of acceptance and inclusivity, they don’t have to post about it for you to know that D&I is a priority to them. Let’s take a closer look at what true D&I looks like.

It starts with:

  1. An inclusive recruitment process
  2. Diverse leaders
  3. Color-blind recruitment process
  4. Inclusive company policies
  5. Active recruitment of people from different countries/backgrounds

All of these elements are internal. This has nothing to do with whether or not the company’s social media presence shows diverse people or has black squares in solidarity with BLM. When the leadership is diverse, and the recruitment process is designed to level the playing field for people of different backgrounds, then that is legitimate.

A diverse company doesn’t have to come and tell you that they value inclusivity. You should be able to tell as soon as you meet the employees and hear their stories. When a trans, non-binary POC person can thrive in a company in the same way that a white, straight man would – then that company is truly diverse and inclusive.

The key here is analyzing the difference between those who promote D&I externally vs those who implement it internally. That right there, is what makes the biggest difference.

It means that employees don’t face discrimination and prejudice, and that everyone has a chance to become the best that they can be regardless of their orientation, gender, or race.

 

Photo by fauxels from Pexels

DEI in the Boardroom – by Dr. Deborah P. Ashton

Equity Impacts Corporate Decisions

Why have diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expertise in the Boardroom? Look at the controversy swirling around the Georgia’s voting law–the backlash, the boycott, and the backlash to the boycott. Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens lose from both the law and the boycott. I contend that if there had been DEI experts on the boards of the major corporations that traditionally lobbied in Georgia, this may have been averted. Corporations could have predicted how the passage and signing of the bill into law may have impacted their brand. While the bill was being crafted social justice concerns could have been addressed, along with concerns regarding voting integrity. When you are driving you slow down before you come to the hairpin curve rather than trying to correct for it afterward. I have always contended that we should resolve a problem before it begins.

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Diversity and Speech Part 17: Diversity Training – by Carlos E. Cortés

2020 turned into a momentous year for diversity training.  The COVID-19 pandemic forced many diversity trainers, myself included, to re-invent themselves by adapting their workshops into an online format.  The Memorial Day killing of George Floyd thrust anti-racism into the center of diversity training, challenging those presenters who had generally soft-pedaled the issue.  President Donald Trump’s September 22 executive order, “Race and Sex Stereotyping,” caused government agencies and contractors, including some higher education institutions, to suspend or mute their diversity training.

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 17: Diversity Training – by Carlos E. Cortés