Category Archives: Teams & Leaders

Developing diverse teams and leadership

Authors A-H, Pandemic, Teams & Leaders

Leadership in Crisis – by Robyn Lebron

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One of the hardest things you may have to do over the next few days, weeks and months  is to BE the Leader that holds the light and strength for everyone around you.

You have all learned by now that certain people have special spirits, and people are drawn to you for your leadership, your courage and your inner strength.  This will happen even more right now, when there are so many searching for answers. In order for you to do that, you need to understand that these experiences will cause you to blossom into the leaders you are meant to become!

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Authors A-H, Teams & Leaders

Diversity and Speech Part 10: Harmful Speech 2070 – by Carlos E. Cortés

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This is the second of three columns in which I make fifty-year projections concerning the following question: as a nation, where will we stand in 2070 when it comes to the contested interplay of diversity and speech?  These three columns are based on a public presentation on diversity and speech that I gave at the December, 2019, Speculative Futures in Education Conference at the University of California, Riverside.

In my previous column I argued that the internet has dramatically altered the diversity-speech discussion, particularly when it comes to hate speech.  As an easily-accessible mechanism for spreading hate, including through troll storms and doxing, the internet has developed into a true weapon of terror.   

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Authors A-H, Teams & Leaders

Future Digital Workplace and Job Skills – by Frank Feather

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Technological revolutions always transform the workplace, especially the job skills and talents required to perform.

By 2025, about 40% of today’s skills will at least change, if not be made obsolete and replaced by new skills. On average, in some 60% of jobs, at least a 30% of their activities can be automated.

Hence, most jobs will change or be replaced, and more people will need to work alongside technology. Digital technology also changes how and where work takes place.

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Authors A-H, Teams & Leaders

Diversity and Speech Part 8: Managing Diversity – by Carlos E. Cortés

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This is the eighth in a series of columns based on my research as a former fellow of the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.   In these columns I have discussed what I call the diversity movement — the composite of individual, group, and organizational efforts to reduce societal inequities that penalize people because of their actual or perceived membership in certain social groups.   In particular I have focused on the intersection of diversity and speech. 

After analyzing the past half century of the diversity movement, I concluded that the movement actually consists of four separate but intersecting diversity strands: intercultural; equity and inclusion; critical theory; and managing diversity.  My past columns have sketched the parameters of the first three strands.  In this column I will focus on the fourth strand, managing diversity.

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Authors R-Z, Teams & Leaders

Why Inspirational Leaders Follow A Path Of Gratitude – by Andrew Scharf

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When innovative thinking is at the helm, you can be sure that at its core is inspirational leaders. Real leaders have our back, and stand up for doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. At a time when we are surrounded by the forces of darkness and authoritarian strong men, we owe to ourselves, our communities, our countries and the world to stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight to preserve the freedoms many of us have come to take for granted. Make your voices heard. Democracy dies in silence.

Innovative leaders shape positive behavior, communitarianism as well as business practices. Under this form of stewardship, optimism and gratitude prevail.

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Authors A-H, Teams & Leaders

Experiencing Diversity Through the Marine Corps Training Process – Reginald Hairston

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The Marine Corps’ purpose as stated on its webpage is to, “Defend the people of the United States at home and abroad. To do that, we make Marines who win our Nation’s battles and return as quality citizens.”  To the casual reader, the first half of the purpose, which is to defend the United States, is stated in simple terms and easily understood.  However, it is the latter half of the purpose that bears some investigating and begs the question, “What does make a better citizen mean?”  To answer this question, I want to take you on a journey through the process of becoming a Marine, the transformation that occurs and the life-changing impact of being immersed into a sea of diversity creates. 

Citizens from every walk of life you can imagine arrive by bus to one of three locations.  Young men and women who have signed an enlistment contract arrive at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina or Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.  Officer candidates receive their initial training at the Officer Candidate School located in Quantico, Virginia.  For the purposes of this journey, we will focus on the experience of the recruits who matriculate through one of the training Depots.

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Authors A-H, Teams & Leaders

Breaking Down the Walls to Disability in the C-suite – by Louise Duffield

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Overcoming obstacles to the integration of disabled people in the C-Suite should be at the top of every board agenda. Often, I hear about diversity, but diversity efforts alone do not  deal with the challenges facing disabled senior executives or aspiring leaders. These challenges can be addressed, and leaders have a responsibility to turn around the stigma surrounding disability in the C-suite.

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Authors R-Z, Teams & Leaders

Effect Change in One Brief Conversation – by Keith Weedman

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Unexpected Introduction

When I provided an introductory session for highly skilled Toastmaster Ant Blair, my goal was to earn the privilege of providing him a program that blends training on how to effect change in one, brief conversation with coaching. Ant was quite engaged during his training. I was feeling optimistic about the outcome. Then at the end of his session, something totally unexpected happened. Ant was the one to effect change in one, brief conversation.

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Levine ADR articles, Teams & Leaders

Nurturing and Humility in Leadership – by Deborah Levine

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I have been puzzled by colleagues congratulating me on my humility. What are these folks talking about? People who knew me years ago would definitely be amused by that. At best, I was described as “Sweet but Stern.” At my boldest, I was told that I could terrorize entire cities. Community leaders had a white-knuckled grasp on their chairs when I tersely announce my intention to speak off-the-record. Not even a voice from the back of the room calling out, “Oh ho, this should be good!” slowed me down.

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Levine ADR articles, Teams & Leaders

The Challenge of Unconscious Bias – by Deborah Levine

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Unconscious bias training is an admirable project but may often be ineffective. The fuzzy, vague term of unconscious bias is often applied indiscriminately, but unconscious bias isn’t a one-size-fits-all term amenable to a one afternoon of training. Yes, it can refer to the incident where the police were called to arrest two African-Americans waiting for a meeting at Starbucks. But it can also mean only smiling at customers that look like you, rejecting resumes from diverse applicants, and promoting the employees who resemble the current leadership team. If we want to address unconscious bias effectively, we need to first be aware of how the senses, emotions, and brain interact to create unconscious bias. Second, we must go beyond awareness of our biases to sensitivity to their impact. Lastly, we need to develop a system that internalizes wise decision making with ongoing reinforcement of that competence.

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