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Monthly Feature
CEOs Who Get It!: Diversity Leadership
from the Heart and Soul
by
Mary Frances Winters
Mary-Frances Winters
is president and CEO of The Winters Group, a 25-year old diversity and
organization development consulting firm headquartered outside Washington
DC. In addition to CEOs That Get It, Winters has authored two books,
Inclusion Starts with I and Only Wet Babies Like Change: Workplace
Wisdom for Baby Boomers.
The Winters
Group partnered with Diversity Best Practices to write a book, CEOs
Who Get It, Diversity Leadership from The Heart and Soul.
Twenty titans of industry were interviewed in the summer of 2006, including
the CEO’s of Cummins, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Hewitt Associates,
Johnson Controls, Kaiser Permanente, The Eastman Kodak Company, Major League
Baseball, Merrill Lynch, MGM Mirage, Monster, Motorola, Procter & Gamble,
Progress Energy, Sears Holdings Corporation, Sodexo, The Calvert Group,
Time Warner, Wachovia, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc and Weyerhaeuser.
Together the 20 leaders interviewed amass almost $1 trillion in revenue
and employ more than 3 million people. They are some of the most powerful
people in the world, shaping our future with breakthrough technologies,
innovative retailing strategies and state-of-the-art investment models.
And without exception, each recognizes diversity as a key driver of business
success and consequently they have intentionally evolved into outstanding
stewards of diversity. Popular management theorists suggest that great
leaders are, in essence, “stewards.” A powerful concept, it
aptly describes how CEOs Who Get It lead. From a literal definition,
stewards oversee or take care of something or someone. They do not delegate,
relegate, or abdicate their stewardship role, deeming it an honor to be
of service. Operating at a higher level than accountability, stewardship
exudes humility, compassion and appreciation.
As stewards, diversity is not separate from the business but rather it
is a key business driver and, as such, is mainstreamed throughout the
organization’s policies and practices. Former Motorola CEO, Ed Zander
may have put it best: “Business and diversity don’t just go
hand in hand, they are one in the same. Business means diversity, and
diversity means business.” At every meeting he addressed three topics:
ethics, quality and diversity. For some, optimizing and leveraging diversity
among employees and customers is the key driver. Take A.G. Lafley who
is using diversity to drive innovation at Procter & Gamble. One example
is the Connect and Develop program which encourages innovative
product submission from all over the globe.
These leaders consistently define diversity as leveraging all talent
in pursuit of business success. According to A.G. Lafley, “A group
of diverse people with different backgrounds, experiences and leadership
styles will out-think, out-innovate and outexecute a homogeneous group
of people anytime.”
Each of these CEOs consistently exhibit values and behaviors that demonstrate
their diversity stewardship. They include:
Unequivocal: Unwavering, unrelenting, absolute, unambiguous,
steadfast, and dogged,all describe the CEOs Who Get It when
it comes to their commitment to diversity.
The Calvert Group’s Barbara Krumsiek exemplifies a leader who fights
gender equity issues and socially responsible investing in very innovative
ways. Deloitte’s Barry Salzberg is very visible both internally
and externally speaking passionately about the importance of diversity.
George Halvorson, Kaiser Permanente’s CEO made radical changes in
the demographic makeup of his senior team very quickly after assuming
the top job. Monster’s Bill Pastore said he has a reputation for
being tough, blunt and blatant when it comes to diversity.
Patiently Impatient: This quality has also been described
in leadership lingo as “leading with a sense of urgency.”
CEOs Who Get It acknowledged that the road to full inclusion
is long and hard, but each demonstrates a sense of urgency and little
tolerance for those who don’t get it and don’t want to get
it. Cummins Tim Solso declared that he lost his patience with those who
don’t want to get it a long time ago and when necessary removes
them from leadership positions.
Comfortable with Complexity and Ambiguity: CEOs
Who Get It understand that diversity is a complex and multifaceted
topic. Eastman Kodak’s Antonio Perez, who was born and has lived
extensively outside the U.S. agreed that understanding different cultures
is one of the most difficult things to learn and takes much study and
experience. Yet, all of these CEOs, while not claiming proficiency, navigate
well in the murky waters of diversity and cross-culturalism.
A "Seventh Sense": CEOs Who Get It possess
an uncanny ability to see the whole in relation to the parts. We often
talk about putting on a diversity lens, but for these leaders it is more
than a mere lens that magnifies the image; it is a kaleidoscope, where
the patterns are continually shifting but these leaders are able to keep
the whole in view. It is the quality that allows comfort with ambiguity
and complexity and a sense of “patient” impatience. It also
enables them to see patterns, relationships and synergies and anticipate
the future. Barbara Krumsiek is a master at seeing “wholes”
and making new connections.
Humble: Despite their impressive records, characteristic
of stewards, each CEO displayed genuine modesty about his/her diversity
accomplishments, not wanting to be portrayed as having “arrived”
at some ultimate diversity destination.
Kaiser Permanente’s Halvorson spoke in a matter of fact manner
about his international trek to gather data for his unpublished book on
diversity. He was in search of cultures that seemed to “get it”
and had successfully created inclusive cultures.
On the Front Lines, not the Sidelines: Management gurus
promote the concept of “managing by walking around.” CEOs
That Get It take that idea several steps further. They manage by
“talking around,” “listening around,” “inquiring
around” and “hanging around.” As attentive stewards,
they coach, mentor, advise and nurture.
Barry Salzberg is also a standout mentor and coach, with a current cadre
of about 10 to 15 protégés. Procter & Gamble’s
AG Lafley, teaches a portion of every leadership development program and
promotes the importance of diversity to achieve P&G’s main goal
of innovation.
Fluency and Fludity: We expect leaders to rattle off
business strategy, earnings goals and the like but it is a rare CEO, we
think, who can be just as comfortable talking in depth about diversity.
Without exception the CEOs That Get It spoke fluently and fluidly, from
the heart, about their conviction. They had compelling and poignant stories
and clearly saw the connection to the success of the business.
Barbara Krumsiek shared her experiences as a young woman growing up pre-Civil
Rights that drive her penchant for women’s rights; Halvorson said
that his unpublished book on diversity, written over two decades, helped
him to understand diversity and conflict. All had a good handle on their
respective company’s diversity profiles and several said that they
personally review every candidate slate for positions above a certain
level, insisting on a diverse mix.
CEOs' Who Get It special magic lies in their ability to lead
mammoth global enterprises while at the same time being prodigious stewards
of diversity not only because it is the right thing to do but because
they understand that diversity as a key driver of business success.
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Join
Us Wednesday, August 26th for Our Complimentary Webinar:
Managing Diversity in Tough Times
Diversity advocates are asking where the
interest in diversity and inclusion stands given the recessionary
times. History tells us that when we find ourselves in economic
turmoil, topics like diversity and inclusion move to the back burner
if not off the table completely.
Mary-Frances Winters, a
veteran diversity consultant (named a” Diversity Pioneer”
by Profiles in Diversity Journal in 2007) posits that tough
times are exactly when we need to ratchet up our emphasis on diversity
and inclusion. She postulates that diversity in all of its many
forms leads to the type of breakthrough thinking that spawns greater
productivity, innovative products and services and the ability to
better manage change.
She will share case studies
taken from her book, CEO’s Who Get It: Diversity Leadership
from the Heart and Soul to illustrate how successful organizations
use diversity and inclusion to drive exceptional business outcomes.
From this webinar you will
learn:
• Why diversity and
inclusion are important during economic downturns
• How to make the business case for diversity when times are
tough
• Applications for diversity beyond the traditional workforce
issues
Wednesday, August
26th, 2009
1:00 - 2:30pm ET
Speaker: Mary
Frances Winters
Cost: Complimentary
Seating is limited. Please
contact Gail McGaha at (301) 299-0607, ext.2 or via email to gmcgaha@spisolutions.com
for details and registration.
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