We are proud to announce the birth of our new Inclusive Leadership Institute.
Like all our programs, the Institute grew out of our continuing commitment to innovate in response to client needs. In a survey of our current clients conducted last year by an independent firm, nearly 50% identified leadership development as the most valuable new service we could provide them.
This finding didn't surprise us; it echoed the increase of requests we have received from our clients for innovations in leadership development to assist organizations with three related challenges: helping established leaders build their capacity for inclusive leadership performance, creating inclusive workplace cultures and helping emerging leaders, particularly people of promise from non-dominant cultures, and decode the corporate culture so that they can advance and more fully contribute to corporate success.
Indeed both the survey and anecdotal requests mirror the increasingly insistent headlines appearing in media like Fortune, Workforce Management, and The Wall Street Journal. The dynamics of the information age and the demographics of the 21st century are driving the need for new world leaders that can attract and retain the shrinking and increasingly diverse pool of new-world workers.
Peter Drucker was the first to identify the new kind of worker that information age success required. The name he cornered for them was "knowledge worker". Dramatically different from the brawn-based workforce necessary in the industrial age economy, this brain-based worker is more educated, entrepreneurial, and essential to the information age success. Demographically speaking, these new-world workers also differ dramatically from their industrial age cousins as they are more apt to be female, persons of color or bi-racial, co-cultural and bi-lingual, bisexual, gay or trans-gendered. These workers neither look like nor are like the talent that organizations are currently designed to tap.
McKinsey estimates that fully 25% of the workforce is now made up exclusively of knowledge workers. This figure will escalate in the next decade as the speed of technological innovation goes supersonic. More challenging still is that this time frame also parallels the demographic tidal wave that will engulf the global economy when 70 million American baby boomers leave the workforce as only 28 million new workers enter it.
Our Inclusive Leadership Institute works with intact leadership teams to transform both the leader and their workplace cultures so that they can truly tap the talents of their total workforce. The Institute offers its Inclusive Leadership and Inclusive Innovation programs in three intensive sessions over the course of one year with follow up coaching and support as organizations apply these applications to actively create inclusive performance and environments at the work place.
If you would like to learn more about the Inclusive Leadership Institute, please call us at (206) 224-9293.
Calendar of Events
Celebrations:
- May 5th, 2006 Cinco de Mayo: Cinco de Mayo commemorates the May 5, 1862 Battle of Puebla (Batalla de Puebla) in which General Ignacio Zaragoza's Mexican troops defeated Napoleon III's French forces. Many people confuse Cinco de Mayo with Mexican Independence Day (September 16, 1810). Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more in the United States than in Mexico and many people of Mexican descent celebrate with parades, music, and dancing.
- May 14th, 2006 Mother's Day: Mother's Day is a time of commemoration and celebration for Mom. It is a time of breakfast in bed, family gatherings, and crayon scribbled "I Love You's. It's an occasion which began in 1907 to honor all mothers and motherhood.
- May 29th, 2006 Memorial Day: This Holiday honors all men and women that were in the armed forces who have died in war. Public Law 90-363, passed on June 28, 1968, mandating that Memorial Day would be observed on the last Monday in May starting in the year 1971. It is a legal holiday in the United States.
- June, 2006 Gay and Lesbian Pride Month: Cities all over the world participate in Gay Pride festivities during the month of June. Many celebrations coincide with the June 27-28 anniversary date of the Stonewall Uprising which occurred in New York City in 1969.
Events:
- NW Diversity Learning Series is conducting its 8th annual speaker series
throughout 2006 focusing on values of diversity and inclusion, and fostering change
in organizations. The following is a list of upcoming speakers For more information
contact www.DiversityCentral.com
Session III: Thursday, May 11, 2006
Anticipating the loss of power: Transforming micro-inequities that impede access to opportunities and inhibit relationships.
Presenter: Wesley Profit, Ph.D. Los Angeles, CASession IV: Thursday, July 13, 2006
Becoming an experienced commuter: Bridging diverse generational differences.
Presenter: Steve Hanamura, President, Hanamura Consulting, Inc., Portland, ORSession V: Thursday, September 28, 2006
Asking for and giving directions: Using coaching, mentoring and ownership as a strategy to guide you toward opportunities and growth.
Presenters: Kay Iwata, President, K. Iwata Associates, Inc., Union City, CA, and Greg Clark, Principal, Coach Centric, LLC, Austin, TXSession VI: Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Recovering from taking a wrong exit: Turning negative feedback (failure), or loss of face into a positive and capacity-building outcome.
Presenter: Michael Hyter, President and COO, Novations Group, Inc., Boston, MA - July 19 – August 1: The 29th Annual Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC). For more information visit www.intercultural.org
- November 1-4: 2006 SIETAR USA's annual conference is being held at Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information visit www.sietarusa.org
People:
- May 19th, 2006 Malcolm X Day: Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, Malcolm X became one of the most outspoken and popular leaders of the Black Nationalist movement in the 1960s. Malcolm X was a fervent supporter of black separatism and spoke eloquently and bitterly against white people. A trip to Mecca in 1964 caused him to modify these views and he announced that he now embraced world unity. Malcolm X Day is celebrated in most major American cities, including Washington, D. C. where festivities draw about 75,000 people to Anacostia Park.
- Katherine Ortega (1934- ) a Mexican American, was the first woman bank president in California. In 1983 President Reagan appointed Ms. Ortega as the United States Treasurer where she served for six years. In 1989 she was honored with the Alexander Hamilton Award for outstanding services.
- Arati Prabhakar (1959- ) was born in New Delhi, India and immigrated to the United States in 1962. She was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in applied physics from California Institute of Technology. In 1983 she was appointed by President Clinton to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a government agency that establishes technological standards, becoming the first woman and also the youngest person to have ever held this office.
New at EDS
Recent Honors:
- On March 30th, 2006 at the Diversity Business.com Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada; EDS was awarded with the Top Small Business award. In recognition of demonstrated qualities of leadership, entrepreneurship and outstanding community service. We are most humbled by this award, and we sincerely appreciate this recognition. Thank you!!!
Upcoming workshops:
Donna Stringer and Andy Reynolds will again be teaching Foundations of Intercultural Communication at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon July 19-21, 2006. Donna will be working with Michael Paige on a new course at the Institute which will explore effective assessment strategies in organizations and Donna will be teaching a Saturday session on values. To learn more about the Institute, go to www.intercultural.orgback to top »
About People at EDS
Patrice Savery has joined EDS on a temporary assignment assisting in administrative duties in the office. Having recently completed a master's degree in food studies at New York University, Patrice also holds an A.A.S. degree in culinary arts from the Seattle Culinary Academy. Prior to graduate school, she was a marketing/public relations professional developing marketing communications, promotions and education programs for 14 years. With her master's degree and passion for food, Patrice plans to combine her work experiences to execute food literacy programs that promote healthy eating among children and adults.
back to top »Data Dump (Did You Know?)
According to Roy D. Alder, Executive Director of the Glass Ceiling Research Center, twenty-five Fortune 500 firms with the best records of promoting women to executive positions are between 18% and 69%, more profitable than the median Fortune 500 firms in their industry.
According to the Center for Women's Business Research, Nearly half (48%) of all privately-held U.S. firms are 50% or more women-owned. This means that 10.6 million firms are at least half owned by a woman or women. These firms employ 19.1 million people and generate nearly $2.5 trillion in sales.
As of 2004, women of color owned an estimated 1.4 million privately-held firms in the U.S., employing nearly 1.3 million people and generating nearly $147 billion in sales.
back to top »Kudos for Best Practices for Diversity
This month's KUDOS goes to USG. An EDS client since 1997, USG recently emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy stronger than ever - managing to raise their stock prices in the process. While working through chapter 11, USG's diversity program continued to flourish and expand; managers became more culturally competent bringing training to the front line by using internal USG trainers to prepare hourly staff. CEO & President Bill Foote has recently influenced the organization to broaden recruitment efforts and move towards creating a more diverse & inclusive workplace. Through such leadership efforts, USG is developing a renewed five year Diversity and Inclusion strategy, re-organizing its Diversity Council (DISC) and taking steps to make all aspects of USG business more inclusive. Most importantly, those leading the charge understand that cross-cultural competency is a journey, not a destination, and the process is ongoing. Here's to their continued success!
Elmer Dixon
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Quotes to live by...
- Mahatma Gandhi
I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people. - Lao-Tzu
To lead people walk behind them. - Martin Luther King, Jr. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
- Bill Gates As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.
- Jesse Jackson Leadership has a harder job to do than just choosing sides, it must bring sides together.
- Mary D. Poole Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.
- Marian Anderson Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.
- Ralph Nader I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.
- Muhammed Ali "Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them--a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."
- Edwin Markham "He drew a circle that shut me out -- Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in."
- Peter Ferdinand Drucker "Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes."
Reel Reviews (April 2006)
With our focus on inclusive leadership this month, I have no choice but to review the 2000 version of Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington as Coach Boone--coach of a high school football team. The team, consisting of both white and black players began the year in a very rocky state: racism, individualism, subtle and not-so-subtle refusals to cooperate. Whether he knew it or not, Coach Boone used some age-old psychological techniques, putting the players into a boot-camp-like setting where they could not succeed without cooperating. If one person lost, they all lost. And cooperate they did! Coach Boone demonstrates inclusive leadership, eventually resulting in the players developing their own leadership-inclusive of everyone on the team. This movie was advertised as "based on a true story." While there was serious controversy about how accurately the movie portrayed truth, there is no controversy about how effectively the movie demonstrates inclusive leadership. If this movie does not engage you, check your pulse! Another source of movies about leadership (although they don't focus on inclusive leadership) is an article in Inc. magazine. You can find it here.
back to top »The Book Nook
My American Life: From Rage to Entitlement (2005) by Price M. Cobbs, M.D.
If you are looking for a living example of an inclusive leader, you need go no further than Dr. Price Cobbs. As a young white woman, like many others in the 1960s, I participated in the civil rights movement because I knew intuitively it was the right thing to do. Also like many other white individuals, I had virtually no understanding of the Black experience. In addition to the activities in which I involved myself, I began to educate myself through reading. Black Rage by Price Cobbs and William Grier was one of my first reads and it had an enormous impact on me. It lead to seeking out other Black writers including James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, W.E. B. Du Bois to name a few. Now, 30 years later, Dr. Cobbs has published an autobiography that allows me to see inside the journey he has taken through his career as an African American in medicine, education, and the corporate world. This is a personal account and it does not purport to represent the experience of all Blacks in America. Nonetheless, it is authentic and moving in its revelations. This is a book I readily recommend to anyone who wants to read a personal-and personable-account of one man's journey. And you'll pick up a little history in the process.
-Donna Stringer Ph.D.
The Guide for Inclusive Leaders, (2006) by Joerg Schmitz & Nancy Curl
Based on a system that identifies four reaction types of insiders and four reaction types for outsiders, this handbook allows the reader to identify behaviors and consequences to the organization for each type. It then proceeds to offer methods for coaching each type, provides constructive conversation practice, tips for creating an inclusive environment, and practice exercises. This is a very useful workbook for leaders who want to better understand inclusive leadership and wish some assistance in identifying and practicing inclusive behaviors.
-Donna Stringer Ph.D.
The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity, (2002) by Frederick A. Miller and Judith H. Katz. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
This book takes the critical work the authors have done on diversity and extends it to the development of truly inclusive business environments where every employee can feel valued and encouraged to contribute their best work. The authors discuss inclusion competencies and the enhanced value of diversity to the marketplace, providing a blueprint for leaders in how to achieve an environment of inclusion. It is a superb manual for leaders wanting to take their diversity initiative to the next level.
-Donna Stringer Ph.D.
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