If you were in charge of your corporate culture and knew it needed fixing, would you fix it? Certainly anyone in charge of change management would want to say yes to this question, but as anyone who is actually in charge of corporate culture knows, it’s harder than it looks. I like to think of...
It's counter-intuitive that if we don't think we are biased, we probably are! But when you realize that bias is natural and that we all have it, then it makes sense that being aware of your bias is the best way to counter-act it. We love this advice from Dana on how to think about bias and work to...
Sometimes we have to accept the reality that innovation can’t always be planned, but when we find a pattern to help us increase the likelihood of spontaneity – why not try to learn it and bake it into the corporate culture? In their new book “Great by Choice,” Jim Collins and Morten Hansen have...
Throughout my career I’ve had experiences with government, nonprofit and corporate cultures, and I’ve noticed a leadership pattern in all three that leaders can learn from. Consensus means different things to different people. Be brave. Do Your Job. Don’t take the ”easy” path. The word consensus...
Mentoring Women Key Takeaways: Mentorship Must Evolve: Traditional mentoring advice often perpetuates outdated gender tropes that hinder women's leadership potential. Mentors need to update their guidance to reflect current workplace realities. Unconscious Bias is Pervasive: Mentors can...
What does pro-employee even mean? You may interpret the phrase “pro-employee” any number of ways. It could be about being on the list of top companies to work for. Maybe it’s about working effectively with unions or being union-free. It could be about benefits, vacation time, flexible work hours,...
In recognition of the fact that a company with women in roughly 30% of its leadership tend to produce healthier and stronger performing companies, there are lots of good programs out there trying to help women. But should we really wait for HR to come up with a great program?
Seriously – it’s not about the special programs. It’s about you and me and what we do every day to create the culture we live in – and to create a culture that welcomes the gifts women bring into the leadership ranks. Culture is created by the behaviors we tolerate and those we don’t. This doesn’t just apply to women.
Men and women both bear responsibility for helping lead their companies and create a strong culture – no matter what their title is.
Personally what can we do?
I feel like we’ve been in “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 101” class for decades now. Starting more than 30 years ago organizations first funded the “D” (diversity). Then when those programs didn’t diversify workforces enough, they added the “I” (inclusion) and more recently the “E” (equity) to...
I so appreciate this conversation with Saundra Gilliard and the powerful women who participated in my interview with her. We discussed the complexities of setting up true and impactful alliances across racial lines between women. It turns out that the answer to the question, "How can I be a good...
I can’t tell you how many clients come to me with what they understand to be antithetical desires: executive success and authenticity. They’re very aware of the signs of a toxic boss and they don’t want to be that. They hope I can help them figure out how to be authentic, supportive of their team...
