Trailblazers: How Top Business Leaders are Accelerating Results through Inclusion and Diversity

Make diversity your competitive advantage To reap the full benefits of diversity and inclusion, today's forward thinking companies look past "diversity" training towards a more comprehensive, holistic business approach. These leaders incorporate diversity and inclusion into every aspect of business culture, employee engagement, talent management and market penetration. Trailblazers reveals the practices, metrics and research, as well as the anecdotal evidence, for building and sustaining workplace cultures that make strategic diversity and inclusion a business necessity. Focusing on concrete actions you can implement immediately, this insider guide profiles the best practices award-winning companies have used on a sustained basis to transform their organizations. Captures insights and best practices from the most effective Chief Diversity Officers, several of which are determined by the Diversity Inc Top 50 Companies for Diversity Companies profiled include IBM, Dell, Verizon, Merck and Co, Sodexo, Verizon, Andrews Kurth, The Coca-Cola Company, American Airlines, Citi, Ford, Shell and Pitney Bowes Covers everything from how to use employee resource groups to help target consumers and forge tighter client relationships; from talent optimization, leadership development and retention, to increasing middle management engagement and the skill-sets required for effective Chief Diversity Officers as true business partners and more Trailblazers gives you an in-depth view from the inside out of which practical solutions make diversity and inclusion efforts a systemic and winning way of doing business for today's top-performing companies.

Table of Contents:
Foreword xiv Acknowledgments xvi Preface xix 1 Meet the Trailblazers 1 Michael Collins, American Airlines 2 Elizabeth A. Campbell, Andrews Kurth, LLP 5 Ana Duarte McCarthy, Citi 7 Steve Bucherati, The Coca-Cola Company 8 Gilbert ‘‘Gil’’ F. Casellas, Dell 10 Kiersten Robinson, Ford Motor Company 12 Ron Glover, IBM 14 Deborah ‘‘Deb’’ Dagit, Merck & Company 15 Susan Johnson, Pitney Bowes 18 Francene Young, Shell 19 Rohini Anand, PhD, Sodexo 21 Magda Yrizarry, Verizon Communications, Inc. 23 2 The CEO’s Role in Success: Commitment 27 CEO Commitment Is Four-Fold 28 Commitment Signals Importance 35 Walking the Walk 37 3 Trailblazers: Chief Diversity Officer’s Role in Success 41 Building, Collaborating, Leading, and Leaving a Legacy 41 7.5 Critical Competencies of Effective CDOs 45 In Their Own Words—On Being an Effective Leader of Inclusion and Diversity 58 4 Communicating the Vision 67 A Variety of Communications Vehicles Are Required 69 5 Accountability for Results 75 Hard Impact from the ‘‘Soft’’ Stuff 75 It Takes a Village 76 Embracing Resistance 84 Why Resistance Occurs 85 6 Middle Managers: Much-Maligned Malcontents or Implementation Powerhouses? 89 Focus 94 Road Maps and Milestones 95 The ‘‘Numbas’’: Numbers and Metrics 96 Performance Management and Recognition 97 7 Changing the Culture through Education: Why Diversity Training Doesn’t Work—and How to Fix It 101 The Myth about Inclusion and Diversity Training 101 Training as a Tool to Reduce the Threat of Lawsuits 103 Many Leaders Want to Follow the Path of Least Resistance 104 How to Make Inclusion and Diversity Education Worth the Investment 105 Including Education and Training Measures in the Audit 106 One Size Does Not Fit All 107 Develop Processes Your Leaders Will Use to Reinforce the Learning Immediately and Long Term 107 Develop an Effective Evaluation Process 108 Identify the Facilitators for Delivery of Inclusion and Diversity Efforts 109 Evaluate All Company Training and Education from a Diversity Perspective 110 Develop Scorecards for Diversity and Inclusion Training 110 What Trailblazers Are Saying and Doing 111 8 Sticky StrategiesTM to Keep Your Pipeline Filled 119 Finding the Right First Step 120 Sticky StrategiesTM That Work 121 Mentoring, Sponsoring, and Coaching 127 Succession Planning 130 Representation Tracking 130 9 Community Involvement and Social Responsibility: Is It Just Good Public Relations or Is There More? 133 Community Involvement: A Responsibility and Good Business 133 Linking Diversity Efforts and Community Involvement 134 Leading the Way through Supporting Professional Associations 136 Building Bridges through Learning and Trust 138 Engaging Employees for Increased Commitment 140 Connecting to Global Communities 141 10 Global Diversity and Inclusion 143 Adopting a Global Mindset 143 Technology and Global Diversity 144 Differences Matter 145 Inequality Is Global 146 Generalize; Don’t Stereotype 147 Journey from Equal Employment Opportunity to Inclusion and Diversity 147 Customers Exercise Their Choices 149 Global Diversity and Talent Management 150 Accelerating Results 151 11 Marketplace/Brand Eminence 153 Relationship of Inclusion and Diversity to the Marketplace 154 Evaluations and Recognitions: Double-Edged Swords? 157 Making the Words and the Music Match 157 12 And the Reseach Says : Facts vs. Myths 161 Introduction 161 Are Leaders of Color the Best Leaders of Diversity Initiatives? 162 Deep-Level Diversity versus Surface-Level Diversity Perspectives 163 Universities Employing Professionals of Color: What Are Their Results? 166 Strategic Priorities of Diversity and Inclusion 166 Type and Extent of Diversity Activities 168 Is It All about the Money for Employees of Color? 170 Are All Employees Sensitive to Diversity Climate Issues? 171 The Impact of Diversity on Climate for Employees of Color and the Outcomes 173 Research Setting: U.S. Business Schools 175 Research Summary 176 13 Diversity and Inclusion Councils: Internal and External 181 Strengthening Connectivity inside the Organization 181 External Diversity Councils: Inviting the Outside In 185 Fast-Forward 187 14 Employee Resource Groups or Networks 193 Networks for Business Advancement 194 ERGs 195 Types of Employee Resource Groups 196 Chaired by Senior Management 198 A Deeper Look at ERGs/Networks and D & I 199 Rewards and Recognition 200 A Question of Faith 201 Tracking Employee Resource Groups 202 More than One Way to Achieve Results 202 Budgets for ERGs 203 A Word about Social Networking 203 15 Supplier Diversity: A Strategic Procurement Choice 205 First Tier, Second Tier—Where to Focus? 206 Supplier Diversity at Its Core 207 Does Supplier Diversity Translate into Results for the Business? 209 Opportunity Is the Key Word 209 Reaching Out to Diverse Suppliers 210 Defining Goals within a Company 211 Measures of Success 212 Appendix: Study Methodology and Samples 215 Notes 219 Index 223

About the Author :
REDIA ANDERSON, executive coach and nationally recognized leader in the field of inclusion and diversity, is a former chief diversity officer (Deloitte, Equiva Services—joint venture between Shell/Texaco/Saudi Aramco) and has worked with Fortune 500 corporations, partnerships, and universities. Redia is Managing Partner of Anderson People Strategies, LLC, where she helps organizations align people, performance, and results. Redia has been featured in national publications such as Working Mother and DiversityInc magazine. LENORA BILLINGS-HARRIS is a diversity strategist and international speaker who helps organizations make diversity a competitive advantage. Diversity Woman magazine named her as one of twenty top influential diversity leaders in 2008, and she is a past president of the National Speakers Association. Lenora serves on the adjunct faculties of the business schools of Averett University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.