When Canada's new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was asked by a reporter why 50% of his government ministers in his Cabinet were women, he said, without missing a beat, "Because it's 2015." At the time it may have seemed like a trite response from a Prime Minister, but it signaled a remarkable change in the... Read More
In today's increasingly diverse world it's important to make meetings and events accessible to everyone; it's not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do. I recently made a keynote presentation to 200 at a staff development conference at Toronto's George Brown College. I was impressed with the effort the College... Read More
[caption id="attachment_629" align="aligncenter" width="300"] http://goo.gl/2IBGP4[/caption] If an organization wants to be more inclusive, how leaders behave will determine success or failure. Leaders set the tone for others to follow. It is said that employees expect four things from their leaders or managers: meaning or direction, trust in and from the leader, a sense of... Read More
Implementing a diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiative is a lot like cross-country skiing; it’s important to find the right balance so all the elements are working together to get optimal results. It has been a harsh winter here in Ontario. With a record number of days at -20C, 40 per cent more snow than normal... Read More
Members of a Diversity and Inclusion Council completed the following sentence: "Leaders in an organization are being inclusive when...." They are walking the (diversity) talk and modeling inclusive behaviour. They are taking part in both formal and informal processes that support the development of an inclusive organization. They understand community expectations and hold their staff accountable for... Read More
Just because a team is diverse -- having people with different perspectives, race and cultural backgrounds -- is no guarantee the team will be effective. A recent analysis of the composition of top management teams by the Centre for Effective Organizations (part of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California) has... Read More
[caption id="attachment_596" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Diversity Inertia = Competing Priorities + Comfort Zones[/caption] Newton's first law -- the law of inertia -- states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. The same law can be applied to diversity and inclusion programs in organizations. Diversity inertia occurs when... Read More
The flu season is upon us and you can get more information about it than you can blow your nose at. But when you are in the grips of the flu and you are feeling like the Grim Reaper is rapping at your door, do you care if the people making decisions about your... Read More
Diversity, Inclusion Boost Innovation, Organizational Strength Diversity and Inclusion was the focus of the recent Credit Union Leadership Forum Edu-Leader learning event for senior leaders to increase organizational effectiveness. Stuart Levine writes that leaders face many challenges to diversity and inclusion. Often the most important one is insider/outsider dynamics within the organization. "Insiders, who are... Read More
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6OKbHbhrIk] The business community has been dealing with issues of diversity for many years, with many successes to show for their efforts. What can the public sector learn from business about collaborating with diverse communities, and leveraging the talent, resources and networks of these communities? And in what ways can public policy around diversity support... Read More