By Melissa J. Anderson

“Just this month is my 25th anniversary with Accenture,” began Nellie Borrero, Managing Director, Global Inclusion and Diversity, at the organization.

“When I came on board, I was very focused and aware of the possibility and opportunity to increase diversity,” she recalled. Borrero was the first person to start a full time diversity role, having begun in the New York office, and then expanding the diversity program to the US. “Now, today, we have a global focus,” she said.

“I’m happy about the progress I’ve seen in the culture in my organization,” she said.
“We’re incredibly diverse. My mission and objective has always been to create an environment where everyone can feel like they can succeed.”

She continued, “And now people – whether they’re in the US, or India, or Japan – are coming in, feeling a sense of belonging, and that they can succeed.”

By Melissa J. Anderson

“It’s important to remember that everyone can be inspired by your message,” said Ana Duarte McCarthy, Managing Director and Chief Diversity Officer at Citi.

In fact, Duarte McCarthy has been spreading the diversity message at Citi since 1995, and one of her proudest achievements, she said, was being part of the work to bring employee resource networks to the company.

“We started working on this in the late ‘90s, developing best practices for positive workplace cultures and launched our first network in ’97, the African American Heritage network. Now we have 54 networks in U.S., the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and Canada, and we are set to recognize eight more this fall.”

“This is a legacy for Citi, and I feel really good about it. It builds our brand, it helps us attract employees, and it provides great leadership development.”

By Melissa J. Anderson

Last Week, Opportunity Now, an initiative of UK charity Business in the Community, released a new study on inclusive leadership. The report, “Inclusive Leadership – from Pioneer to Mainstream,” highlighted the value that inclusive leaders bring to an organization, and recognized that there aren’t nearly enough of them.

In her forward to the report, Alison Platt, Divisional Managing Director, Europe and North America, Bupa and Chair of Opportunity Now, wrote, “Inclusive leadership is a leadership style which embraces, encourages and taps into the creativity and ideas which come about in non homogeneous groups.”

She continued,

“Truly inclusive leaders are not as widespread as we might like. …This is why we have described them as pioneer leaders. They are breaking new ground, learning through example and experience and not via organisational design. This research sets out what an inclusive leader actually is, how you can identify one in your business, and how to systematically increase the number of these pioneer leaders in your organisation.”

The study shows that inclusive leadership is transformative, engaging, critical – and rare. Here’s Opportunity Now’s advice on how you can build a culture of inclusive leadership at your organization.

By Melissa J. Anderson

“Right now is a very exciting time for the Diversity and Inclusion team at American Express,” said Jennifer Christie, Chief Diversity Officer and VP, Global Executive at American Express.

Christie is leading the company’s global diversity team on putting together its next three-year strategy. She said, “We’re taking the diversity and inclusion work that was done here, which was really transformational, and taking it to the next level.”

“This company and culture allows you to dream big – and we are,” she added.

By Tina Vasquez

According to a recent Northwestern University report entitled Are Leader Stereotypes Masculine?, the characteristics that people commonly ascribe to women, men, and leaders contribute to the challenges that women face in obtaining leadership roles and performing well in them.

The study also found that women are viewed as less qualified in most leadership roles and when women adopt culturally masculine behaviors often required by these roles, such as being assertive or aggressive, they are viewed as inappropriate or presumptuous. Alice Eagly, professor of psychology at Northwestern and co-author of the study calls this ‘the double bind.’

“Masculine qualities are seen as more crucial to leadership, so women are thought to be less qualified than men. We call this the double bind because when women have these ‘masculine’ characteristics and behave in ways that are competitive and ambitious, it’s not seen as a good thing,” Eagly said.

“This is because women are thought of as ‘nice’; they must be nice even when they become leaders, which leads people to question whether or not they’re cut out for the role. If they’re not nice; however, people wonder what’s wrong with them. Men don’t have this problem because they’re never expected to be nice.”

How do we get out of this Catch-22? Eagly provided some suggestions.

By Melissa J. Anderson

“I remember Susan Butler, Accenture’s first female senior executive,” began Jorge Benitez, Managing Director, North America and Chief Executive, United States at Accenture. “To be the first at something – that’s huge.”

In fact, Benitez himself has been an advocate for and a role model of diversity at the company since he joined it thirty years ago. He explained, “There weren’t a lot of people who looked like me when you looked around. We’ve made huge strides since then. And it’s important as we become leaders to pass that onto the next generation.”

“It’s night and day versus 30 years ago – diversity is part of our fabric now. Of course, we can always find room for improvement,” he said.

Contributed by management expert Greg Giesen

I was asked to facilitate a two-hour focus group comprised of six people to discuss a proposed recycling program in a nearby town. “Sure,” I said, “how difficult could that be?” Granted I have never facilitated a focus group before, but six people…come on! Little did I know that in addition to the six people in the focus group, there were over 150 angry community members who felt compelled to attend the meeting as well.

Note to self: Never assume anything.

The topic of recycling wasn’t so much the controversial issue to the community members…it was the mandatory part that seemed to bring out every anti-government entity around, including organizers from out of state.

As I walked into the city hall that night, the event coordinator ran up to me and said that the recycling issue had become somewhat heated in the past few days since we had talked and that in addition to facilitating the small group of six, I also needed to open the meeting in the big room and address the growing crowd of over 200.

By Melissa J. Anderson

“I think that one great change that marvelous people brought about was when the organization said this is an organization for all girls. And we built a wonderful organization that Peter Drucker said was the best in the world,” said Frances Hesselbein, former CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA from 1976 to 1990.

Upon taking the reins, she led the faltering organization to a new era of dynamic success, by implementing new delivery methods and ushering in a host of initiatives aimed at improving diversity. Now President and CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management), Hesselbein’s model of servant leadership has inspired powerful people around the world, and in 1998, she was awarded the Presidential Model of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian can received in the US.

She is the recipient of over 20 honorary degrees, and her work on leadership and management is respected globally. As Marshall Goldsmith, who moderated the event, explained, “In the world of leadership she is the role model.” Hesselbein, who is deeply patriotic, said her commitment to diversity is linked to her love of her country. “How can we sustain democracy if we don’t know the power of inclusion?” she asked.

By Melissa J. Anderson

Now entering its fourth year, the Goldman Sachs Returnship® program is returning this fall. Originally specific to Goldman’s New York headquarters, the program has expanded to include Hong Kong, Singapore, Salt Lake City, and New Jersey – and the firm is looking toward a London program as well.

The Returnship® evolved out of research that employers were ignoring an experienced source of talent: women who had left the workforce for a few years, and were eager to get back in. Like an internship, the program lasts for a limited amount of time, and provides seasoned women with the opportunity to see if they are ready to on-ramp back into the workforce. Monica Marquez, Vice President, Office of Global Leadership & Diversity at Goldman Sachs, and director of the program, said, “The beauty about the Returnship® program is that it is a ten-week program. There is a start date. There is an end date.”

In those ten weeks, participants – or “returnees,” as Goldman calls them – work on real business challenges tailored to their skills and experience. Marquez explained, “What we really try to do is work with the hiring manager to identify really meaty projects that these individuals can come in and work on because the difference from a regular summer intern is that Returnship® individuals are very seasoned, very experienced individuals who just happen to have taken a career break and are looking to come back.”

As one returnee remarked, “The ability to play an integral role in a team in such a short period of time was a great validation of my skill-set.”

By Melissa J. Anderson

Last Week, the Women’s Executive Circle of New York held an event entitled The Path to the Boardroom: What you need to do today to get there tomorrow. The event, hosted by Morgan Stanley, featured a talk with Bonnie Gwin, Vice Chairman and Managing Partner, Heidrick & Struggles.

Gwin, who focuses on Director and CEO level searches at the recruiting firm, serves as a national board chair of the Make a Wish Foundation.

She began her discussion with the following advice: “When you get into board practice, whether a for-profit board or a not-for-profit board, it’s got to be something you feel passionate about.”