Diversity in Leadership: 5 Reasons Diversity at the Top Is Critical in 2021

The conversation around diversity, inclusivity, and equity (DIE) has been happening for decades but not many organizations have championed it. Workplace diversity is improving at a snail’s pace despite pledges and attempts by corporates for decades. According to a Bloomberg reportOpens a new window , people of color, different races, or ethnicities are underrepresented in leadership roles.

So why aren’t the organizations getting DIE right?

I think there are people who may not see themselves as part of DEI work, such as some white men. We have a ‘Men as Allies’ initiative to support men to see their role in DEI and advance their ally skills, so everyone is contributing to the company being a more diverse and inclusive organization.

– Dawn Frazier-BohnertOpens a new window , global diversity, equity & inclusion officer, Liberty Mutual InsuranceOpens a new window

An important aspect of structuring a diverse and inclusive workplace is to have your leadership promote, practice, and symbolize diversity. “That means hiring diverse talent into higher levels of management and creating a workplace that is inclusive enough to retain people of color after they join,” saysOpens a new window Tina Shah Paikeday, executive at Russell Reynolds Associates, as she shares her thoughts on how to increase representation.

According to Frazier-Bohnert, “In order to be successful, companies need leaders of all backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. We want to reflect and therefore better serve all our customers. We have all seen the studies that a diverse team, if well managed, outperforms and can be more innovative than homogenous teams.”

Diversity needs a sustained long-term effort along with a diverse leadership with different perspectives as they gradually move to the top. Thus, organizations must ingrain a conducive culture for the underrepresented to provide equal opportunities and motivation to make it to the top roles.

Researchers Lori Nishiura Mackenzie and JoAnne Wehner suggest involving managers and leaders involved from the word go, as reported by Harvard Business ReviewOpens a new window . “Often, organizations have experts design programs that are then deployed to the managers. This strategy often lacks a reality check: Does this program fit into the way managers already work, or are managers now required to add something into their already complex days? Involving managers in the design process can increase buy-in and smooth implementation, making interventions more sustainable and long-lasting,” they sayOpens a new window .

Here are some interesting stats and facts on diverse leadership:

• White men form 68% of C-level executives, while women of color are only 4% – Sapling HROpens a new window
• Diversity of thinking boosts innovation by 20% – Deloitte InsightsOpens a new window
• Ethnically diverse leadership is 36% more likely to achieve profitability – Sapling HROpens a new window
• Google in its commitment to racial equityOpens a new window announced to improve underrepresented groups’ representation by 30% by 2025.
• LinkedIn has committed to double the number of Black and Latino US employees in senior positions over the next five years – LinkedIn Workforce Diversity Report 2020Opens a new window
• Facebook committed to increasing the representation of people of color in leadership roles by 30% by 2025 in their 2020 Diversity ReportOpens a new window .

But, why is leadership diversity critical? And why now?

People are demanding answers to ensure justice and equal representation as cases of racist attacks and harassment of minority groups are growing. While most organizations have made pledges to bring meaningful changes, the goal is far from achieved. The voice of the people in #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter has now forced the world to take notice and act. This makes sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusivity a priority for the organizations to ensure that employees are not marginalized in the workplace.

According to Donna KimmelOpens a new window , EVP and chief people officer, CitrixOpens a new window , “Diverse leadership models inclusion to the whole team. When employees see people, who are “like them” in leadership positions, they have more confidence that they too can grow in their career. They may feel more comfortable asking for sponsorship or mentorship from someone who may understand their experience. The more inclusion you demonstrate, the more inclusion you get.”

Another pivotal factor is how the corporate world has changed in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a global and remote workforce, it is now essential for organizations to enable a diverse set of employees across the globe. And a diverse leadership can adjust the sails to bring a new dimension to hiring, managing, motivating, and enabling a truly global workforce. Success with diverse and inclusive workforce makes your company more resilient to operate in different parts of the world.

5 Reasons Why Leadership Diversity Brings More Opportunities in 2021.

Leadership diversity has now become a strategic priority for organizations for creating an authentic, resilient, and assuring work environment. Here is how diverse leadership can help your organization achieve success in 2021.

1. Enable representation

When people of color, race, ethnicities, sexual orientation, different abilities, etc. are represented at the top; it sets the tone, ensures representation, and instills confidence in the organization. Moreover, leaders from a population who have not experienced marginalization, are less likely to understand the impact and challenges minorities face and tactically address them. However, leaders from diverse groups can pinpoint the core problems and contribute solutions that enable all groups to succeed. Besides, they become relatable role models to whom employees look up to, connect with, and get inspired.

1. Bring new perspectives

Leadership must be diverse not only in terms of gender, race, and orientation but also in education and thinking. Diverse leadership will bring different life experiences and approaches to solving problems. For instance, precarious scenarios like the COVID-19 pandemic require agile thinking that ensures the business has cognitive diversity to navigate through uncertainty. Cognitively diverse leadership will have a holistic view of the world and this rich experience can help customize solutions for specific parts of the world, whether it is for employees or customers.

1. Improve overall employee satisfaction

As reported by Quantum WorkplaceOpens a new window , 61% of employees say diversity and inclusion strategies are important and make them more engaged. With a diverse leadership to look up to, employees have a stronger sense of belonging to the organization and envision their ability to advance to senior roles. This will motivate them to network more and invest in professional relationships, which will in turn impact their career trajectory.

“Whether you’re a prospective or current employee, when you can see yourself in leadership, you’re more likely to also see a future for yourself with the company and feel that you belong there,” explains Frazier-Bohnert.

A diverse leadership can empathize with a diverse workforce and support them in unique ways that improve employees’ overall satisfaction. And if employees are confident and relaxed, they tend to perform well. “You’re more likely to be inspired to apply for a job or promotion. This also creates a stronger leadership pipeline for companies, who are seeking talent of all backgrounds for senior roles,” she adds.

1. Facilitate customer connect

To connect with customers, you must listen and understand the voice of the customer. Today people are articulating the dire need for social justice and equity, which makes it important for organizations to bring to the forefront a diverse leadership that boosts customer confidence in the brand. Also, when you have a diverse customer base, they cannot form lasting relationships when they don’t see diverse representation. The diverse face of an organization enables you to effectively communicate your brand values and send out a relatable, meaningful, and authentic brand message.

1. Showcase better business outcomes

According to McKinsey & Company researchOpens a new window gender, ethnic, and cultural diversity in corporate leadership is directly linked to business profitability. There are various reasons for this correlation. With diversity at the top, there are rich personal insights and experiences that can effectively address strategic and structural problems. Leaders from diverse backgrounds understand employee issues and suggest effective ways of mentoring and sponsoring underrepresented employees so that they can contribute efficiently to the organization. Also, diverse business leadership is relatable to a global workforce which instills confidence in them to contribute impactful solutions to business problems.

According to the ClearCompany blogOpens a new window , 33% of Black employees aspire to be leaders but only a tenth of them reach there and only 1% of them reach CEO position at Fortune 500 level companies, none of which are women. If diversity at the top influences employee satisfaction and the company’s bottom line, why are we not seeing a diverse leadership?

Let’s find out.

Diversity at the Top: Challenges

Although we see a lot of diversity in the workforce, diverse employees and diverse leadership are entirely different. This brings us to the question: what are the obstacles for diverse leadership?

1. Bias

It is human to fall prey to implicit biases, follow patterns of exclusion, or generalize based on common perceptions. According to a DiversityJobs reportOpens a new window based on a 2013 researchOpens a new window , “women or minorities are often appointed to leadership roles during periods of crisis or failure within an organization, making them far riskier to take on…  the researchers found that if company performance declined during the tenure of a minority CEO (which seems likely if one inherits serious problems), they were likely to be replaced by white men, who were subsequently seen as “saviors” of the organization if it eventually recovered.”

Whenever you have a diverse team, promoting inclusive communication skills is crucial. We all have bias that we need to actively disrupt. Working with people (who are different than you across any dimension of diversity) requires cultural dexterity. We have given a set of nine inclusive communication skills to help them communicate in an authentic and honest way with each other. Everyone from our C-Suite to our call center folks have a shared language, rooted in our values to be open and put people first.

— Dawn Frazier-BohnertOpens a new window , global diversity, equity & inclusion officer, Liberty Mutual InsuranceOpens a new window

1. Survival of similar

It is common to find hiring centered around fitment to culture or looking for specific traits. When combined with the dominant thinking and working style of the leaders, this leads to bringing in individuals who appear to have a similar thought process and in turn contribute to the survival of the similar culture, where diverse cognitive thinking and styles have little room to contribute.

Because of the well-documented systemic issues that have hindered underrepresented groups from entering or advancing in certain fields, the talent pool for some roles is not as diverse today as it could be. But that is not an excuse. By broadening your search, expanding your recruiting efforts, and making a compelling case to join your team, you can build a pipeline of diverse candidates.

— Donna Kimmel, EVP and chief people officer, Citrix

1. Ignorance

If you have a board with leadership that belongs to a particular community or race, it becomes difficult for them to identify and figure out the real challenges of the marginalized sections. Even though the diversity programs and intent are in place, such leadership cannot holistically address the DIE issues.

1. Fear

In a highly volatile environment like today, leaders and organizations fear taking missteps or miscommunicating when in sensitive conversations. This leads them to avoid complex and conflicting situations altogether, which may lead to marginalized becoming more marginalized.

For instance, many women do enter the workforce but find it difficult to rise the ladder. A SurveyMonkey study findsOpens a new window that 60% of managers feel uncomfortable to perform activities like mentoring, socializing, working one-on-one with women after the #MeToo movement! This outlook clearly puts women at a disadvantage when it comes to reaping the benefits of networking and mentoring.

1. Culture and practices

In some organizations, there is the absence of a culture of inclusion while some are still struggling with how to approach diversity and inclusion. Many leaders are relatively new to this or have never addressed DIE before, thus tend to ignore it altogether.

These challenges stifle the employees’ thinking and natural behavior, which restricts them to innovate, express dissent, or share insights thus impacting productivity and in turn organization’s success.

So, what’s the solution?

How to Bring Diversity in Leadership?

It is essential to do away with any dominance in the organization and ingrain diversity and inclusivity in the culture. To address diversity, the head of an organization can

• • Adopt DIE as a strategic focus and connect it to the business goals
  • Address bias in the system by training the employees
  • Create personalized programs for career growth of all the employees
  • Measure how diversity and inclusion programs perform
  • Evaluate impact of such programs on the company’s goals

Technology has a significant role to play when it comes to bringing together diversity in your organization. For example, Artificial Intelligence can help you connect a global workforce, enhance human interaction, and facilitate better team composition to enable the workforce  with cognitive diversity to connect and progress.

Way Ahead

“Diversity in leadership gives you diversity in experience, skills, and perspective. We learn more from people who are unlike us, as we each bring a slightly different set of tools to every challenge. And we can use these tools to hammer out creative solutions to business challenges,” says Kimmel.

Communicating with teams in an open, transparent, yet sensitive manner makes people in your organization feel safe to report problems and come up with long-term solutions. Investing in companywide training can in-grain diversity and inclusivity in your company culture. This also motivates employees to share their stories, empathize with each other, and share perspectives. “Diversity in leadership also helps us identity opportunities and mitigate risks that more homogenous groups may not have seen. In addition, when you have more diverse leadership, you can better understand and represent the needs of a diverse customer base,” Kimmel adds.

Thus, an environment of belonging will retain and chart a growth path to help employees move to leadership positions irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, orientation, or other differences.

How can diversity in leadership accelerate workforce growth in 2021?  Share your thoughts with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , FacebookOpens a new window , and TwitterOpens a new window .