Posted on May 13, 2012 by Cynthia Pladziewicz

Changing the Boardroom One Awesome Woman at a Time

melisa%20denis-1.pngThis morning I received another email from Melisa Denis, Senior Partner at KPMG and President of The Board Connection. It struck me that I've been getting these emails for two years now, week in and week out without fail. They start with a heading such as "New Board Opportunity-Global Glassware Company" and are followed by Melisa's request to "contact me if you have the required credentials." Many of the opportunities come through her fellow visionaries at the fifteen regional groups (such as The Board Connection) who comprise a network called InterOrganization Network (ION).

This morning I responded to Melisa's email and thanked her. I just can't believe how consistently committed she is. Her reply: "Changing the boardroom one awesome woman at a time." 

Here's the other part that inspires me. Melisa's passion is not about her personal ambitions. As a Partner at KPMG, Melisa can't serve as an outside director on a public corporate board. What I've noticed though is that in her life and in her work she is fueled by a strong system of beliefs and values. One of her core beliefs is that diversity matters to all of us.  She says: 

On any board of directors, if you can only fill the room with people who think like you, how can you get the best result for customers, shareholders, and everyone in between?  Women think differently,--That difference adds value.  It is that diversity that makes a board stronger.

So this morning I would like to help find find a few more awesome women. Do you know any? Perhaps you?

If so, check out The ION website to learn more about the whys and hows of corporate board membership and how to join with Melisa and men and women like her across the country.  They are changing the boardroom-- one awesome woman at a time.  

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Cynthia Pladziewicz

Microaggressions: How we unintentionally injure our friends and clients

Everyone has experienced it, a brief back-handed slight wrapped in the form of praise. Sara Martin writes in this month's issue of Monitor on Psychology about the ways in which these sometimes unintentional acts leave lasting damage. She points by way of example to the "praise" that others have bestowed on Asian-American educator and author, Dr. Derald Wing Sue with repect to his "excellent" English language skills. According to SuThumbnail image for diversity.jpge, such statements only serve to remind him that he is a "perpetual alien in my own country." 

As professionals, most of us do not intend aggression or ill-will towards our clients and colleagues.  It's just hard sometimes to understand what it's like to be in the other person's shoes.  What are some of the most common microaggressions you can look out for?  Here are a few suggested by Sue, Martin and others:

  • Praising the English language skills of Asian-Americans
  • Praising the articulateness of an African-American
  • Suggest that a position could be filled by a "qualified" member of any diverse group (as if that's an anomoly)
  • Speaking louder to someone who is blind
  • Commenting on the hairstyles, weight or attire of female employees
  • ignoring the partner of gay, lesbian and transgendered clients in invitations or conversation
  • Assuming that a female partner does not want to work on a weekend when a new opportunity comes along
  • Asking a Latino where he was born
  • Suggesting that "white men" view the world in a particular way
  • Suggesting that a man's taking paternity leave is not as legitimate as a woman taking maternity leave

Have you experienced a microaggression?  Let me know.  I would love to share an expanded list in a future blog.  

 

Thanks to Sanjay for the great photo.  

 

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Cynthia Pladziewicz

Want great leadership? You get what you pay for.

W2.jpgAre you tired of starting new initiatives only to see them fall by the wayside?  Perhaps it is because you are asking for one thing but rewarding another when compensation time rolls around.  

Leadership expert Pat Asp says that the reality is you get exactly what you pay for.  Want diversity, loyal employees, happy clients, a harassment- and jerk- free work place?  (By the way, many of these "soft" concepts correlate to long-term economic success and sustainability for your organization).  Then according to Asp, you must reward behaviors that achieve just that:

If you put in on their W-2s, their hearts and minds will follow.

Asp should know.  She led business units of over 1000 employees and $300 million in revenues and served as Senior Vice President Strategic Management and Performance at The ServiceMaster Company.  Asp points to other proven methods for sustaining the workplace culture you value and making the message stick:

  1. Monitor and measure results and performance.  
  2. In meetings and communications where you share metrics, the metrics you use to measure the initiative must be kept in proportionate importance to other business metrics.  The agenda spot where you put the metrics for diversity, employee turnover, client satisfaction, or anything else you say you value, sends a bold message about how you really feel.
  3. When senior leaders (even the CEO and Board) don't walk the walk, you must address the gaps EVEN IF THEY ARE PERFORMING WELL ON THE OTHER METRICS (for example, generating profits).