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THE LEADING EDGE: WHAT MATTERS
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Volume 5 | Issue 1
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Fall 2015
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Welcome!
Leadership Development Services is pleased to resume publication of "The Leading Edge: What Matters," now a quarterly e-letter addressing some of the critical issues that matter most to leaders like you. Count on receiving:
- Practical tips
- New strategies
- Stories of "What Matters" in action
- Links to articles and other resources
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What's New
1. Visit our updated website and get a sneak peek at our renewed direction and expanded services. Engaging with us on a tablet or mobile device? Our new site is now fully responsive, adjusting content and functionality to whichever device you're using. No more tiny text or hard-to-navigate menus. Check it out!
2. Join us as we welcome our new Vice President, Lisa Fain of Seattle, WA to our leadership team. "Lisa brings exciting dimension to our organization. Her skills and experience enhance our ability to continue providing best practice leadership development tools and services. Lisa's skills and experience in Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), conflict resolution and business resource groups will allow us to diversify and add depth to our consultation, coaching and mentoring platforms,"said Dr. Lois Zachary, President of Leadership Development Services, LLC.
3. We've added six new workshops to our menu of program offerings. To learn more about any or all of them, contact lfain@leadservs.com.
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Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Workshops
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Workplace Conflict Resolution Workshops
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1. Bridging Differences through Cultural Awareness and Competence
2. Is D&I in our DNA? Valuing and Leveraging Diversity and Inclusion for Better Business Results
3. Being Real. Really. Promoting Authenticity in a Diverse Workplace.
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4. Afraid to Offend? Constructively Addressing Conflict in the Workplace
5. Getting Comfortable with Conflict: Helping Teams Work Better Together Across Difference.
6.Culture and Conflict: How to Bridge Across Difference.
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Introducing Lisa Fain 
We asked Lisa to talk with TLE about key leadership issues and some of the ways she envisions contributing to our organization.
TLE: From your perspective, what do you see as the most pressing leadership development issues today?
LF: There are two that stand out, and both relate to the changing world marketplace. First is authenticity. It is imperative that organizations encourage their leaders to be authentic and to lead authentically. As the workplace and the marketplace become more diverse, there is such a richness in background, experience, thought and perspective that employees bring with them to work. The problem is that so many workplaces encourage conformity, so people stifle what makes them unique for fear that fully showing up at work will compromise their success. When an organizational leaders don't lead authentically, they cannot convincingly help employees bring their whole selves to work. There's a great Ted Talk on this by Christie Smith on this topic called "It's Time to Get Get Under the Covers" that is well worth watching.
Second, as the world marketplace becomes more diverse, leaders must increasingly be able to lead well across difference. This means constructively calling out and leveraging differences. The key is unlocking inclusion by developing and demonstrating cultural competency. This skill helps us understand and bridge across differences. But, it requires a commitment of all leaders to keep these issues top of mind and continue to create dialogue and understanding around dimensions of difference. TLE: Why is diversity and inclusion important to an organization and what can an organization do to get started? LF: Before I answer that question, I think it's important to clarify what I mean by diversity and inclusion. At its heart, diversity means difference - and it refers to the representation of difference in the workforce. I like to challenge organizations to think about diversity beyond just the traditional categories of race and gender. Though it is critically important to have representation from people of all genders and races, it is also important to have diversity of background, thought, experience. The world marketplace is increasingly diverse. Diversity in all elements is critically important to connect with the potential consumer, as well as to drive innovation. Inclusion is how an organization leverages that diversity. TLE: Why might an organization need to think about cultural competency?
LF: If diversity is about the "who," and inclusion is about the "what," cultural competency is about the "how." It is key to understanding and communicating across difference. A culturally competent organization does not shy away from talking about difference.
TLE: Let's switch gears for a moment. How does your approach to conflict resolution differ from mediation?
LF: Mediation can be an important step in conflict resolution, but it should never be the first step. My approach is to help parties engaged in a conflict understand one another's needs and interests and points of view. I also help people discover what cultural lens may be impacting the conflict. I help the parties ask powerful questions of one another so they can move through the conflict and get to a better place. This involves getting them comfortable asking difficult questions and really listening to people who have a different point of view. What's so exciting about this process is that it gets both parties to a much better place and eliminates a lot of the anxiety and drama that often surrounds conflict.
TLE: So, what can an organization do to get started?
LF: There is no one-size-fits-all prescription to increase diversity and inclusion. The first step is to honestly assess where they are and examine existing processes. To assess their current state, organizations must look at demographic representation, culture and skills of their leaders. They must ask questions, such as "What is the diversity in their workforce and in their leadership team? How engaged are employees? How are employees, leaders and teams relating across elements of difference? What is the level of cultural competency?" Organizations must be willing to examine their sourcing, recruiting, hiring and compensation systems. And, leaders must own the D&I journey and have some accountability for its success.
TLE: What are you most looking forward in working with our clients?
LF: I am truly passionate about the way that understanding and bridging differences can make teams and workplaces more effective and enrich the lives of everyone who is involved. There is nothing more exciting to me than helping people create stronger relationships and better business outcomes through deeper understanding. It can be truly transformative.
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