Awareness is slowly dawning. More quickly in some organizations, more firmly in others, but it is happening. The office and its people are changing. Gen X, Gen Y, and Millennials have different expectations than Baby Boomers and their predecessors. Demographic changes in the past few decades have challenged some more traditional personal and organizational perspectives. Technology has increased the speed and broadened the scope and impact of work. An increasingly borderless and global economy has broadened the diversity of talent and skill from which we can draw even as it has increased competition. These changes are our current reality, and we must face and accept it going forward.
While these changes have occurred, our perspectives on leadership have not shifted as swiftly. Oh certainly, we speak of building an engaged workforce. We discuss the ways in which new demographics are changing our perspectives. But the numbers tell us something different. They suggest that while we have made progress in terms of building a more diverse workforce and engaging our employees more effectively, we still have not fully embraced and executed our vision of diversity. Our pipeline for women is still leaky. The percentages of leaders of color are meager. More than half our LGBT colleagues still do not feel safe enough to be open with their coworkers about whom they truly are. In essence, organizations have not yet come close to reflecting the diversity of their communities. We still overlook our community members who are not white, heterosexual, able-bodied Christian males. This oversight is particularly evident in senior and executive positions. These circumstances suggest that despite the progress that has been made, biases seem to still influence our thought processes.
Organizations must recognize that substantial and lasting change can only occur if we shift our understanding of leadership at a fundamental level. The leadership skills that were once deemed as game-changing are now de rigueur. Creating an organizational culture in which equity, diversity, and engagement are central cannot be the sole province of large elite organizations or small boutiques. The behaviors must be the province of all, embedded in a leader’s thinking to the same degree as financial growth, stability, and other key leaderships musts.
As we make this shift in understanding, PRISM will be, as it has been, on the leading edge of these changes. Our work with ERG’s and our annual ERG Conference have inspired diverse groups not only to build their own skills but to help their organizations grow in such areas as product and service development and to provide better opportunities for their ERG members and the populations they represent.
Further, while navigating and guiding these changes, PRISM is undergoing its own exciting change. After 26 years of great leadership by Founder Linda Stokes, PRISM has been acquired by Talent Dimensions. As a Talent Dimensions company, PRISM will continue our long-held focus on ERGs and our annual ERG & Council Conference. We will also continue to provide programmatic, coaching, and consultative support for organizations who are working toward new leadership realities.
In support of this transition, co-author of Leading in Black and White and Dear White Boss, Ancella Livers has joined the team as President of PRISM. Previously, Livers managed the African American and Women’s Leadership Programs at the Center for Creative Leadership® Also during her tenure at CCL, she led their largest global business unit and later consulted and developed tailored solutions for their Fortune 500 client base. In addition, Livers led the Institute for Leadership Development and Research at the Executive Leadership Council.
ABOUT THE BLOGGER:
Ancella Livers, Ph.D. is the new President of PRISM International, Inc.
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