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11:19 PM Tuesday October 16, 2007
Deborah Elam, Chief Diversity Officer at General Electric, describes her job in expansive terms. "It's about leveraging the new streams of talent around the world, and responding to the changed face of our customers" she says. Anne Erni, Chief Diversity Officer at Lehman Brothers, has an equally large--and strategic--view. "It's about tapping into the widest possible talent pool ... making sure we create a true meritocracy here at Lehman."
A few years back, these Chief Diversity Officer positions didn't exist. Today they're firmly established in the executive suite across a range of Fortune 500 companies--at Johnson & Johnson, Aon, Citi and American Express as well as at GE and Lehman Brothers.
Demographic shifts have created a new imperative.
Talent these days is hugely diverse. According to Global Multicultural Executives, a 2006 study published by the Center for Work Life Policy, if you define the global talent pipeline as all those individuals around the world who have at least a college degree, only 17% of this pipeline comprises white males--everyone else is either female or a multi-cultural person. Increasingly talent management is diversity management. In many countries around the world the challenges are virtually indistinguishable.
So what do these new Chief Diversity Officers actually do?
Well, for starters, they drive an innovative programmatic agenda that is growing by leaps and bounds. JoAnn Heffernan Heisen, J&J's Chief Diversity Officer, has developed an initiative called the Women's Leadership Initiative which leverages the talents of high potential women around the world. Deb Elam has launched a multicultural woman's "boot camp" which gives diverse women the tools, perspectives and insights to be successful. Anne Erni has designed Encore (an on-ramping offering which welcomes back women who used to work in the financial sector) and rolled out it out in New York, London and Tokyo.
But how much real impact can we expect from these Chief Diversity Officers? Are they merely tinkering at the edges--designing a few interesting programs--or do they have the muscle power to drive transformational change?
One thing we can be sure of: these new leaders have clout. Most have big budgets and high-caliber dedicated staffs. Many report to a member of the Executive Committee or some, JoAnn Heffernan Heisen of J&J amongst them, report to the CEO. In the words of Melinda Wolfe, Chief Diversity Officer at American Express. "My role is seen as a central driver of employee performance and business results--with continued global expansion the heft of this role is likely going to grow."
Read all of Sylvia Ann Hewlett's Winning the Talent War posts
MORE ON TALENT MANAGEMENT AND DIVERSITY:
The Hidden Brain Drain--and What Your Organization Can Do About It: A Conversation with Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce (CD-ROM)
Time to Get Serious About Talent Management Article)
What It Means to Work Here (HBR Article
Diversity As Strategy (HBR Article)
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Sylvia Ann Hewlett is an economist and the founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy where she directs the "Hidden Brain Drain"—a task force of 50 global companies committed to fully realizing female and multicultural talent. She also heads up the Gender & Policy Program at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Council on the Gender Gap.
She is the author of eight critically acclaimed nonfiction books including When the Bough Breaks, Creating a Life, Off-Ramps and On-Ramps, and six Harvard Business Review articles. Her articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Financial Times, and International Herald Tribune. Her new book, Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When Business Is Down (Harvard Business Press), will be published in October 2009.
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Comments
I am a college student studying Human and Organizational Development. In my Leadership class, we just read the recommended HBR article, "Leadership As Strategy," by David Thomas. Our discussion centered around how leveraging diversity adds further cognitive variety as well as multi-facets to the organization as a whole. On a smaller scale, working in groups at school with diverse groups of students is a parallel example of the increased breadth of talent, experiences, and knowledge that diversity brings.
I find it is so interesting that the some of the most successful companies are adding "Chief Diversity Officer" (a position that, like said, didn't exist a few years ago) as a means of tapping into talent and gaining a competitive edge. I look forward to seeing the continuation of this movement as I prepare to enter the job market.
- Posted by Emma Williams
April 16, 2009 9:30 AM
While the idea of Chief Diversity Officer seems like a much-needed addition to the c-suite of most organizations, creating the organizational culture that fosters the inclusion of diversity seems to be a bigger fish to fry. Introducing this office and position seems like the logical first step in the process; however, these new CDOs are going to be charged with changing the organization's culture and practices - a feat much more difficult than simply adding a new office to the staff. As Kotter (who also writes for HBR) points out, creating an immediate sense of urgency in the organization through demonstrating the importance of the new imperative of diversity is integral to the successful completion of this change effort. Kotters other 6 steps (as can be found in his article "Leading Change" here at HBR) should also e implemented in order to achieve successful results. In sum, though, the new Diversity Officers should take into account that simply changing minor practices will not suffice to achieve their goals - they must actively change the organization, as well!
- Posted by Dustin Lynn
April 16, 2009 6:56 PM