DiversityInc - November/December 2008

function. It happens in the offices, in the field, in the everyday course of doing business as we develop our employees’ talents and skill sets, providing them with real-life work experiences that stretch their capabilities and help them learn from others.

As managers, we must help all of our people find their niche in the organization based not only on their skills but also on their passions. And we need to make sure that when we staff projects, we do more than consider the needs of the client—we also need to look carefully at the needs of our people: Will the task stretch them in the right direction? Move their career forward? And we must encourage our people to build the formal and informal networks that help them build important relationships while getting their work done.

Marrying Corporate Culture and Diversity

Every company that says it is dedicated to diversity needs to ask themselves a few hard questions: Does our corporate culture really accept the differences it invites? Do we really embrace the different perspectives that come from increasing our commitment to recruiting minorities, or do we secretly think that it’s all just the “politically correct” way to act?

We need to answer these questions honestly, because change cannot take hold if it’s promoted on one side of the organization and stymied on the other.

The key issue that companies have to tackle is integrating diversity and inclusion into their DNA. For me, that means we have to make sure diversity is an intentional part of every recruiting decision, every team assembled for an assignment, every educational opportunity, every promotion and every compensation decision.

To be successful, this process needs to be driven from the top, with real buy-in at every level of management. Diversity is not something you do on the side—not if you want to be successful—and it can’t be separate from the “real” business of the firm. If you want to be competitive, you have to have a diverse and inclusive work force—period.

Winston Churchill once said: “The price of greatness is responsibility.” He was talking about how to ensure greatness for a country, but I think it’s just as true for a company. If we want our businesses to remain competitive, if we want our companies to be great idea generators and problem solvers for our clients and great places to work, we have a responsibility to ensure that diversity and inclusion efforts succeed.