Real Leaders Don't Boss (10 page)

In addition to being rather startled by the encounter, I recognized that I had done the right thing—to reason rather than
to fight verbally or physically, and to remain true to my ideals and directions.

Too many times I've watched highly capable women passed over for promotions or marginalized, not because of their lack of ability, but simply because they are women. Here are several examples (the names and companies are withheld to protect the individuals):

An African-American woman held a variety of positions in the organization, all of which stymied her abilities. It almost seemed as if the firm didn't know—or care—what to do with her. She was well-versed in the region and knew most of the CEOs in the city personally—few could match that asset alone—which enabled her to open doors. She was street smart, had class, and was very resilient. I eventually realized that the insecure CEO had marginalized her because he considered her a threat and was uncomfortable in her presence.

An older woman had devoted most of her working life to her employer. She had a superb grasp of the history, values, and traditions of the business and community, and was the go-to person for a variety of information. Many of the males on staff—including the CEO—rather than recognize her strengths, saw her as “over the hill” and a busy-body who was too old to be of value.

A younger woman at another organization was incredibly industrious, was refined, and had an infectious sense of humor. She did her job well, and her peers knew they always could count on her. But her supervisor rarely supported her, even when he
knew it was the right thing to do. He was one of those particularly insecure bosses who smiled up the organization, sucking up to his superiors, and frowned down it, disrespecting or ignoring those in lesser positions.

Another woman at a different organization was the perfect employee. She had a sense of humor, was highly skilled in her job, and knew the right people in business and leadership roles throughout the region. Yet she remained in the same job and was always passed over for the prime assignments. Instead of capitalizing on the woman's strengths, the chief executive considered her a nuisance.

One of the biggest workplace detriments regarding racism, as with many of the other unacceptable workplace behaviors mentioned here, is that its opposite—diversity—yields powerful advantages. A few of these include:

Innovation, curiosity, and creativity
. Leaders are receptive to how ideas are created, and understand that without new ideas, they will lose a significant competitive edge. Bold, new ideas seldom take place in a vacuum; they happen at intersections and often are the result of a spark generated by the intermingling of people with different perspectives, life circumstances, and cultures.

Customer value and brand loyalty
. Whether a business has domestic or international customers, a diverse employee base in marketing, sales, product design, and other aspects is important because we live and work in an increasingly global society. Companies need to acknowledge this, or risk losing
credibility and customers who do not want to deal with companies projecting outdated ideologies.

Talent pool
. Recruiting employees from emerging markets makes undeniably sound business sense. Boards of directors, senior management, middle management, and front-line employees must be diverse in order to attract this emerging talent. Otherwise, the emerging workforce will go elsewhere.

In an attempt to deal with the ugly executive, some boardrooms adopt certain behavioral expectations for top management. Even so, the ugly executive isn't always held accountable. That doesn't mean, however, that you or your fellow employees should lower your own standards of conduct.

Fortunately, some companies do look at diversity and solutions to other significant issues as essential attributes for success in the global marketplace. “The best leaders are learning they must check their egos at the door and become increasingly sensitive to diversity, generational and geographical issues,” says Rick Lash, director in Hay Group's Leadership and Talent Practice and co-leader of Hay Group's
Best Companies for Leadership
.
¹
According to Hay Group's January 2011 study, among the Top 20 companies for leadership:

90 percent actively recruit cultural minorities.

95 percent say cultural diversity has helped their organization become more effective.

100 percent actively manage a pool of successors for mission-critical roles.