While this was filmed in June of 2010, the message is still true. Forgive me for my initial brain freeze…television can make one nervous, though I am much better at this now. Thanks to Bob for the save.
The website has changed.
For information about our programs: http://www.umb.edu/commonwealth_compact/
For the Talent Network: http://www.commonwealthcompact.com
Please contact us with any questions or requests:
617-287-5550
commcompact@umb.edu
Posted in Uncategorized
What would you do? It is a question employers face every day. Some take action and some do not. Which are you?
In the past few weeks we have read about a Leominster police officer, John Perreault, being investigated for allegedly yelling a racist remark at baseball player Carl Crawford. That investigation turned up an apparent pattern of public racist comments. He was fired.
Then, Paraskevi Papachristou, a Greek triple jumper, was expelled from her Olympic Team for a racist tweet.
In yet another instance, Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella was expelled for posting a racist message on Twitter.
All of these individuals are, in their respective fields, public figures. All are role models. Their stories send a strong message and a recurring reminder that what one does — whether as a private citizen or on the job — can have devastating effect on employment status.
What would you have done? As an employer, given a similar scenario in your workplace, what would you do? How much responsibility or opportunity do you see in this? What specifically would prompt you to react? What specific type(s) of action would you take?
Why do you think some employees get fired, some get slapped on the wrist and others experience no consequences for similar behavior?
With social media, our personal lives and our work lives collide in ways that we have never had to deal with before. It makes us more vulnerable and exposed and yet it adds a layer of responsibility on employers.
We are interested in your responses.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged expelled, fired, Olympics, racist, responsibility, twitter, workplace diversity
Last night, I was honored to be able to share a message in memory of Dr. King’s legacy. Inspired by one of his many quotes, the message was one of personal responsibility.
“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Injustice is only allowed to both prevail and thrive because we allow it to do so. So much of what happens is witnessed by the “good” and allowed to continue because the “bad” are not held accountable. From what is seemingly harmless to the outright criminal, unjust behavior is unjust.
We all affect and are affected by our community, however you define community. When something happens to someone else, there is some impact on us, whether we are aware of it or not.
Last night, the Town of Danvers Diversity Committee went above and beyond by recognizing the efforts of members of their community for taking on the unjust and doing something to create change. We all have the capacity affect the life of another person. We choose through our action, or inaction, just what that impact will be. I challenge you to be a positive influence in the life of others. Don’t turn a blind eye to the marginalization of your neighbors, co-workers, family members. Learn how to engage and take on the difficult task of holding each other accountable. It is the only way the world will truly change.
Remember that silence translates to the action of allowing injustice to prevail.
YOU can make a difference. You can also acknowledge the every day efforts and courage that people around you show…don’t wait for a special day, once a year. Lift each other up and be LOUD.
http://danvers.patch.com/articles/mlk-dinner-honors-leaders-of-justice#photo-8910209
Thank you Danvers, for honoring the legacy of Dr. King and thank you to the honorees for being brave and taking a stand in all of the ways you were able to make a difference. Please click on the link for more information on the honorees.
Posted in change, diversity, personal responsibility, race
By Phyllis Barajas
What we understood about talent in the work place, how we identify “high potentials”–those designated as the heir apparent– are changing as the pipeline of talent is shifting from majority to minority/women. The 2010 Census confirms that more metro areas than ever are becoming minority majority cities. Boston continues to be a majority minority city and growing with 53% of the population non-white or Hispanic and 47% white non-Hispanic.
As more professionals of color and women enter the workforce and move up to middle management our assumptions about how our companies and organizations identify, select and mentor will need to be reassessed and new approaches adopted. Greater attention must be paid to how these matches are made and the individuals prepared for a mentor relationship. Traditional mentor/mentee matches have been majority / majority. Implicit in this dynamic is the assumption that they have more in common, (i.e. shared values, way of looking at things, and approaches to the work effort).
Mentoring with Fixed Assumptions. We look at the world through our own set of perceptual lens that color how we see things and what we believe to be true. For many majority culture mentors their own experience with diverse professionals has been limited. One mentor recently noted that he had never met or interacted with “a person of color until I left the state I grew up in to go to college” and he went on “my career in the financial industry has not afforded me many opportunities to meet and get to know very many diverse professionals”.
Win-Win Mentoring Dynamic. How then will this experience or lack thereof add to or inhibit the ability of a mentor and mentee to establish rapport or trust? Both are necessary if they are to explore the mentee’s potential. The door this question opens up can lead to a positive experience in which TWO WAY mentoring occurs. Mentees get a first-hand view at the mentor’s experience, skills, advice and professional networks while the mentor learns about the mentee’s mindset, environment and perspectives. When pairs are from different cultures, mutual learning is amplified as they both need to become aware of each other’s dominant culture and incorporate it in the mentoring experience.
In the end, a two-way mentoring approach, grounded in a cross-cultural experience, provides a more relevant leadership development strategy that will effectively address the needs of a rapidly changing talent pool.
Posted in Uncategorized
by Eduardo Crespo
(remember to RSVP for this session taking place 8/4)
There are many critical issues that must be dealt with before a company or institution decides to enter or expand in the Latino market. Rushing to translate ads is wasteful and embarrassing at times. This workshop presents a practical framework that begins with a historical perspective and ends with recommendations for “transitioning” to meet this new opportunity. The premise of this workshop is that, “business as usual”, is no longer valid to be successful in this market.
Audience:
The framework is multi-dimensional and will benefit visionaries and thought leaders that work in leadership and management positions. Functional areas that are addressed include: branding, research, planning and forecasting, marketing, sales, PR, communications (offline and online), HR, diversity, customer service, training, community relations, and foundations.
Takeaways:
- Understanding the market from a practical perspective.
- How to identify and deal with biz and HR implications when transitioning to a non-monolingual organization.
- What is the upside market potential in relationship to the Hispanic market?
- Reflections on “Why should we change if we have been profitable all these years”?
- Hispanic vs. multicultural strategies, what will work for you?
- Should you communicate in English, Spanish or Spanglish?
- Assimilation vs. acculturation, an ongoing dilemma.
- Practical advice to avoid mistakes in rushing to tactics without doing due diligence.
- Cultural and linguistic considerations when servicing Hispanics.
Posted in Uncategorized
By Milton Benjamin
One of the goals of diversity inclusion programs is to provide opportunities for diverse populations to succeed in achieving personal financial goals, including financial stability and the accumulation of assets. There are many types of diversity programs within organizations that help individuals reach their objectives, including recruitment programs, training and development opportunities, and mentoring, all of which help individuals grow within the organization.
Supplier diversity programs have the same ultimate goal of providing enhanced opportunities for diverse companies to grow and achieve economic success. The interesting thing about a successful supplier diversity program is that it not only helps an individual business owner achieve his or her goals, but there is a multiplier effect in that a successful company hires more people and helps a community become stronger economically. We have found that those purchasing organizations that are committed, build a supportive infrastructure, and monitor execution achieve success.
What is the business case for supplier diversity? Using diverse suppliers can bring innovation, competition, pricing that produces savings for purchasers and profitability for suppliers. The changing demographics of our region and our country demand economic participation in ways that afford growing minority populations opportunities to acquire assets and in turn feed the local economy. Strong minority companies also are the source of new leaders who give back in ways that further strengthen communities.
How do organizations develop a successful supplier diversity program? There are many ways to go about it. A supplier diversity program is successful when various levels of an organization are involved. Each area may have its own objectives for its part in the program, but it takes a coordinated approach so that all internal objectives are achieved. As with any goal, commitment, communication, measurement and a strong connection to suppliers are key attributes of a successful program. Commitment starts at the top; communication throughout the organization and with suppliers must be effective; training and mentoring have an important role; key measures and monitoring are critical.
How do organizations and suppliers come together? This question also has a number of answers that depend on who in the organization is driving the supplier diversity effort. Purchasing Managers have an essential role, as they are the ones who most often interface with suppliers, even if they do not make the ultimate buying decision. Front line managers who do make buying decisions also can connect directly to suppliers. In many organizations with strong commitments to supplier diversity, there are Supplier Diversity Managers who develop relationships with suppliers and make introductions to the front line purchasers. A supplier needs to know how a particular organization works in order to find the best connection to open doors.
INE plays a significant role in helping suppliers and organizations committed to supplier diversity meet their objectives. In our workshop on the 28th we will have a dialogue with participants about their questions on supplier diversity and provide some insights on best practices, making the business case for supplier diversity, and how we can help an organization with developing a supplier diversity program.
Posted in Uncategorized
The Road To Intergenerational Diversity In The Workplace
by Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA
The wisdom of my late parents barely grazed me in my teens, danced in my head in my twenties and thirties, and has now become locked in place in my fifties. What was dismissible years ago causes me moments of reflection (and terror) as the years go by and new generations unfold.
What is so stunning for me is realizing that the playmates of my adult children are now managing the workplace. The very youngsters who were in school plays or in my carpool are leading organizations, managing hundreds of employees and making strategic decisions that impact whole communities. It’s taken a gradual shift in my thinking to move me from seeing them in the sandbox to now negotiating with them in business conference rooms, and the process is far from over.
The game is new and exciting and the rules have changed. Technology, once vast machines in cold storage rooms at MIT has become a daily Tweet, a Linkedin connection or a text message meant for an entire office to read. Game On, and the question is, are you ready to embrace the generations who are already the emerging leaders of today?
During the upcoming workshop, “Intergenerational Diversity In The Workplace” we will blast off into the ageless world of generational similarities and differences that make our interactions so unpredictable. If you’re a Baby Boomer unfamiliar with the sounds of Lady Gaga or Beyonce, how can you possibly build sound relationships with those twenty years your junior? And if you’re a Millennial staffer scratching your head when the conversation shifts to Walter Cronkite’s reporting on the Kennedy assassination, think again. It’s time for an intergenerational tune up where cross talk and two way dialogue are the only way to move forward.
Using a multimedia approach, we will explore the five generational groups currently co-existing in workplaces across this region. Hard hitting and fast pace, the goal is to see yourself firmly grounded in the time zones of your past and present as you collaborate, manage, and teach those younger…and older than yourself.
No one said it would be easy. But the ultimate goal is knowledge transfer from the oldest to the youngest…and back up to the oldest again. It takes an open mind and a willingness to show some vulnerability. And in the end you’ll share your new wisdom with those who rely on you to lead the way.
Put your game face on and let’s ride the generational wave of connection, communication and collaboration.
Game On!
**Homework Assignment: Listen to the following interview and prepare for a stimulating discussion. Here’s the link:
http://www.tellcarole.com/multigenerations-in-the-workplace.html
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Carole Copeland Thomas is a global speaker, trainer, and thought leader specializing in diversity, multiculturalism, leadership and empowerment issues. She is the founder the Multicultural Symposium Series, and has worked with private and public sector organizations since 1987. A strong advocate of the Commonwealth Compact, she is a frequent blogger and regularly posts on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Visit her website at: http://www.tellcarole.com.
Posted in Uncategorized
Diversity
