Blog

Marshall Goldsmith on "Learn to Embrace the Tension of Diversity"

Goldsmith wrote an interesting blog @ HBR about diversity tension. Do you agree with bellow bullets?
Utilizing diversity tension in the workforce requires that leaders understand that differences in race, culture, and background are advantages — not deficits — for effective teamwork and problem solving.

To take embrace diversity tension, leaders need to:

  • Create an inclusive work environment where people feel welcomed and valued for sharing their opinions and skills

  • Recognize and reward successes that result from valuing diversity

  • Assess the different learning styles and strengths in people

  • Involve people from a variety of backgrounds in decision-making and problem-solving processes

  • Utilize the full potential of all employees and build on complementary skills, backgrounds, and cultural knowledge

  • Refuse to accept behaviors that attack the self-respect of others and confront people who stereotype others or display prejudiced behavior

  • Participate in diversity training

  • Involve a wide variety of people in their personal and professional lives, and take the time to get to know them
Read the entire blog @ HBR.

The fairy-tale of the five pencils

Pequeña historia sobre la gestión de la diversidad en el lugar de trabajo escrita por Peter Høgsted, CEO de IKEA UK y Elisabeth Plum. Forma parte de la politica de inducción del departamento de recursos humanos de la empresa inglesa. Es una verdadera lección de los desafíos que presentan la gestión de la diversidad y el trabajo en equipo en las organizaciones del siglo XXI. Imperdible!!!

Dice el prefacio:
This is a short story about five pencils who are asked to work together.

It’s a simple story that can be used as the basis for discussions, and for learning about our individual prejudices and each other’s differences.

We believe it is important to have the courage to point out our differences. We believe we can develop ourselves, our teamwork and our workplace through mutual honesty and curiosity. Only by acknowledging our prejudices and discussing them openly can we learn to accept and use each other’s strengths to eliminate those prejudices.

We talk about diversity in the workplace. A workplace where we use each other’s differences and strengths to achieve our common goals.

But showing consideration does not mean that we should avoid conflict: we need to discuss how we can create better results all the time for ourselves, our customers and our company.
Baje el documento aquí.

The Responsible Manager by Prahalad (HBR)

Harvard Business Review publicó una columna de C.K. Prahalad, una especie de decálogo del “buen gerente” el cual es muy interesante. Como siempre sucede con este tipo de texto, en un espacio reducido dicen cosas trascendentales. La columna de Prahalad no es la excepción a la regla.

Si bien todos los puntos son importantes, destaco:
  • Understand the importance of nonconformity.

  • Display a commitment to learning and developing yourself.

  • Be ready to invest in developing other people.

  • Realize the importance of loyalty to organization, profession, community, society, and, above all, family.

Every year, I revisit my notes about the responsible manager, which I first jotted down in 1977. The world has changed a lot since then, but I haven’t found it necessary to change a word of my lecture. Indeed, the message is more relevant today than ever.
Se puede leer el texto complete en el sitio del Harvard Business Review.

Notas
1. (2010), Column: The Responsible Manager, Sitio web de HBR. Consultado 16/Feb/10.