Race Awareness - Talking ABOUT, Not Around Racism with Al Vivian & Frank McCloskey

Today's episode of Diversity Matters was our 27th show! As we come to the end of our second season we're at the point where we can bring back past guests to build on and enrich conversations that scratched the surface when time ran out. Al Vivian and Frank McCloskey are both good friends of Diversity Matters(TM) and made a command performance on today's show.

“Race is still the primary dividing point in the nation” according to Al Vivian who facilitates The Race Awareness Workshop, evaluated as the most effective race relations seminar in the country; and the first program to be the sole feature for two consecutive days on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

On this episode of Diversity Matters, Richard Friend and Judy Seidenstein discuss the edgy, hard hitting approach developed by Al’s father C.T. Vivian for dealing with racism. Frank McCloskey, Vice President of Georgia Power will weigh in on the conversation and share his individual and organizational experience with Vivian’s Race Awareness Workshop. While times have changed, we’ll explore why this workshop has essentially remained the same for over 33 years.

• Is this methodology the ultimate approach for racial reconciliation and a deep honest dialogue about race?
• Can racial understanding be achieved without being “in your face?”
• How does this type of work forward our work on inclusion and diversity?
  

Listen to the episode and add your comments here.

Stay tuned!

Richard Friend, Ph.D.

Co-Founder & Co-Host

Diversity Matters is saddened by the great loss of Yolanda King

At Diversity Matters™ we are deeply saddened by the passing of Yolanda King. Ms. King, eldest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King died on Tuesday from what appears to have been a heart problem.

Given our commitment to giving voice to the power of inclusion, we were honored to have Ms. King as our first guest on this season of Diversity Matters. On the show, Yolanda King said that “the best sermons are the ones that are lived.” Yolanda King dedicated her life to achieving “The Dream” by encouraging personal growth and positive social change through her work as an actor, speaker, producer and a model of possibility. We were graced by the opportunity to spend a brief amount of time with her and experience how she lived fully in her message of civil rights and social justice.

As an actress, activist and agent of social change, Yolanda King gave voice to her commitment to Educate, Empower and Entertain. She founded Higher Ground productions to inspire individuals to passionately create peace in their own lives thereby encouraging the same within their families, communities and across the globe. Yolanda King will be sorely missed.

Our deepest condolences go to the King Family and everyone at Higher Ground Productions.

Richard Friend
Co-Founder & Co-Host

The Debate Link: Diverse White Men

The Debate Link: Diverse White Men

Inclusion: What every leader needs to know

At Diversity Matters™ our definition of leadership is “the capacity to inspire and enlist others to want to work toward a set of shared aspirations.” Given this definition, we firmly believe that everyone, no matter what position they hold in their family, community, organization or in the world has the potential to lead. That said, with regard to promoting inclusion, individuals who are in positions of leadership have a particular responsibility when it comes to inclusion. Here are some of our basic leadership tips:

1. Inspire a shared vision of inclusion by knowing about others

Enlisting others to put in the energy and effort to work toward a common set of goals requires you as a leader to paint a clear picture of what inclusion looks like. The leader as narrator means you must describe what the pathway to inclusion looks, sounds and feels like with such clarity and conviction that others are compelled to take the journey with you. As a result of your words, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind as to where you’re organization is heading, and what their role is in getting it there.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is probably the best example of a clearly articulated vision. His words left no doubt that the movement Dr. King was mobilizing was to create a world where his four little children are judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

As a leader you must communicate your inclusiveness vision excessively and redundantly. The greater the distance required to travel toward inclusion, means that folks will need constant reminders, words of encouragement and guideposts along the way.

Inspiring others also means that as a leader you have to know your followers. Your vision for inclusion must align with the aspirations of the people you’re trying to enlist. Rather than answering “what’s in it for me?” inspiring a shared vision means you are able to answer “what’s in it for us” with regard to inclusion. Linking the organization’s values about diversity and inclusion with each person’s individual values means that as a leader you must know what those values are and what matters most to others.

2. Authenticity trumps skill deficit

People have very fine tuned B.S. detectors and want to know that as a leader you believe, truly believe in where we’re going and that the effort it will take to get there is worth it. You must align your actions with your rhetoric so that the inclusiveness vision does not appear to be simply good P.R., fluff or something nice if we have time after all of the other things that really matter are attended to. As a leader you must be willing to tell your story so that others know why inclusion matters to you. Authentically sharing what situation, event or relationship helped you to “get it” at a deeper level and serves as a source of your motivation for working hard on behalf of inclusion helps others to “get it” and ups the ante on their willingness to do the work necessary to get there.

As leaders, none of us are competent at everything. I’m not great at being succinct. Someone else may not be great at listening for subtleties, and others may not be great celebrators. Being honest about your strengths as well as your weaknesses improves your credibility as a leader. People are often very forgiving of certain skill deficits when coupled with your authentic recognition of this limitation and willingness to try anyway.

3. Care about people – celebrate them and their successes

Creating a climate of inclusion takes work. Celebrating people and their successes along the way builds momentum that sustains the process. Encouraging others authentically, means as a leader you have to care about the people you’re leading. If you don’t care about them and they don’t care about you, good luck. At best you’ll get a series of programs that may or may not be well attended, but a climate of inclusion that drives business results will be much harder to create and sustain.

Caring about others also requires that you know them as individuals. This means seeking out and listening to their ideas, stories and experiences. In hearing their voices, as a leader you learn new information that will help you fine tune and re-calibrate your strategy as well as inform creative ways to reward and acknowledge folks in a way that matters.

Celebration of others and their successes must be both personal and mission related. When traveling from point A (status quo) to point Z (inclusion), have a clear picture of what point B looks like and then C, D etc… This is a critical element of the planning and moving phases of change described in tip #1. Once people have moved from point A to point B, as leader it’s important that you acknowledge this success in getting the organization closer to Z. Celebrate the movement in a way that has meaning to people and then raise the bar. With success under their belt, and meaningful praise as nourishment, as their leader you can now expect even better results in moving to point C, and so on.

In many traditional top/down organizations, celebration and reward are given in the form of money or position (e.g. bonus, promotion, prime parking spot). These types of rewards however, often reinforce the status quo rather than inclusion and may not have the type of personal meaning that truly inspires others. Knowing what will have the impact of appreciation and linking this reward to the results desired with respect to inclusion, is a key leadership task. As you get to know people better, keep track of the kinds of things that you’re learning that could serve as a reward later. Maybe you discover someone on your team is a bee keeper, or someone else loves to cook Thai food. When it’s time to celebrate their extraordinary performance, a book on bee keeping or an assortment of seasoned cooking oils lets them know that their effort matters, and that you took the time to let them know that THEY matter.

4. Consciously choose to develop people who stretch you; then judge your success based on theirs

Effectively managing and developing human capital is a critical component of your job as a leader. Ensuring that your organization has the best people both today and into the future means that you have to actively work to enable others and yourself to continuously grow and develop.

With respect to diversity and inclusion, as an effective leader you must deliberately choose to develop and learn from people who are different from you. This may be through a formal reciprocal mentoring program which has benefits for both the mentor and the mentee; or more informally by building partnerships and relationships with people who differ from you along dimensions such as generation, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, professional field, social class, political ideology, gender identity/expression, etc…

Engage with others who are different and stretch yourself beyond your comfort zones with the purpose of increasing your understanding of yourself and others. In growing others, their success becomes a measure of your success. This is especially true with respect to inclusion when you develop people who are different from yourself.

5. Expect the best and hold people accountable

If you care about the people you work with and lead, you must expect them to demonstrate excellence. You must have the courage to step up to the plate and call them on it when they are not delivering their best otherwise you are selling out on the person, yourself and your organization. Caring about others allows you to build the kind of professional relationships where you can fully support others while holding them accountable to the highest standards of performance.

Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World ® Resort, talked about “manage like a mother” when he was a guest recently on Diversity Matters. Lee said, “mothers are tough and they’re sensitive. They straighten you out, on the spot - they don’t wait until your annual review and then they tell you they love you before you go to sleep. They do it for you, not for them… People aren’t going to get better unless we sit down and make them better.”

With the organization’s and the individual’s best interest at heart, give constructive feedback with candor and care. Hold people to the highest standard and issue tough love when needed.

6. Leadership development is ongoing and lifelong

By definition, development and learning at its best is never done. Preeminent Harvard leadership scholar John Kotter, reports that life long learning is a trait that distinguishes exemplary leaders from others. This means as an inclusiveness leader you must be willing to seek out new challenges and reflect honestly and candidly about both your successes and daring failures. Solicit the opinions and ideas of others, especially those who are different from you and demonstrate a propensity to listen fully and with an open mind.. These traits are the foundation of life long learning that promotes inclusive leadership.

If you practice the tips highlighted here, your success as a leader of inclusion will be enhanced. While effective leadership is a necessary component of creating an inclusive culture, it is not the only key ingredient. However, without it inclusiveness efforts will fail to come to fruition with speed or sustainability.

Stay tuned!

Richard Friend, Ph. D.

Co-Founder & Co-Host

Do’s and Don’ts of Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Talent

Last week I was interviewed by a reporter who wanted to know about the “do’s and don’ts” of recruiting and retaining diverse talent. Recruitment and retention are chief concerns for all of our clients. Given this priority, I thought I’d share the six key “do’s and don’ts” I offered her for your thoughts, feedback and additions.

Tip 1: Do focus on inclusion – don’t focus on JUST the numbers. Given the journey from Affirmative Action to “representational diversity” to “inclusion” in the U.S., knowing the difference between “diversity” and “inclusion” is still an important distinction for many organizations. Talented people want to know how their unique skills and resources will be used to make a meaningful contribution to the business. If they feel that your recruitment efforts are designed to make the company’s gender numbers or ethnic diversity look good, they’re not likely to sign on or stay.

Talented people have options and they want to know that they are valued and that they are part of something that matters. This is especially true of the millennial generation, but it’s increasingly true of all employees. Employee engagement is grounded on the psychological connection people make when they feel ownership to the mission, purpose and culture of an organization. Once they’re truly engaged in important work and in an environment where they feel they matter, employees are much more willing to invest their discretionary energy in taking the business to the next level. Creating an inclusive climate that truly engages people means that talented people of all backgrounds are more likely to want to work for you and once there will be your best recruiting tool. Talented people know talented people. They will spread the word and diversity will flourish as a result.

Tip 2: Do have a strong, authentic leadership commitment – it’s necessary, but don’t stop at the top. Leaders who are in the position to set policy and direction that support inclusion are critical. By overseeing the organizational culture and systems, they ensure that the mission, values and operations align with the vision of embracing diversity through inclusion. It is this inclusive climate or tone, set by the leaders, that inspires talented people to WANT to join an organization in the first place. In a climate where they truly matter and make a difference, employees will commit, stay and work hard. Leaders are the barometer others use to determine if the organization is serious about inclusion or if efforts are simply a public relations tool. Executive commitment that is authentic and based on a heartfelt understanding of diversity is a necessary ingredient for inclusion, but it is not sufficient.

All people within the enterprise contribute to inclusion by the degree to which their interactions influence others. Employees who routinely step out of their comfort zone to consider an idea that seems “different,” partner with someone with whom they do not normally work, or approach a task in a new way shift the climate and engage others in the process. Yes, executives have a unique role, but the responsibility for building inclusion lies with everyone.

Tip 3: Don’t be short term and tactical, be long term and strategic. Rather than just thinking about diversity as a series of programs or events, inclusion must be integral to the organization’s vision, values and purpose. Every employee must easily understand how diversity and inclusion support the organization’s mission and what their responsibility is in promoting the mission’s success through their individual role with respect to inclusion. Diversity and inclusion need to be connected to the business drivers and not “add ons” that are nice to do if we have extra resources. It’s the role of leaders and managers to make it easy for everyone to articulate how inclusion is connected to the business strategy and what each person’s role is in this strategy.

Tip 4: Do benchmark against best practices with regard to policies, structures and programs, but don’t rely JUST on systemic factors. Building a culture of inclusion that recruits and retains the best and the brightest requires intrapersonal and interpersonal effectiveness as well as organizational commitment, skills and resources. Systemic factors include policies and practices that promote inclusion and demonstrate a commitment to diversity. Leaders must also enforce a system of accountability to these best practices and the organizational values that set inclusion as a priority for the enterprise. At the individual and interpersonal levels, all members of the organization must have the awareness, understanding, commitment and skills necessary to support inclusion as a key strategic resource for the organization.

If the policies and practices are in place at an organizational level, but individuals are not willing, able or expected to create a climate of inclusion, these systemic factors alone do not create the conditions necessary for diversity to thrive. If individuals have motivation, ability and collective will, but the organization and its leaders fail to provide the necessary policies, practices and systems of accountability, inclusion will fail to be become a sustainable component of the organizational culture.

Individual, interpersonal and systemic factors drive inclusion. Too often however, organizations focus more on the systemic because they’re required to by law and/or because it’s easier to measure and control. It’s very clear, however, that people don’t simply leave organizations. They leave their boss and/or their co-workers. Best in class policies and practices are the minimum requirements on which inclusiveness is built. If you want to really make a difference with regard to retention, integrate inclusion into the fabric of your organizational culture. A key factor here is holding everyone accountable to the intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies required to support inclusion.

Tip 5: Do use technology such as podcasting, web based learning and communication to reinforce and deliver key messages; but don’t replace or ignore the personal face-to-face story and human connection. Technology, training and communications are tactics and tools that support your inclusion efforts. Inclusion, however, is experienced at the personal level. Use technology to bring forward the voices, stories and narratives. Use a range of mediums to add momentum to your communications efforts. But there is no substitute for the face-to-face human connection. Whenever people describe the situation in which they “got it” or truly understood the value of inclusion and their role in it, there is always a face, a name and a story attached. Use technology to support these connections rather than replace them. Remember epiphany happens at a personal level.


Tip 6: Build long term strategic partnerships that provide opportunity and address social needs, rather than simply writing checks or sponsoring an event. Do write checks, host tables at dinners, and participate in college recruiting fairs. But also invest time, energy and resources in building long term partnerships with schools, not for profit organizations and community groups. Do support Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other special mission institutions such as Tribal Colleges, Gallaudet University, Brigham Young University, Brandeis University and the like. But have this support go beyond participating in recruiting fairs. As part of your corporate social responsibility, foster partnerships with organizations whose mission aligns with yours, and for whom such a relationship will strategically address a social need AND address a business need. Offer internships, develop mentorship programs, and provide training by offering educational activities that your employees are expected to design and deliver. Work just as hard to learn from these partnerships as you do gifting these organizations and their stakeholders with your expertise.

While there are no “magic pills” for addressing the challenges of recruiting and retaining exceptional talent, these six tips help to focus your thinking and strategizing about one of the most common workplace dilemmas today. This list is certainly not exhaustive nor necessarily “the answer.” Please offer your comments, thoughts and additional suggestions by commenting here on the blog or by sending an email (richard@diversitymatters.info).

Stay tuned!

Richard Friend, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & Co-Host

Hurt People, Hurt People

Diversity Matters' Friends & Colleagues,

On last week’s show we briefly mentioned CBS’s firing of Don Imus in our discussion about the tension between social justice and the business imperative with respect to diversity and inclusion efforts. Last week Newsweek, Time and Oprah covered the Imus story and the ensuing national dialogue about racism, censorship, hip-hop culture and the like. Judy and I received lots of emails and comments from folks saying things like “the current Imus flap gives you guys good fodder for the show.” Then the headlines became overshadowed with another national tragedy, the shootings at Virginia Tech.

It would be easy to think, that the “Imus story” has lost its shelf life and now we’re on to the next “story.” But I don’t think these stories are only about Imus, or a troubled young man in Virginia. They are all connected. We are all connected.

At the 4th Annual Chief Diversity Officer’s Forum recently someone shared a quote that has stuck with me for weeks – “Hurt people, hurt people.” Think about this – “Hurt people, HURT people.” I don’t know enough about Cho Seung-Hui, the 23 year old man from South Korea, but I know he hurt people. Don Imus’s words hurt people. For some it was hurting a wound that has been there for a while. For others, the hurt is the pain and discomfort of not knowing what to do to heal the hurt and make a difference.

At Diversity Matters, we are committed to providing a vehicle to share stories, resources and tools so that individuals, communities and organizations can make a difference. Our mission is about giving voice - hearing from, learning from and understanding those ideas, perspectives and experiences that help us achieve our common goals. With his comments about the Scarlet Knights, Rutgers University’s women’s basketball team – shock jock Don Imus turned up the heat on a national dialogue regarding diversity and inclusion.

We believe this conversation is important – an interesting and challenging “meta-conversation” – can we discuss “the undiscussable?” If so, how? Are there certain things that just shouldn’t be said in the public sphere? On today’s episode of Diversity Matters, Judy and I brought forth the voices of past guests and offered our voices to this national conversation.

If we’re here to provide voice, “diversity,” by definition means that those voices won’t all sound alike, say the same things or even belong to people with whom we agree. If inclusion is about creating a climate where everybody truly feels like they matter, how do we do that in a way that allows us to hear from, learn from and dialogue with folks whose perspectives not only vastly differ from our own, but may even “cross the line” with respect to what’s “discussable?” These were some of the questions we navigate in our work at Diversity Matters and became the focus for this week’s radio show.

Ironically, Imus made his comments about the Scarlet Knights on April 4th, the 39th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Earlier this year, we were honored to have Yolanda King, author, actor, speaker, producer and first born daughter of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King on Diversity Matters and hear her voice as she talked about the importance of believing in and living for “the dream.”

In order to achieve the dream, she talked about the importance of “reaching across the table” – the racial table, the religious table, the economic table and with grace discover our common ground and our common humanity. She spoke about the importance of disagreeing without being disagreeable in our families, in our communities and in our workplaces. Yolanda King’s voice reminds us that we have to stay at the table, reach across it, seek to understand that different voice and uncover our common ground, shared purpose and shared humanity.

I believe we HAVE TO create a climate where differences, especially vast differences can come together for a common purpose. This coming together fuels creativity, innovation and growth. But a key component of this is FOR A COMMON PURPOSE. In my opinion Imus’s tactic, like those of many shock jocks, overshadowed his purpose.

In my opinion this is toxic media and while I believe in the purpose of entertainment and media as a source of information, expression and the exchange of ideas, when the provocative or “shock” becomes THE PURPOSE, I think the content of the message or art is lost. Toxicity and mean-spiritedness in the guise of entertainment is not OK.

Newsweek described Imus as “The coolest bully on the playground, the outlaw kid others wanted to be seen with …Imus made his guest feel honored to be insulted by him.” Hurt people, hurt people. My values don’t support “supporting” the bully on the playground in this way. We must understand the bully, mentor the bully, and invite the bully to find other ways to inspire and lead rather than with fists, verbal or otherwise.

While I agree with NBC’s decision to fire Imus, I am not advocating censorship. While fired, he need not be silenced, nor will he remain silent. “The Bully” will always find a bully pulpit. Censoring costs the culture it’s artists, it’s greatest thinkers and while perhaps silencing those you disagree with, it will also silence you and me.

However, Imus’s platform was supported by millions of dollars in advertising revenue and many high profile politicians, authors and thought leaders came on the show as part of their platform. A voice I found interesting in the conversation this past week was that of editorial-page editor Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She argued that politicians and entertainment celebrities who appeared on Imus’s show were not offended enough by his racial stereotypes to turn down a little airtime. She said, “I think I know hos when I see them.”

In addressing this question of platform, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham, a regular on the Imus show who has now reconsidered this decision says of himself and other guests, “Are we being hypocritical… Perhaps; for too long too many of us looked the other way when it suited our purposes. To continue to do the wrong thing because we have done the wrong thing in the past, however, is senseless, and if being charged with hypocrisy is the price of ending up in the right place, then it is a price worth paying.”

Imus’s words have re-energized the conversation, now we have to keep the dialogue going, forge partnerships - even uncomfortable ones, and move from reaction to action. New York City Council for example took action by banning the “N” word. While largely symbolic, they took a stance on the power of language. While not necessarily what I would argue as the “best action” it is an interesting one. Dr. Johnnetta Cole recently said, we must be careful not to lose our “civility” as we engage in spirited debate and dialogue. At Diversity Matters, we believe rather than drawing lines in the sand (since diversity means we all draw lines in different places), we must have the ability to talk with both CANDOR and CARE.

As Yolanda King said, we must reach across the table and LISTEN to voices we don’t agree with so we can discover our common ground. We must also stand up, with courage and dignity like the women of Rutgers’ Scarlet Knights and give feedback, name our experience, and be heard. Part of the power of these young women came from their civility and grace in the face of Imus’s shock jock style. It was their deportment, especially compared to his that got the nation’s attention. Unless you’re willing to see these exceptional women as exceptions, Imus’s descriptors have to be understood as prejudicial stereotypes that disparage, hurt and function to elevate one class of people at the expense of another.

Finally, we all have a responsibility to know when our words are going to violate the ethic of care. We must get educated and stay informed by moving out of our comfort zones and staying “in the know.” Imus should have known better.

Together these commitments to live consciously, “in the know” and be skillful with the sort of connected conversation which at Diversity Matters we call “strategic discourse” are tools we can all learn and use to take action. These are the actions we should take at an individual level.At an organizational level, it also requires a type of leadership and organizational structure through policies, practices and values that support and reinforce a culture that values diversity and where inclusion thrives. None of this is easy, and it’s a process that’s never complete. Individual and organizational action takes a collective will to stay the course, as people, circumstances and organizations change. At my core I’m an optimist. I believe we can and will stay the course as we struggle together, learn together and laugh together so that we are transformed by each other’s experience to achieve our common purpose – inclusion.

Stay tuned,

Richard Friend, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & Co-Host

Diversity Matters' Partners Program: Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility

Friends and Colleagues -

On today's episode of Diversity Matters we discussed the "tension" between diversity and inclusion efforts that operate out of a social justice paradigm and those that operate out of a competitive advantage paradigm; and grappled with the question of whether an organization has to choose between the investing in inclusion because "it's the right thing to do" or because "it's the smart thing to do."

While we're clearly of the opinion that the best answer is both/and rather than either/or, in our experience so often organizations speak about the ethical imperative of justice, but invest considerably more time, money and resources in the business imperative. While the pendulum may vary by industry and leader, creating a strategy that helps sustain the right balance between both/and is a tremendous service to society and the business. On the show we talked about strategic corporate responsibility as a deliberate approach to reconciling this tension and living in the intersection of BOTH an ethical stance to address an important social need AND simultaneously addressing a business need.

Microsoft for example has chosen to take a stance that supports digital literacy and prepares the next generation of critical thinkers who are capable of solving complex problems and fluent in the adaptable use of technology by sponsoring Philadelphia's School of the Future and it's partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges. This stance not only supports a societal need by helping young people in the United States develop the technology knowledge, skills and resilience with which young people throughout India and China are already infused, it also addresses Microsoft’s business need of a shortage of I.T. workers in the United States. As stated in a recent Harvard Business Review article (December 2006) on the link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility, “The most important thing a corporation can do for society, and for any community, is to contribute to a prosperous economy.”

At Diversity Matters™ we are in the process of developing a program to catalyze this relationship between business need and social need, by finding shared value propositions between our corporate clients and the not for profit and community based organizations which we serve. It’s called the Diversity Matters’™ Partners Program.

Diversity Matters’™ Partners Program
Our model of strategic corporate social responsibility is to reinforce corporate diversity and inclusion strategies by advancing social conditions. While corporate philanthropy and sponsorship of programs and events is important, we work with our for profit clients to build a coordinated approach which includes a strong corporate social responsibility component to their diversity and inclusion strategy. Our Partners Program is a key example of this strategic approach to corporate social responsibility

An Exchange Between Businesses and Communities
Diversity Matters™ is committed to building an exchange between businesses and communities to share resources, ideas and talent that promotes inclusion. Through our Partners Program, for-profit business clients are invited to invest a percentage of their contracted services to build a partnership with not for profit and/or community based organizations by funding education, training and consulting services that these organizations would otherwise not be able to afford. Our model of strategic corporate social responsibility works to foster the partnership between organizations whose missions align and for whom such a relationship will strategically address a social need AND address a business need.

This partnership not only supplies needed economic resources to not for profit and/or community based organizations, but provides a vehicle for the exchange of best practices. Community based organizations benefit from access to the lessons learned and best practices of the for-profit world, and corporate clients learn from the grass roots efforts of not for profit enterprises.

Developing the Next Generation of Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners
In addition, Diversity Matters’™ Partners Program matches students in the field of Diversity and Inclusion with seasoned practitioners in the facilitation of this exchange and the delivery of services. This element of the partnership provides experience to skilled and committed practitioners who are new to the field while meeting the needs of organizations that might not otherwise be in a position to afford these services. It also supports both the corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage of the sponsoring partner by both “giving back” and learning from the partnership exchange. The Diversity Matters™ Partners Program is a win-win-win-win. The community wins, the new practitioners win, the sponsoring business wins and Diversity Matters™ wins by providing this inclusiveness building conduit.

Everyone we’ve spoken with about this program – corporate partners, community based leaders etc… are very excited. We would love to hear your ideas as well as discuss the opportunity for you to participate in this program to inspire inclusive partnerships across organizations and communities.

Stay connected,

Richard Friend, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & Co-Host