Driving Leadership

Why bother with inclusion efforts? Isn’t it easier to stick to one’s own? Whatever way you want to slice and dice people, whether by city, country, society, or just a small group, it will function better if those in the group are familiar with one another, understand one another, and are comfortable around one another. This is true. But this doesn’t mean that the level of comfort and familiarity necessary to make that group tick can’t be reached if its members are from different cultural backgrounds.

Cogency Group’s Targeted Inclusion™ process promises to help organizations overcome barriers that prevent them from committing to diversity. This isn’t as easy as one may think. “Let’s hire minorities and women” isn’t an approach that goes far enough. A cursory glance at history or this evening’s news will make plain the challenges faced when different groups of people are made to deal with one another.

Many companies and organizations are beginning to realize that shifts in racial and cultural demographics are changing traditional markets and creating new ones all together. The potential buying power these new markets yield should not be ignored, especially when here in the United States Asians, African-Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans collectively represent well over $1 trillion annually in consumer spending.(1) Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group, today representing the largest minority in the U.S. It is estimated that by 2050, Latinos will make up 25% of the population.

Shifting racial and cultural demographics are not only a North American phenomenon. Next year, it is predicted that in the United Kingdom, only 20% of the workforce will be made up of white able bodied men under the age of 45. Persons from minority ethnic groups will account for half of the U.K. working age population growth over the next ten years.(2) Worldwide, societies as we know them are changing dramatically. Organizations that fail to recognize the need to make adjustments in terms of client and employee focus in the face of diversifying markets will be left behind.

If you and your colleagues in management are not facing up to the challenges posed by the economic situation, you are not only avoiding your own responsibilities as leaders but you are doing the entire organization a disservice by neglecting the need to engage workers and develop them as leaders.

Remember that times of economic prosperity also bring its own set of challenges, like scaling growth to properly meet customer demand or confronting new market entrants eager to snatch up market share. Will you be ready to confront these issues in stride or will you overreact, or possibly even under-react?

Cogency Group knows how to develop effective leadership not only in challenging economic times, but in any dynamic environment. Instead of letting your organization trudge through this downturn, discover what effective leadership is all about.

Business is slow but perhaps layoffs are not around the bend. Are you using the time wisely? Focus on your customers and your employees. New professional development programs may not only motivate employees, but it could help your company avoid workforce reductions. For example, The Dannon Company is planning to retool IT staff in sales and research development in order to avoid layoffs while simultaneously steering clear of costs associated with head count increases in areas that will help stir up new business.(1)

In terms of your workers, this is the time to gather them together in order to bring the company’s vision back into focus. They are the ones on the front lines. What solutions and ideas can they bring to the table through brainstorming sessions? The anxiety that comes with slowdowns might have them thinking. You might be pleasantly surprised to learn what is on their minds. Have these discussions incorporated into your company’s plans so that you’re ahead of the game when the economy starts to make its way back.

According to a Gallup Management Journal survey, engaged employees are most likely to inspire innovation. Their research shows that engaged workers feel safer, are more productive and profitable, create stronger customer relationships, and stay longer with their company than workers that are less engaged. The research demonstrates a domino effect as engaged employees are more likely to be motivated by the ideas of their engaged counterparts.

The Gallup study also finds that employee engagement is a major catalyst in the improvement of management and business processes as well as customer service. Gallup’s employee engagement research has consistently shown a connection between employee engagement and customer engagement. One factor that can influence customer engagement is an employee’s willingness to change – or to “learn and grow” – to meet the customers’ changing needs.(2) Managers should keep in mind that for most companies, the untapped latent profit in their existing customer relationships is much greater than the magnitude of our current economic problems.(3) 

Cogency Group understands that although change is always difficult for people and organizations, leadership avoidance is never an option when confronted with uncertainty. 

(1) Hamblen, Matt, Thomas Hoffman, and Patrick Thibodeau. “IT Industry Recoils as Economic Downturn Worsens.” CIO. November 17, 2008 .

  (2) “Gallup Study: Engaged Employees Inspire Company Innovation.” Gallup Management Journal. October 12, 2006.

(3) Yastrow, Steve. “The Downturn Is a Rounding Error.” Tom Peters! June 25, 2008.

If your company is laying people off, you may have already discovered that survivor’s syndrome is real. It isn’t just a phenomenon of war or natural disasters. It’s a contagion that can spread like wildfire through an organization after workforce reductions have occurred. Its symptoms, which include cynicism, distrust, reduced loyalty, and increased absenteeism, are the last things a company needs when facing troubling times.

One of the most important aspects of leadership, especially during rough economic times, is being real. Often leaders, especially newer ones, try to exude confidence by wearing a disguise with the end result being confusion, resentment, or in worst case scenarios sabotage. Cogency Group understands how tempting, yet detrimental it can be to wear that disguise. Being honest may place leadership in a vulnerable position in the short term but will pay dividends in the long term with respect earned from employees and worker satisfaction levels that will help keep productivity on track.

If you’re the captain of the ship, by now you should have advised your crew to don their life preservers. How you proceed will determine whether you will experience smooth sailing, relatively speaking at least, or join the ranks of the Titanic.