What's your strategy for building a high-performing, diverse executive team?

To build a high-performing, diverse executive team, it is crucial to establish a strategic approach that encompasses attracting, developing, and retaining top talent from diverse backgrounds. Key steps include defining diversity and inclusion goals, implementing diverse recruitment strategies, providing leadership development opportunities, fostering a culture of inclusion, addressing unconscious bias, setting metrics for accountability, and promoting diversity at all levels. I strongly believe by following this strategy, organizations can create a diverse executive team that drives innovation, creativity, and overall business success.

Disrupt traditional executive team-building by setting audacious diversity goals that challenge industry norms, creatively redefining success metrics to prioritize a rich tapestry of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. Define diversity goals not just in terms of demographics, but creatively emphasize cognitive diversity, disrupting conventional hiring practices to assemble an executive team that excels in innovative thinking and problem-solving. Strategically embed diversity goals in performance evaluations and executive development programs, fostering a culture that not only attracts diverse talent but actively supports their growth, ensuring a high-performing, inclusive executive team that drives sustainable success.

Creating a performing diverse executive team requires implementing various essential tactics. Begin by giving importance to diversity during the hiring process attracting candidates from backgrounds. Emphasize leadership that values and promotes viewpoints. Utilize recruitment methods, like interviews and diverse hiring committees. Cultivate an environment through training and growth opportunities encouraging open communication and teamwork. Lastly establish diversity objectives. Track progress regularly making changes as necessary to maintain a high performing and diverse team.

Forbes: Diverse teams deliver 60% better results and make better decisions in 87% of cases. What we can do: Prioritize diverse leadership needs to become a priority. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚 "𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐭𝐨-𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞". 𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. Identify the right executives, C-Suite and Board Members for your business. Consider 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 that can guide you through this process and bring a diverse slate of candidates for consideration. Understand 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 diverse 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬; what they can uniquely contribute, what challenges they face and how you can help them overcome specific hurdles.

To build a high-performing, diverse executive team, start with a thorough assessment of your current lineup against your diversity goals. Utilize tools and methods to analyze data on team composition, performance, and engagement. Gather insights from employees, customers, and partners to understand perceptions and experiences. Benchmarking against competitors and industry standards offers a clear picture of where you stand. This comprehensive evaluation will highlight gaps, strengths, and opportunities, paving the way for targeted improvements. Such an assessment is not just about numbers but understanding the dynamics and impact of diversity on team performance and organizational success.

Assessing your organization's current state in terms of diversity is a crucial step in building a high-performing, diverse executive team. This assessment offers a reality check against your diversity goals, providing insights into where you stand and what needs to be done to bridge gaps and leverage strengths. Understanding your current state of diversity is essential for several reasons. It enables you to identify gaps in your team's composition and dynamics, uncovering areas where diverse perspectives may be underrepresented. This assessment also highlights the strengths upon which you can build, showcasing areas where diversity is contributing positively to your organization's success.

Use structured interviews and diverse panels to reduce bias and implement inclusive hiring. Prioritize skills, potential, and diverse experiences over traditional qualifications. Eliminate unnecessary barriers from job descriptions to ensure they are accessible and welcoming to a broad range of candidates. This approach fosters a more equitable hiring process and attracts a diverse talent pool.

Creating a rounded leadership group goes beyond talent management strategies. It involves examining each procedure to eliminate prejudices and encourage equity. Based on what I've experienced, clear criteria and inclusive guidance make an impact. They invite a range of viewpoints fueling creativity and advancement. It's not about meeting requirements; it's about appreciating and utilizing outlooks.

A clear vision and strategy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is essential for fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion. Leaders need to model inclusive behaviors and be held accountable for DEI goals. Providing DEI training, particularly on unconscious bias, is an effective way to raise awareness and drive change. Establishing employee resource groups is an effective way to support underrepresented employees, create a sense of community, and provide resources for personal and professional growth. These actions, taken together, will create a more equitable and supportive work environment.

As someone involved in sponsoring the Veteran Community, I've seen how diversity extends beyond the visible aspects to encompass a wide array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. The emphasis on creating an environment that promotes respect, collaboration, and continuous learning across different dimensions of diversity is crucial. Providing resources and platforms to allow diverse perspectives to thrive is not just about fairness; it's about enhancing the decision-making, creativity, and effectiveness of the team. Furthermore, the point about fostering a culture of accountability and feedback is key to ensuring that diversity and inclusion efforts are not just symbolic but have a real impact on the organization's fabric.

Fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion is an integral part of building a high-performing, diverse executive team; it's about creating an environment where differences are not just accepted but valued and leveraged for collective success. As a senior leader, demonstrate a genuine commitment to diversity and inclusion; not only verbal endorsements but also actionable steps that reflect this commitment in your leadership practices and organizational policies. Encourage open, respectful communication that values diverse perspectives. Acknowledge and celebrate the diverse backgrounds and experiences of your team members. Promote a culture where employees are encouraged to be allies to each other, where all team members can thrive.

Engage stakeholders in building a diverse executive team by clearly communicating your vision and goals. Seek input from your board, employees, customers, and partners to shape your approach. Regularly update them on progress, sharing both successes and challenges to maintain transparency. Celebrate milestones and demonstrate how diversity enhances your organization's value proposition, driving innovation and stronger connections. This collaborative effort fosters shared ownership and commitment to your diversity and inclusion goals.

Engaging your stakeholders in your diversity/inclusion efforts is crucial because it builds broader support for initiatives, and their engagement can provide valuable insights, drive commitment and improve the impact of your diversity strategies. Keep stakeholders informed about your goals, the rationale behind them and the progress being made. Actively seek input from them on your diversity initiatives; stakeholder feedback can offer valuable insights and demonstrate that you value their perspectives. Involve stakeholders in developing and refining diversity/inclusion strategies. Showcase successes and address concerns; responsive and thoughtful engagement on can build trust and demonstrate your commitment to continuous improvement.

An external coach can be a high value addition to a high-performing, diverse executive team, providing insight and fresh perspective on blind spots, accountability for the team learning and development agenda (regarding DEI capability and/ or performance), and developmental frameworks to support collective evolution. Any such coach should also have a solid grounding in DEI practice in order to effectively support all team members.

In a world where societal norms and business environments are constantly evolving, your approach to diversity must also adapt and grow; embracing continuous learning and improvement is crucial because it allows your org to respond to new challenges and opportunities in diversity and inclusion. This commitment to ongoing learning ensures that your org remains responsive and aligned with best practices in diversity and inclusion. It fosters a culture of adaptability and resilience, ensuring that your diversity efforts remain dynamic and impactful. Additionally, it demonstrates to your team members and stakeholders that your commitment to diversity is not just a one-time initiative but a core value of your leadership and org philosophy.

Anything you do to build a high-performing team at any level has to start with trust among the team members. They won't be able to engage in constructive conflict if they don't trust each other and won't be able to give each other important feedback to keep the team performance level at its peak. What are you doing to make it safe for your team members to speak up, disagree and even bring up ideas that seem far-fetched. Trust is the foundation!

Sustain diversity efforts rather than making them one-time initiatives. Regularly track progress against diversity goals and report on that progress. Tackle any resistance to change and encourage a belief system that perceives diversity as an asset.

Building a high-performing diverse executive team involves deliberate steps. Start by defining clear diversity and inclusion goals, ensuring they're aligned with your organization's values. Implement unbiased recruitment processes that prioritize skill and potential over background. Foster an inclusive culture that values diverse perspectives and provides equal growth opportunities, while also holding leadership accountable for diversity goals. Regularly assess progress and make adjustments to create a dynamic and impactful executive team. #empathy

Implement mentorship and sponsorship programs to navigate current complexities more effectively and to build a highly effective executive team. Establish mentorship and sponsorship initiatives to support the professional growth and development of diverse talent within the organization that can provide new and innovative solutions. By pairing experienced leaders with emerging executives from diverse backgrounds, you can foster an inclusive environment that nurtures potential and accelerates career progression.

Some additional considerations may also include cognitive diversity such as individuals with diverse thinking styles, experiences, and perspectives, not just demographic markers. Combined with fostering an environment where team members feel safe to voice their opinions and ideas without fear of judgement or retribution. Don’t forget to also consider the way the relevant interview panels and job descriptions are designed in order to allow for diversity in the talent pipeline.