Innovating for Diversity

CHAPTER 9The Inescapable, Undeniable Role of Executive Leaders

Leadership is one of the five organizational characteristics that create conditions for innovation, regardless of industry or function, that we introduced in Chapter 3.

In Chapters 4–8, we met several mid-level leaders and small business owners who took reputational and professional risks, secured senior-level support, and built coalitions to solve root problems of talent acquisition, development, growth, and retention by innovating for diversity.

For executives leading large, complex enterprises, the stakes are even higher. Senior-level leadership is especially vital in expanding an organization's capacity to innovate for diversity. We devote this chapter to exploring how effective senior leaders, including CEOs, promote cultures that prioritize DEI principles as business imperatives. Using the examples of the National Hockey League and World Wide Technology, we will examine the specific priorities and actions of their C-suite executives who have successfully pioneered new DEI approaches that have transformed culture and improved business outcomes.

Key Concept: Powerful proclamations of a commitment to diversity by CEOs can be motivating to employees and other stakeholders, but sustained support for organizational systems and establishing measures and accountability is required for DEI principles to be truly embedded in the culture of any organization.

Words and Actions: Do Behaviors Match the Script?

Throughout ...