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“This diversity thing is complex, but at the same time, I'm convinced that we can address it if we look at our leadership differently and we hold leaders accountable differently,” advised Ginny Clarke, former director, executive recruiting at Google and partner at global executive search firm Spencer Stuart, speaking to attendees at CRN’s Now, New, Next event.
“We're screwing up. We're nibbling around the edges…treating the symptoms,” Clarke critiqued. She advised that change must start at the foundation of an organization, with everybody honoring the policies, practices and procedures that are going to ensure fairness and equity.
“Organizational malpractice” leads to higher attrition rates among underrepresented groups of people, Clarke observed, coming at significant cost to employers, especially in the current tight labor market.
“It's not limited to just hiring and representation,” Clarke added. “The culture piece plays into this. The culture is an amalgam of the behaviors of the senior-most leaders in the organization.”
Leadership is a behavior, Clarke explained. “Competencies are all about the behaviors—and you can look at the accomplishments that derived from the behaviors,” she said, to develop equitable evaluation of candidates and then performance once on-the-job.
“Hire using competencies to level the playing field,” Clarke advised. “Get good at figuring that out and contextualizing it to align with what the business needs are…and be willing to make some tough calls about who it is that you're going to hire.”
Go deeper: Clarke’s recent two-part podcast on “The Future of Work: 5 Leadership Essentials,” explores how the pandemic has presented opportunities for leaders to drive real, impactful change in the workplace.