"The whole idea is to build mutual respect, and just to begin to reach out to someone different," he said. "Out of that respect, comes communication. If there is dialogue without the foundation of respect, that just serves to drive a deeper wedge into the relationship."

"Plain and simple, diversity is good business," said Freeman. "Companies who are genuinely serious about diversity will be far more competitive and cutting edge than those who maintain the status quo. And this kind of stuff must start with the organization's leadership. Sometimes I'll ask leaders to take a snapshot of their board. It is important for that picture to contain women and minorities. They will provide an expanded perspective of the marketplace like no one else on the board can. Why not have qualified representatives who are entrusted with the same executive decision-making capability as everyone else?"

Financial-services companies are joining the legions of firms that are investing in America’s most valued
asset: the workforce. Industry heavy-hitters such as Merrill Lynch and UBS PaineWebber are meshing diversity together with executive training, with the hopes of getting higher profits in return.

In 1997, the UBS PaineWebber Diversity Council was established to facilitate "cultural change, with
an emphasis on inclusion in recruiting, retention, and promotion, and to expand the firm's presence among a more diverse group of clients," the company said in its diversity mission statement. "At UBS PaineWebber, we define diversity as everything that makes us unique as individuals. Managing diversity is diversity is about creating an environment that leverages employees' unique characteristics, allowing everyone an equal opportunity to succeed." 

With corporations trying to hold down spending, mentoring and other programs provide an alluring economic incentive as well, said Kevin Carter, director of diversity at Cleveland, Ohio-based National City Bank. National City has been reviewing mentoring concepts and initiatives, and is considering implementation of a mentoring program. 

"Mentoring has always been an important tool," Carter said. "Because of the tight labor market and the
increasing concern with retaining employees and lowering turnover, more and more companies are including professionals in the middle of the executive ranks in these programs."

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...Joe DeAngelis, vice president and practice leader for an executive coaching and training firm, said the use of executive coaches is gaining in popularity, as corporations seek to avoid the costly search process. An executive coach usually can be hired at a rate that is between 15 percent and 20 percent of an executive’s base salary, he said.

"Coaches work with people right in their environment," DeAngelis said. "There is no vanilla formula. Coaching is culturally specific. You cannot coach someone in a vacuum. You have to understand the vision, the value of the culture in which they compete, and then develop a learning plan based on that environment."

DeAngelis said coaches and mentors enable companies to help people align their goals and values with those in the culture, and, thus, become more efficient and more influential. This is a departure from early strategies where multiethnic executives were paired with colleagues of the same race, he said.

"Historically, corporations have brought multiethnic executives into the business and then they tried to pair them off with someone of the same race or put them in with other diverse individuals. That only breeds more of the same. Instead, you have to help them learn the culture of the business, and what the values are, and to find the common ground."

SOCIAL  SECURITY

WFO Eastern North Dakota Connects to NOAA Diversity Lecture Series

As part of the Monthly Diversity Lecture Series, a group of WFO Eastern North Dakota personnel participated in a talk on by Joel Freeman entitled "Dealing with People Who Drive You Crazy." 

The talk took place live in Washington, D.C., for NOAA Headquarters personnel and was viewed live over the Internet via Real Player on the PDW in the Training Room. The voice quality ranged from  good most of the time to a bit fuzzy at other times. 

The talk was quite interesting, as the expert (Dr. Joel Freeman) spoke about various personality types that must interact in the work setting. We all realize some of us are more "doers than thinkers" and vice-versa. The point is that each of us brings value into the workforce, although each in a different way and further understanding of these personality variables will increase each person's and then the overall offices functioning. 

He also spoke about differences relating to gender, religious and ethnic backgrounds, age and others. Again, further understanding of these differences in the workplace will enable all of us to improve our work place relationships and could all make us "feel better" about our contributions to the office and agency mission.

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