Lead the Change

Chapter 1:
THE VALUE PROPOSITION

In keeping with the advice Wayne Gretzky’s father gave him, decision-makers know that it’s critical to anticipate where the puck is going in order to get into position and score.

Being able to see “the next big thing” is what can differentiate successful companies from the pack and propel them forward financially, while simultaneously motivating employees through a sense of pride in working there. Leadership comes from stepping up and out—often when others don’t see the benefits yet—and bringing employees along to make fundamental change happen. And one of the issues that requires fundamental change is gender diversity and inclusion.

Although there are some who still have their heads in the sand, those of us above-ground are seeing the signs and messages all around, poking us and reminding us that change is coming regarding what our workforce needs to look like.

Legislation on gender diversity and inclusion is popping up
around the world, and the number of female university graduates— including the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields—is increasing. Women are chomping at the bit to getworking and take on a career path to the boardroom or in technical positions. Shareholders are now asking questions regarding how many women sit on boards, and they are asking companies to be transparent with their numbers on gender diversity. Goldman Sachs just came out with a headline stating that “boards packed with bros don’t get IPOs.4”5 These types of messages send a pretty clear signal that an all-male board no longer cuts it, and if you want to get capital, you must diversify your gender composition. These are solid indicators that change is afoot.

In spite of these indicators, however, many decision-makers are still asking what exactly the value proposition is. What is the business case, or as I like to call it, the business advantage? Let me begin by answering this and lower the fog index so that we can get past questions about why we need to do this and get on with how to make it happen.

The Importance of Timely Course-Correction

Over the years, I have witnessed firsthand the importance of accurately predicting the course of the proverbial puck—seeing the change before it happens and adjusting accordingly. I have also learned that seeing what’s coming isn’t enough. It’s the ability to convince others of imminent change that really moves the needle.

Back in 1992, when I graduated from the University of Toronto with an environmental science degree, the environment industry was hardly up and running yet. I went to the yellow pages and looked up the few meagre listings for environmental companies at that time, called each one of them on my landline, and asked if they were hiring. The effort paid off, and I was fortunate enough to land my first “real” job with an environmental consulting firm in Toronto. I was one of five environmental scientists hired to study the socio-economic impact of a landfill site selection project in the Greater Toronto Area.

There were five potential landfill sites, and one of them was
assigned to me. My job was to cold call those who lived next to or near the potential landfill, ask to meet with them, and conduct an in-person interview about what the social and economic impact would be to them if the landfill were to go in their area.

Clearly, these were not going to be happy people.

I knew I had my work cut out for me, but I didn’t hesitate to get on the phone and line up my interviews. I was always met at the door with anger and frustration about the issue at hand, but inevitably, after a two- or sometimes three-hour interview at their kitchen table, I would leave on good terms—sometimes with fresh-cut flowers and vegetables from their garden. One time, I was asked if I could come back and babysit their kids!

My boss was always amazed when I came back to the office with all these goodies. I guess that’s why, at the end of that project, when they only wanted to keep one of the five of us on, I was asked to stay.

Although flattered by the offer, I had other ideas about what I wanted to do and had another offer in the wings to work at the Ontario Environment Industry Association, an offer I ended up accepting.

When I look back at that experience, I see that it taught me so much beyond socio-economic issues surrounding a landfill. It taught me hands-on emotional intelligence skills like empathy, self-awareness, assertiveness, and flexibility, among others. I also learned the importance of engaging in difficult conversations, the importance of having others feel heard, and correcting misinformation when necessary.

What is the Business Advantage?

A pretty common question on the topic of gender diversity and inclusion is, “Why would we want to bother doing anything on this issue in the workplace when there is no clear imperative to do so? Things are fine as they are!”

Here is what I say to that. We don’t have the luxury of debating this conversation anymore.

As I have shared…