Article by
Connect directly with Richard via one of his social platforms
Related blog posts
LEADERSHIP | DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Home Run! How a Leadership Team Won on Inclusion
April 12th, 2024 | Leadership | Diversity & Inclusion
The company flourished. Year after year it grew organically, and they knew this growth would continue at least in the next years. In the last year, the workforce grew by 10 percent – welcoming the equivalent of 700+ full-time employees.
At the same time, the company’s senior leadership team was challenged on diversity. Women were underrepresented and that needed to be fixed. They knew that their current standing of 13% of senior leadership roles taken by women fell short of best-in-class standards.
The expansion therefore came hand-in-hand with a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The senior leadership team needed to reflect the diverse talent pool available.
Innovisor was asked to support them in achieving both objectives simultaneously.
Baseline Assessment Revealed Two Risks
The leadership team began by assessing their current situation. The Premium People Connectivity Accelerator revealed that the leadership team demonstrated a commendable level of cohesion. They were 12% better connected compared to similar-sized top leadership teams in the Innovisor Benchmark. While surpassing the benchmark was not their sole ambition, reaching a level considered satisfactory was crucial for a leadership team tasked with rapid expansion
Two risks were identified that required mitigation while expanding with a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Leaders only made sense of decisions through the reliance on a few central leaders, leaving them vulnerable if those central leaders leave the company or become overburdened.
How to read this?
This is seen by a hand-full of larger dots compared to the rest.
- Leaders had created a disparity in interaction levels between the many men and the few women leaders, highlighting the need for tactical interventions to ensure equitable integration. Evidence showed that the men leaders were sought out over three times as often as women leaders
How to read this?
This is seen by the small purple dots and where these dots are larger, it’s because other women seek out women.
Strategic Leadership Focus Aced Connectivity
The leadership team ensured that the risks were integrated into the agenda of every leadership meeting throughout the following year. Additionally, it was a year marked by a 10% increase in the workforce, with a notable increase of women on the senior leadership team increasing to 21%.
By maintaining focus on the risks identified in their baseline assessment, the follow-up People Connectivity Accelerator revealed the impact of their tactical intervention on connectivity. Within just 12 months, they were able to sustain the same level of cohesion, showing that they again were 12% better than benchmark.
The strategic focus ensured the leadership team maintained a focus on inclusivity. Connectivity was no longer centered around a select few leaders; it was distributed much more evenly.
In comparison to the baseline assessment, this follow-up assessment also showcased remarkable progress. The cohesion of the leadership team was now strengthened by a more balanced distribution of connectivity and the integration of women leaders into the network.
In Summary
In a landscape where growth often comes at the expense of cohesion, this leadership team proves it wrong. They prioritized inclusivity and acted on the awareness of the baseline by leveraging evidence-based decision-making. Their journey underscores the transformative power of leadership that is not only visionary but also empathetic and inclusive.
More information on the People Connectivity Accelerator can be found here: https://www.innovisor.com/the-people-collaboration-accelerator/
LEADERSHIP | DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Home Run! How a Leadership Team Won on Inclusion
April 12th, 2024 | Leadership | Diversity & Inclusion
The company flourished. Year after year it grew organically, and they knew this growth would continue at least in the next years. In the last year, the workforce grew by 10 percent – welcoming the equivalent of 700+ full-time employees.
At the same time, the company’s senior leadership team was challenged on diversity. Women were underrepresented and that needed to be fixed. They knew that their current standing of 13% of senior leadership roles taken by women fell short of best-in-class standards.
The expansion therefore came hand-in-hand with a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The senior leadership team needed to reflect the diverse talent pool available.
Innovisor was asked to support them in achieving both objectives simultaneously.
Baseline Assessment Revealed Two Risks
The leadership team began by assessing their current situation. The Premium People Connectivity Accelerator revealed that the leadership team demonstrated a commendable level of cohesion. They were 12% better connected compared to similar-sized top leadership teams in the Innovisor Benchmark. While surpassing the benchmark was not their sole ambition, reaching a level considered satisfactory was crucial for a leadership team tasked with rapid expansion
Two risks were identified that required mitigation while expanding with a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Leaders only made sense of decisions through the reliance on a few central leaders, leaving them vulnerable if those central leaders leave the company or become overburdened.
How to read this?
This is seen by a hand-full of larger dots compared to the rest.
- Leaders had created a disparity in interaction levels between the many men and the few women leaders, highlighting the need for tactical interventions to ensure equitable integration. Evidence showed that the men leaders were sought out over three times as often as women leaders
How to read this?
This is seen by the small purple dots and where these dots are larger, it’s because other women seek out women.
Strategic Leadership Focus Aced Connectivity
The leadership team ensured that the risks were integrated into the agenda of every leadership meeting throughout the following year. Additionally, it was a year marked by a 10% increase in the workforce, with a notable increase of women on the senior leadership team increasing to 21%.
By maintaining focus on the risks identified in their baseline assessment, the follow-up People Connectivity Accelerator revealed the impact of their tactical intervention on connectivity. Within just 12 months, they were able to sustain the same level of cohesion, showing that they again were 12% better than benchmark.
The strategic focus ensured the leadership team maintained a focus on inclusivity. Connectivity was no longer centered around a select few leaders; it was distributed much more evenly.
In comparison to the baseline assessment, this follow-up assessment also showcased remarkable progress. The cohesion of the leadership team was now strengthened by a more balanced distribution of connectivity and the integration of women leaders into the network.
In Summary
In a landscape where growth often comes at the expense of cohesion, this leadership team proves it wrong. They prioritized inclusivity and acted on the awareness of the baseline by leveraging evidence-based decision-making. Their journey underscores the transformative power of leadership that is not only visionary but also empathetic and inclusive.
More information on the People Connectivity Accelerator can be found here: https://www.innovisor.com/the-people-collaboration-accelerator/
Article by:
Richard Santos Lalleman
Connect directly with Richard via one of his social platforms.
Article by:
Richard Santos Lalleman
Related articles
Share article
Share article
