Why You Procrastinate and, More Importantly, How to Stop
That work project that you’ve had an entire month to complete is due tomorrow. You planned to spend the whole day focusing on it — but Facebook is just so much more appealing today. You promised yourself you’d work out this morning but, wait, aren’t there new episodes of your favorite show out?
Dr. Davis talks to WREG Memphis, News Channel 8, about the “Great Resignation”
It’s being called the Great Resignation. This year alone, Americans have been leaving their current workplace by the millions. There are many theories as to what’s driving workers away but no doubt a toxic workplace won’t help but how can you deal with toxicity on the job if you don’t want to quit. Doctor Shirley Davis joins WREG Memphis, News Channel 8 with some pointers. Click here to watch.
How to Realize the Benefits of Inclusive Leadership
Dr. Davis’s recently published article on Fast Company can be viewed here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90683353/how-to-realize-the-benefits-of-inclusive-leadership Implicit bias training has seen a significant uptick in the past year following the national and international calls for greater justice, equity, and inclusion. I know this firsthand because my firm has been flooded with hundreds of requests from clients wanting their entire leadership teams and general staff to go through it. The core message of implicit bias training is that all humans have it as a built-in safety and survival mechanism. Our brains are hardwired to be biased but when left unchecked, it can have a negative impact on everyday interactions and decisions, especially in the workplace. But simply being aware that we all have biases does not let us off the hook. That matters more than ever because the workforce and the marketplace have become more global, multicultural, multigenerational, and hyper-connected. On top of that, they all bring differing needs, expectations, and ways of thinking, working, and doing business. The ability to lead more effectively across differences is a key lever for attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent, driving innovation and creativity, as well as expanding into new markets, and serving new customers and clients. In addition to implicit bias training, in the last 18 months alone, my consulting firm has conducted nearly 100 listening sessions, and more than 50 inclusion and employee engagement surveys and focus groups, and the results have been consistent across industries, sectors, and company sizes. Workers expect their employers to: value diversity, equity, and inclusion want their leaders to be authentic, walk the talk and live the company values have the opportunity to grow their knowledge and acquire new skills work flexibly and have more autonomy in how they work be paid fairly and competitively work in a ‘safe-to-speak” culture where their ideas and opinions can be shared without fear of retaliation be recognized and appreciated And they report that if they don’t get it, they are willing to walk away. Today that threat has become real. The U.S. job market is slowly recovering by adding thousands of new jobs, while at the same experiencing the Great Resignation, where workers are quitting their jobs in record numbers. In June alone, 3.9 million people said “I quit” which was slightly down from the nearly 4 million who quit in April. In a recent Monster.com survey, 95% of 650 U.S. workers said they were thinking of quitting their jobs. The main reasons for quitting are very aligned with what our firm heard from workers in listening sessions and focus groups—they are experiencing increased burnout, work-related stress, a lack of development and growth opportunities, low wages and poor benefits, lack of flexible work, and toxic workplace cultures. Wait, there’s more. The 2021 Work Trend Index report conducted by Microsoft a few months ago studied more than 30,000 people in 31 countries. It revealed some startling findings that should be a warning to all leaders. Five that stood out to me because of the consulting work we’re doing with clients around the world include: more than 40% of the global workforce is contemplating leaving their current employer this year flexible work is here to stay leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call authenticity will spur productivity and well-being high productivity is masking an exhausted workforce Wow, talk about having some work to do to re-engage, re-energize, and retain existing talent. This is a clear and compelling business case and a loud cry for more inclusive leadership. Successful organizations recognize that in order to attract top talent, increase employee engagement and job satisfaction, drive innovation and creativity, and enhance the customer service experience, they must cultivate an inclusive workplace culture. And that begins and ends with inclusive leadership. It cannot be a nice to do, it must be intentional and a continuous development process. While culture is everyone’s responsibility, leaders set the tone. I call them “thermostats” in the company because they set the temperature and create the atmosphere that workers experience. In my 30 years in human resources, I’ve seen more often that people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad leaders and toxic workplaces. Many of the reasons listed above of why workers quit or plan to can be avoided/recovered by having inclusive leaders. I get it. Being an inclusive leader is not as easy as it sounds. Inclusive leadership is much more than having a title, giving a hug, and being nice. It requires a paradigm shift, an openness to different ways of doing things, leaning into some discomfort, and demonstrating the courage to embrace the unfamiliar. Many leaders have neither the basic foundational knowledge about inclusive leadership nor an idea of what workers expect in their leaders today (they are out of touch, as the Microsoft study revealed). Employees are demanding, at the very least, that our workplaces be more inclusive, welcoming, and respectful, that they create a sense of belonging, and are free from harassment. For some companies with legacy cultures and others that have existed for more than a century, this is an extremely hard change management process. But it’s necessary. Therefore, every leader should upskill and develop new competencies that will do those three things: re-engage, re-energize, and retain their workers. They must be intentional about valuing diversity and inclusion. Intentionality can include listening attentively to understand others’ perspectives and points of view and creating safe and brave spaces for staff to feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of retaliation. Instead of using the same person(s) to carry out tasks and special projects, they need to intentionally spread opportunities around. And it means not only inviting more diversity to the table but soliciting diverse perspectives and ideas. When they observe or hear something that is inappropriate, insensitive, or insulting, they speak up and call it out. These daily acts of intentionality can go a long way to foster trust and belonging. Additionally, leaders must increase their level of cultural competence, which can begin with a self-assessment and
Handling Back-to-Work Stress as an Employer
Dr. Davis’s newest interview on FOX 24 News Now Watch “Handling Back-to-Work Stress as an Employer”
Want Better Sales Performance, Increase DEI Commitment
The workforce and the marketplace continue to experience dramatic demographic shifts that include more women, BIPOCs, and younger workers (e.g., Millennials and Gen Z) to name a few. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 78% of sales people are white. Women make up 50% of the U. S. workforce but only 39% of the sales workforce, and only 19% of leadership positions in sales. This lack of representation across gender, race, ethnicity, and other demographics can send a strong message that certain people are not welcomed in the sales profession. As President of SDS Global Enterprises, a global workforce and culture transformation consulting firm, we’re experiencing a significant increase in outreach from companies needing help in attracting more diverse talent and building a more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming workplace culture where ALL talent can thrive. Many of them are in Sales and Marketing (especially in pharmaceutical, financial services, sports, real estate, and technology) and they admit that they have a “diversity problem” [or lack of diversity]. Their sales forces are dominated by white men, and they know that they are not reflective of the changing demographics, their customers, or the communities in which they do business. The question you may be asking is “why is this important to them now?” I asked the same question because it’s always been an important business issue. I’ve been in the Human Resources and DEI field for over 20 years and as a Chief D & I Officer I’ve been pushing the business benefits of DEI in every company I worked. However, it was not always met with support, or the belief that DEI has an impact on the bottom line. But today, it couldn’t be more be a more clear and compelling case. Sure, the international protests and calls for greater equity, inclusion and justice following the murder of George Floyd increased the focus on DEI. So did the significant disparities and/or lack of access to health care, education, socio-economic and job opportunities that were revealed during the global pandemic equally contribute to the recognition that we have a DEI problem. But before these incidences, the business case was still compelling. Just look at the buying power of people of color and millennials, which is well over $4 trillion annually. According to Catalyst, a global consulting firm for women in the workplace, women controlled an estimated $31.8 trillion (USD) in consumer spending in 2019. For sales and marketing firms to overlook this reality would be a “going out of business strategy.” If this isn’t compelling enough look at the studies that reveal the impact of DEI. Studies from the Harvard Business Review, Boston Consulting Group, and McKinsey and Company show diversity has a strong correlation with organizational performance. McKinsey’s most recent report, “Diversity Wins: How inclusion matters,” revealed that organizations with diversity of gender are 25% more likely to be more profitable than their peers. It also shows that organizations with diversity of ethnicity are 36% more likely to be more profitable than their peers. The World Economic Forum’s report “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 4.0” suggests that companies with diverse employees have “up to 20% higher rate of innovation and 19% higher innovation revenues.” Similarly, the Boston Consulting Group revealed in its 2018 study on How Diverse Leadership Teams Boost Innovation that increasing the diversity of leadership teams leads to more and better innovation and improved financial performance. In both developing and developed economies, companies with above-average diversity on their leadership teams report a greater payoff from innovation and higher EBIT margins. Moreover, sales and marketing organizations want to attract top talent; they want to innovate and solve complex problems; they want to increase market share through a positive customer experience; and they want to drive sustainable performance. These are compelling enough reasons to embrace DEI as a business strategy, so no more asking “Why is it important?” or “What’s the business case?” The real questions now are “What can we do about it?” “How can we realize the value of DEI in our sales and marketing teams?” Here are a few tips and strategies you can implement: Adopt hiring practices and strategies to attract underrepresented sales professionals. Yes, they are out there. Cast your net wide and target organizations, colleges/universities, and events that cater to a high percentage of diverse members, students, and attendees. Don’t assume that you have to lower your standards or hire less qualified salespeople just because you are seeking more diversity. This tends to be the proverbial response when recruiting diverse talent and it is rooted in privilege and bias. Assume that talent comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, backgrounds, gender, and ethnicities. Review your job descriptions for sales and marketing positions to ensure that they contain inclusive language such as salesperson vs salesman. Avoid descriptions that tend to appeal to men versus women such as “aggressive” “competitive,” or “expert,” and when describing the tasks of the ideal candidate, use “S/he” or “you,” versus “He should possess…” Provide additional training such as Behavioral Interviewing, Emotional Intelligence, Unconscious Bias, and Cultural Competence to all sales staff, especially those who will be conducting the interviews and making the hiring decision. This will help to minimize the tendency to hire others like themselves, to avoid asking illegal and inappropriate interview questions, to be aware of how biases can play out in the workplace and in providing service to customers and clients, and how to foster a culture of inclusion, belonging, and respect. Embed DEI into your values and hold leaders accountable for living them out every day. Provide mentoring, coaching, and other forms of development for all new hires and ensure that their onboarding and orientation process gives them a level playing field and sets them up for success. Encourage diversity of thought and ensure that all opinions and perspectives are valued. It’s clear that sales and marketing organizations can no longer ignore the fact that the demographic shifts will continue to disrupt the workplace, the work, and the workers. They must commit to DEI
See It to Be It Podcast with Melinda Garvey
Check out Dr. Davis’s recent discussion on “Living Beyond Your What Ifs and Post-COVID Mass Resignations” on the See It to Be It Podcast with Melinda Garvey
ABC 25 Local Lifestyles – Interview on “Living Beyond ‘What If?”
Click here to watch Dr. Davis’s Interview on “Living Beyond ‘What If?” on ABC 25 Local Lifestyles
How to Navigate the “Great Resignation”
Dr. Shirley Davis, author of “Living Beyond “What If?” and President and CEO of SDS Global Enterprises share tips on how to plan your employment exit strategy. Interview on WUSA9
CUNA News Podcast
The nature of leadership is changing as cultural and demographic forces transform the workplace. To maximize the potential of their teams, leaders must create more inclusive environments that encourage the expression of different cultures, contexts, and perspectives. In this episode of the CUNA News Podcast, global workforce expert Dr. Shirley Davis explores how leaders can foster inclusive work environments and create productive and rewarding team dynamics that reward top performers. Click here to listen
Price of Business show with Kevin Price
On a recent Price of Business show, Host Kevin Price visited with author Shirley Davis on the state of Affirmative Action today and what businesses need to do to make such policies part of a growth strategy. Price of Business Show · Dr. Shirley Davis- The State of Affirmative Action Today