Search results for ""Author Laura A. Liswood""

Explore diversity, equity, and inclusion that goes beyond unconscious bias and explores the ideas and tools needed to achieve these goals In The Elephant and the Mouse, award-winning speaker and diversity and inclusion expert Laura Liswood delivers a thought-provoking and insightful new business guide that explores workplace diversity and offers new ideas for gaining the real benefits from your diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The Elephant and the Mouse refers to the dynamic in organizations that are roadblocks to consciously inclusive success. The Elephant, often dominant group leadership, knows little about the experiences of the Mouse, the non-dominant groups, while the Mouse knows so much more about the Elephant. In diverse workplaces, these two groups live in different worlds. Success will come only if everyone works in a true meritocracy. You learn what may be easy for some to do in their career is much harder for others to do. In this book, which builds upon Liswood's groundbreaking book, The Loudest Duck, you'll explore the powerful case for diversity, equity, and inclusion and the often-overlooked risks posed by a homogeneous workforce. You will learn the hard truths about why many DE&I efforts fail, millions of dollars are wasted, and why organizations confuse efforts with outcomes. You'll consider new ways of leading others, with a strong emphasis on tactics and strategies employed by successful Elephant and Mouse leaders, including women leaders. The book also includes: Realistic explanations for the slow progress in diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice in society and organizations Examinations of the concept and myths of meritocracy and how to conduct a Meritocracy Stress Test on your firm How organizations often have an illusion of inclusion but find their efforts not creating the inclusive, equitable teams they say they want How safety efforts can provide a roadmap for diversity missions An exploration of both the human interventions and non-human roles of technology in DE&I initiatives, including the use of people analytics to de-bias organizations What tools are needed to go beyond awareness of unconscious bias to de-bias processes and what traits the new Elephant and Mouse leader has An indispensable resource for managers, executives, and other business leaders who seek to recreate truly diverse, inclusive, and equitable organizations, The Elephant and the Mouse is also a must-read for human resources professionals, individuals who want successful careers in diverse teams, and anyone involved in the hiring, retaining, and promoting processes. This book offers a way to move beyond traditional diversity efforts towards more modern practices that embrace—and profit from—the differences between people.

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Diversity in the workplace is a wonderful thing—but it also challenges many of today's business leaders. For managers and team-members alike, it can be difficult to navigate in a truly diverse workplace made up of people of different cultures, races, creeds, body types, hobbies, genders, religions, styles, and sexual orientations. But understanding our cultural and social differences is a major key to a high-performing, merit-based work environment. The Loudest Duck is a business guide that explores workplace diversity and presents new ideas for getting the most business and organizational benefit from it. In the Chinese children's parable, the loudest duck is the one that gets shot. In America, we like to say that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Comparing the two, it's easy to see that our different cultures teach us different sets of values, and those values often translate into different ways of doing business that may subtly advantage one culture at work and disadvantage another. In the global marketplace, it's more important than ever that we understand and are conscious of our differences to work together effectively. It is not enough to create Noah's Ark, bringing in two of each kind. We all bring our unconscious beliefs and personal narratives about who we are and who others are with us to work and, with diversity in place, we can no longer ignore them. Truly effective leaders can't pretend that we're all the same or that our preferences and preconceptions don't exist. The Loudest Duck offers a way to move beyond traditional diversity efforts that ignore our differences and toward modern diversity practices that embrace those differences—and profit from them. Diverse organizations require more sophisticated leadership, conscious awareness of diversity issues, new behavioral patterns, and effective tools for reaping the benefits of true diversity. This book will help you develop the skills you need and the tools you can use to go beyond what Grandma taught you to make diversity work in your business. More than just an enlightening tale about diversity, The Loudest Duck is a powerful resource for any manager, business owner, team leader, or employee who wants to meet the challenges of the modern heterogeneous workplace. It's not simply about accepting others—it's about ensuring a level playing field for everyone and building an organization that gets the best from all its people.

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