Harnessing the Power of Diversity and Inclusion with Laura Liswood

Laura Liswood is the Secretary General of the Council of Women World Leaders. For over 20 years, she has been a prominent researcher, advisor, and keynote speaker on diversity and women in leadership, discussing how we can close equality gaps and leverage differences to drive success in society and business. She is the author of the influential book The Loudest Duck, a business guide that explores workplace diversity and uses practical stories to offer an alternate, nuanced approach to diversity to create a truly effective workplace for all.

SPEAKING.COM: You say that diversity is about much more than numbers. What is it about?

LISWOOD: Diversity is only the first step in the strategic process of creating innovation and creativity. It is a necessary first step, but not sufficient by itself. Once you get the diverse group, the more challenging part is ensuring that it is inclusive and that the organization is a level-playing field for everyone.

SPEAKING.COM: The Loudest Duck was published in 2011. How much progress do you feel we’ve made toward true diversity in the years since its publication?

LISWOOD: There certainly seems to be more awareness of diversity, though not all agree on the implementation. There is a lot of talk and as Cheryl Kaiser calls it, there is now an “illusion of inclusion.” That means there can be many programs which people assume create a fair organization – when the reality may be much different.

SPEAKING.COM: What is stopping organizations from reaping the benefits of a diverse workforce?

LISWOOD: I think people confuse a diverse presence (i.e. tracking the numbers) with getting the value of differing perspectives and experiences. Each of us still carries unconscious perspectives and perceptions about whom others are and we either over or under hear someone based on those unconscious beliefs.

SPEAKING.COM: What skills and tools does a leader need to make diversity work?

LISWOOD: Having awareness is a first good tool. Does the leader even see who is speaking and who is not? Do they notice who interrupts whom or who gets the favored assignments? Do they acknowledge, in the words of Herminia Ibarra of Insead, that women are over mentored and under sponsored? Once awareness is there, do they have the tactical tools to change the dynamics?

SPEAKING.COM: How can people identify their unconscious biases and what actions can they take afterwards?

LISWOOD: I prefer not to call them unconscious biases (though they certainly do exist). I find unconscious roles, associations, preferences, arch types as more useful in getting people to recognize what is happening as they think about differences of others. Diversity is about ‘like to like’ and ‘like to not like’. We need to slow ourselves down a bit when we have those immediate silent reactions to others.

SPEAKING.COM: What are some of the biggest differences between men and women when it comes to communication styles?

LISWOOD: There is a fair amount of research on the differing nature of transactional and relational speaking styles. Not all men or all women fall into the bifurcated nature of speaking but the cohorts usually exhibit these traits. Speaking differences also emerge based on who is in power and who is out of power. In-power groups appear less concerned about relationships while out-of-power groups are acutely aware of relational dynamics when dealing with the more dominant groups.

SPEAKING.COM: What do people in non-dominant groups need to do to “claim their authority to lead”?

LISWOOD: Practice is a good first step. Everyone needs to practice being a leader. The military does this well by giving people small opportunities to lead, providing tons of feedback and allowing them to progress to larger responsibilities.

Volunteer for leadership activities and get feedback, even if dominant groups are hesitant to give clear specific feedback. Understand, as Margaret Thatcher put it to me in my interview with her, that life is unfair especially when it comes to society’s treatment of historically out-of-power groups. Seek out role models of people who look like you.

SPEAKING.COM: What unique advantages do women leaders bring to the table?

LISWOOD: Good leaders are good leaders, male or female. However, women as members of the non-dominant group have had to develop certain skills that are useful as a leader. Non-dominant groups know much more about dominant groups than dominant groups do of non-dominant groups. I call that the Elephant and the Mouse. That means that women are more vigilant about understanding others, or in other words they have empathy, which is certainly a good trait of leaders.

Women know that the tolerance for mistakes is less for them than men which makes them possibly more risk-averse at times. During financial crisis for example, modulated risk tolerance is a good thing. Women may bring new parties to the table since they are not always in the “in group.”

SPEAKING.COM: How are women leaders treated differently than men leaders?

LISWOOD: As mentioned, there is seemingly less tolerance for women to make mistakes and they can receive more scrutiny. The well-known double bind is prevalent in that men can be likeable and perceived as competent while for women it appears to be a tradeoff: either she is likeable or she is considered competent. McKinsey finds that women are evaluated on their performance and men on their potential which according to Mercer slows the progress of women (and people of color).

SPEAKING.COM: Why do you think the U.S. has not yet had a woman president and what are the chances that that will change with the 2020 election?

LISWOOD: It is always important to have more than one woman in any situation as a single one gets over scrutinized and is expected to speak for all women. One woman can stir up positive and negative feelings about changing gender roles. Historically few women have run for the presidency and until recently the US pipeline for presidents was Vice President (women-none), Governor (women-few), and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (women-none). It is helpful now that women from the Senate and House are considering running for the presidency.

To bring diversity and inclusion speaker, Laura Liswood to your organization, please contact Michael Frick at: Mike@Speaking.com