I
want to acknowledge Dennis Scott, an old friend and leader in the African-Canadian
community for his input to this blog.
I spent nearly 75% of my working career working in
positions in which I had the responsibility to hire others. My ‘teams’ ranged
from a few to a few hundred. These
responsibilities began in the mid 70’s and continued until my retirement some
40 years later.
With the 20/20 lens of hindsight, and with the
understanding I have gained since then, I realize that I seldom found what I
was NOT looking for. While I never
practiced active discrimination, I confess that I did not practice active
inclusion. Hence, my teams often
reflected my own world, that is, they were predominantly white males.
Looking back I can easily rationalize some of my
decisions. I worked most of my career in
the electronic security industry and that industry tended to be somewhat
incestuous. People moved from one
company to another and while it was not a closed loop, the trend was towards
the status quo. If you were on the
outside, you almost needed an invitation to join the party.
Over time things did change. Women, people of colour and others from
marginalized groups gradually cracked open the implicit, albeit unintentional,
barriers to entry and thus made the community more diversified…and a truer
representation of society at large. When
I left the formal workforce, my team was almost 50-50 gender split and
represented individuals from around the world.
Our pot luck lunches were a culinary delight of smells and tastes that
were unimaginable in my early years.
My failures were not errors of commission. They were errors of omission. My recruiting failed to deliberately
encourage a broader range of candidates to apply. I was never chastised nor
challenged for my choices because HR and personnel agencies simply forwarded
candidates that fit the profile of the team.
Today’s hiring practices are much more sophisticated
than in the past. But biases still
exist. As the leader it is your
responsibility…no it is your DUTY…to ensure that your team reflects the
diversity of society. It is not only a
case of good business; it is your moral and ethical response to the privilege
of leadership that has been entrusted to you.
May I suggest the following:
1. Cast
a wide net in your search.
2. Use
conventional and unconventional means to get your hiring message communicated.
3. Be
blind in reviewing resumes. Have references to gender, ethnicity etc.
eliminated from the process so that qualifications become the primary determinant
for selection.
4. Recognize
and acknowledge your personal biases by objectively evaluating the culture of
your team. It will be a reflection of
your comfort with diversity. Seek
independent input if you see a trend in your hiring practices that appear to
reveal any bias.
5. Embrace
diversity and change. There was a time
that I thought bell bottom jeans were God’s answer to sartorial splendor, but I
got over that too.
If your team reflects the fabric of our society,
congratulations. If it does not, do your
personal ‘mea culpa’ and get on with the changes that are necessary. You have
been entrusted with a responsibility in which you alone are accountable.
