The Loudest Duck E-Book

Laura A. Liswood

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 214

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

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.

Leseprobe

Praise for The Loudest Duck

“Laura Liswood has both great theoretical and practical understanding of diversity—why it is important in organizations and why attempts to create it often fail to deliver. The Loudest Duck is essential reading for anyone who wants to maximize the effectiveness of organizations or just wants to understand why things are the way they are.”

—Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell Canada’s 19th and first female Prime Minister

“Diversity is a popular buzzword, but too many organizations treat it as window dressing. Laura Liswood explains how successful leaders learn to value diversity for the advantages it brings. This book is clearly written, savvy, and wise.”

—Joseph S. Nye Jr. University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard University; Author of The Powers to Lead

“The Loudest Duck is a must read for managers and leaders of multinational corporations and international organizations. It provides an insightful look and fresh approach to cultural and gender differences that must be better understood for a more effective workplace.”

—Ann M. Veneman Executive Director, UNICEF

“Laura Liswood brilliantly shows us how to get to Diversity 2.0 and beyond. A workplace of people from different backgrounds can lead to tensions, but this book shows, with great insights and examples, how it can lead to real creativity instead. It’s an indispensable guide for managers and leaders—and also for anyone who wants to succeed in any aspect of life.”

—Walter Isaacson President and Chief Executive Officer, The Aspen Institute

“Laura’s timing is perfect and her message is spot on. Embracing diversity creates competitive advantage. Her book should be mandatory reading for everyone in business today. In the most engaging, fun, and real way, Laura gets to the heart of the opportunity—enabling Noah’s diverse floating Ark to fly to the moon and beyond.”

—Beth Brooke Global Vice Chair of Public Policy, Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement, Ernst & Young

“Globalized businesses are increasingly aware that diversity belongs in the boardroom, not the public relations department, so The Loudest Duck is beautifully timed. Liswood is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Best of all, she’s practical, helping ambitious employees from nondominant groups to prove their worth, and advising leaders how to transform diversity from rhetoric into an engine for innovation and growth.”

—Kevin Kelley Chief Executive Officer, Heidrick & Struggles

“Iconoclastic and savvy, Laura Liswood’s The Loudest Duck reminds us that not all diversities in the Ark are equal: Some in the Ark are louder and they get heard most. Combining an impressive breadth of research with colorful stories from corporate life, this book is essential reading for anyone who is serious about reaping the promise of diversity at work.”

—Herminia Ibarra Professor of Organizational Behavior The Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Learning Director, INSEAD Leadership Initiative

“Brilliant! Liswood offers unique insight and fresh tools for a Diversity 2.0 world. Drawing on thinkers from Thucydides to Malcolm Gladwell, and on more than three decades of executive experience, she offers leaders ideas for building a meritocracy that will ensure corporate success.”

—Robin Gerber Author of Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way and Barbie and Ruth

“The Loudest Duck is one of the clearest and most profoundly informative analyses of why, despite decades of effort and investment, most diversity initiatives fail to produce the promised benefits to organizations or their employees. This book goes beyond analysis and provides a new language of metaphor that captures the unexamined dynamics of dominance, unearned privilege, and unconscious bias that undermine our attempts to create truly diverse and inclusive workplaces.

In her introduction Laura Liswood makes clear her goal to move us beyond Diversity 1.0. She is successful. The Loudest Duck has the potential to usher in Diversity 2.0, a new conversation and approach to changing our organizations and ourselves. It is a must reading for leaders who are serious about diversity and inclusion in their organizations.”

—David A. Thomas H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School Author of Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America

the Loudest Duck

the Loudest Duck

Moving Beyond Diversity While Embracing Differences TO Achieve Success at Work

Laura Liswood

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 by Laura Liswood. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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ISBN: 978-0-470-56759-3

To my sister, Jan

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Beware of Noah’s Ark

Objections to Diversity

Chapter 2 The Elephant and the Mouse

Combining Forces

Point of View

Chapter 3 Tell Your Grandma to Go Home

Necessary but Not Sufficient

Preconceived Notions Have Roots

Chapter 4 What’s Easy for You Is Hard for Me and How to Navigate the Differences

Getting Noticed in Noah’s Ark

Getting Out of Your Own Comfort Zone

Critical Feedback

Who Apologizes and Who Interrupts

Mentoring

Chapter 5 Unwritten Rules

Subtle Inequities

Chapter 6 We Hire for Difference and Fire Because They Are Not the Same

The Danger of Unconscious Thinking, Speaking, and Acting

Chapter 7 The Tools in Your Toolbox

Think about the People on Your Team

Learn to Recognize Other People’s “Grandmas”

Fair and Equal with Access, Knowledge, and Feedback

Be Careful with Your Words, and How You Interpret the Words of Others

The Silent Have Something to Say

Results Should Be the Determinant

Conclusion

References

Index

Acknowledgments

I have been incredibly fortunate in my career and life to have many people take an interest in the work I do and who have shared the same passion I have about leadership. So many have reached out and boosted me along the journey.

My work has benefitted from women and men who live brave, courageous, curious, spirited lives, and have spent their lives wanting to change and improve the world.

They are a diverse lot and I honor them.

Perhaps most fortunate in my path, I have been able to work for and with an extraordinary group of people around the world. I could not have imagined that I would call friends Vigdis Finnbogadottir, former President of Iceland; Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada; and Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland. Each of them has guided and cared about me, the work of leadership, and that of the Council of Women World Leaders.