Also Featuring ... Starbuck’s Front-Runner May Snowden • Catalyst
Volume 7, Number 4 July / August 2005
8.95 U.S.
$
4HE THINGS
WE SHARE IN OUR WORLD
ARE FAR MORE VALUABLE THAN THOSE WHICH DIVIDE US
n - 'ANDHI
&ORD -OTOR #OMPANY
PUBLISHER James R. Rector MANAGING EDITOR Susan Larson CREATIVE DIRECTOR Linda Schellentrager
pointofview From the editor of Profiles in Diversity Journal
ASSOCIATE EDITOR ASSISTANT TO THE PUBISHER Damian Johnson CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Laurie Fumic WEBMASTER Jason Bice
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Commentaries or questions should be addressed to: Profiles in Diversity Journal, P.O. Box 45605, Cleveland, OH 44145-0605. All correspondence should include author’s full name, address, e-mail and phone number. DISPLAY ADVERTISING 30095 Persimmon Drive Westlake, OH 44145 Tel: 440.892.0444 FAX: 440.892.0737 profiles@diversityjournal.com SUBSCRIPTIONS U.S. $49.95 one year / $89.95 two years; in Canada, add $10 per year for postage. Other foreign orders add $15 per year. U.S. funds only. Subscriptions can be ordered at: www.diversityjournal.com or call customer service at 800.573.2867 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.
SUBMISSIONS Reprints: profiles@diversityjournal.com Editorial: edit@diversityjournal.com Photos & Artwork: art@diversityjournal.com
Profiles in Diversity Journal® is published bi-monthly by Rector, Inc., Principal Office: P.O. Box 45605, Cleveland, OH 44145-0605. James Rector, Publisher, Rector, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and may or may not represent the views of the publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Registered in U.S. Patent Office.
Balancing act A colleague of mine recently described a special tour he got of a car production plant. As a former engineer and veteran of the 60s, he was amazed at “how far things have come”—he saw people of different ages, races and backgrounds sharing jokes and exchanging warm farewell hugs with a departing coworker, and also slick speedy robots maneuvering auto parts on the line. The juxtaposition of people and machines, R E L AT I O N S H I P S A N D TE C H N O LO GY can be jarring sometimes. But as Front-Runner May Snowden puts it, many companies want “to G RO W B I G W H I LE S TAY I N G S M A LL ”—to expand within their markets and throughout the world, while maintaining/supporting the development of any business’s greatest assets—its people. The T R I C K Y PA RT I S B A L A N C I N G the ever-enlarging scope of business and the powerful momentum of change with the subtleties of human circumstances— or in D&I jargon, work-life balance. Robots don’t have such problems. And robots can’t solve such problems. Not even companies can solve such problems. O N LY P E O P LE C A N . Our cover-featured company, Lockheed Martin, has allowed us to closely examine how, over the last several years, LM people have re-solved some of its employee, supplier and customer needs and wants. Its five business areas have each focused on J U G G L I N G TE C H N O LO GY A N D P E O P LE P O W E R , balancing requirements with resources, both within the company and throughout its local and global communities. They are thereby gearing for immediate goals like winning contracts as well as long-range ones like preparing tomorrow’s workforce. “D O I N G W H AT R E A LLY M AT TE R S ,” says LM’s Stevens, and doing it with diversity. And, as our two “best practices” articles summarize, both on the corporate level and for the individual worker, success comes from clearly seeing the goal and modifying the strategies to reach it based on accurately assessing one’s T RU E VA LU E S A N D R E A L C A PA B I L I T I E S . But that’s what work-life is all about.
Susan Larson Managing Editor
ISSN 1537-2102 Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
1
Volume 7 • Number 4 July / August 2005
ON THE COVER / IN-DEPTH FOCUS:
7
Lockheed Martin Remembers Who They Work For (and With): An Interview with Robert J. Stevens – Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Stevens leads an organization itself comprised of diverse business areas that together are, “doing what really matters not only in this country, but also… throughout the world.” Here he updates the profile of Lockheed Martin’s efforts toward diversity and inclusion.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics :
14
Elevating Communities, Suppliers and the Organization
Lockheed Martin Electronic Systems :
18
Delivering Better Value by Creating an Inclusive Business Environment
Lockheed Martin Information & Technology Services:
22
High School Project Helps Students Cross Digital Divide
Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions :
26
Career Initiative ‘Grabs’ Talent
Lockheed Martin Space Systems :
30 2
Affinity Groups: A Company Best Practice
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Table of Contents
July/August 2005
Front-Runner: May Snowden Starbucks’ Vice President-Global Diversity talks about how burritos and baloney sandwiches contributed to her perspective for helping create a community gathering place for Starbucks’ partners and customers —so the company can “grow big while staying small.”
40
departments Diversity Who, What, Where & When
6 Is Your Culture Aligned with Diversity?
50
Peter Linkow says before embarking on a diversity initiative, an organization must determine whether its culture offers an environment conducive to diversity; if not, either the culture or the diversity strategy or both must be changed. A ‘diversity culture matrix’ facilitates assessment.
Gender & Parenting Skew Evaluations Psychologists have shown that a worker’s gender and parental status influence managers’ assessments of job competence for hiring and promotion—with implications for diversity leaders.
53 Reaching a World of Opportunity
54 4
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
In today’s global marketplace, international experience is an increasingly crucial factor for career success and senior leadership positions. Those seeking global experience need to overcome stereotyping assumptions and actively pursue, evaluate, and prepare for these opportunities; Catalyst explains how.
At WellPoint, we celebrate the diversity of our workforce. We are the leading health benefits company in the nation serving the needs of 28 million members. A FORTUNE 50® company, we are strengthened by the commitment and dedication of our associates. If you’re looking to join a company where you will see your ideas in action - where what you do helps others live better, consider a career with us. Visit our website to search opportunities throughout the United States at:
www.wellpoint.com/careers
What does it take to be named FORTUNE magazine’s Most Admired Healthcare Company six years running? ®
People like you.
Opportunities may be available in the following areas: • Actuarial • Administrative/Clerical • Advertising/Marketing • Claims/Membership/Customer Service • Compliance • Corporate Communications • Finance & Accounting • Human Resources • Information Technology • Legal • Management • Nursing/Case Management • Pharmacy • Provider Network Development • Sales • Training • Underwriting
SM
Emmett T. Vaughn Named Exelon’s Supplier Diversity Manager
Leslie Mays Joins Pfizer as Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion Leslie Mays has recently joined Pfizer as Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion—responsible for augmenting Pfizer’s current diversity efforts and devising plans to achieve Pfizer's goal of attracting, developing and engaging a diverse workforce. May was most recently vice
Emmett T. Vaughn is now Supplier Diversity Manager at Exelon Corporation (one of the nation’s largest electric utilities), replacing recently retired George Peters. Vaughn will drive Exelon’s Diversity Business Enablement Program to maximize opportunities for minorityand woman-owned business enterprises via procurement expenditure goals, a supplier diversity council, third-party certification, and mandatory Tier II diversity spending. Vaughn was previously the principal of Eminent Connections Consulting; director of business diversity for Albertsons; director for diverse business markets at RR Donnelley; and executive-on-loan to the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Vaughn serves on numerous boards. He holds a master’s degree (management) from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Northeast Missouri State University. 6
president of global diversity and inclusiveness at Shell International (for nine years), establishing the first auditable global diversity and inclusiveness policy in a global corporation (see her feature article, “Shell Makes a Difference for Women,” Profiles in Diversity Journal: Nov-Dec 2004.) Mays has a bachelor’s degree (communications) from Texas Southern University.
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Roslyn Dickerson Now Regional Senior VP, DiversityThe Americas at Intercontinental Hotels InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world’s largest and most global hotel company, has appointed Roslyn Dickerson, regional senior vice president, Diversity- the Americas.
IHG, and her appointment represents the company’s continued focus on diversity and inclusion by sharpening its focus on diversity in terms of internal staffing, operations and key. Prior to joining IHG, Dickerson served as chief diversity officer with Honeywell where she initiated a complete redesign of strategy, operating structure and governance model for that firm’s leadership. She has also held various senior level positions managing diversity initiatives at Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co. Dickerson has a B.S. (science, education and health sciences) from Boston University and an M.B.A. from Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. She has served on a number of charitable, educational and diversity-promoting boards and councils.
PDJ
Preceding page, inset: The U.S. Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program aircraft, a big recent win for LM, would not have been possible without a commitment to diversity and inclusiveness in encouraging innovative thought based on a wide variety of dimensions. This page: Bob Stevens makes meeting LM employees a high priority.
Special Feature
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin Remembers Who They Work For (and With): A n I n t e r v i e w w i t h Ro b e r t J . S t e ve n s – C h a i r m a n , P re s i d e n t a n d C h i e f E xe c u t i ve O f f i c e r o f Lo c k h e e d M a r t i n .
M
r. Stevens’ resume is heady reading: he holds master’s degrees in engineering and management as well as in business; a former U.S. Marine, he is also a graduate of the Department of Defense Systems Management course; he served on President Bush’s Commission to Examine the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry; and he was named the National Management Association’s Executive of the Year for 2004. He leads an organization itself comprised of diverse business units that together are, in his words, “doing what really matters not only in this country, but also to… vital institutions throughout the world.” Here he addresses issues of diversity and inclusion and updates the profile of Lockheed Martin’s diversity and inclusion efforts since he assumed leadership. [Note: Many italicized initiatives are detailed in the business area focus articles that follow this interview.]
Does Lockheed Martin [LM] have any particular challenges to delivering products and services, or in hiring and retaining good people? Conversely, does your company have special opportunities or advantages? Lockheed Martin is a global enterprise that offers a broad range of opportunities for employees of all perspectives. I like to think that the very nature of our work—which is centered on delivering complex technological solutions to government customers, both domestic and abroad—separates us from other business enterprises. As government exists to serve its citizens, there is an inherent responsibility for our corporation to deliver systems that work when called upon, whether on the battlefield or in the mail system processing timely delivery of checks to retirees. Lockheed Martin employees routinely have the opportunity to experience a unique sense of accomplishment in that they truly work day in and day out on vital programs of national and international significance.
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
9
Robert J. Stevens
CO M PA NY:
Chief Executive Officer
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Robert J. Stevens, Chairman, President & CEO
H E A D Q UA RTE R S : Bethesda, MD W E B S I TE :
www.lockheedmartin.com
BUSINESS:
Lockheed Martin is principally
engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, and integration of advanced technology systems, products, and services, particularly in defense and civil government markets DATA : S A LE S :
2004 sales of $35.5 billion (and a
backlog of $74 billion); ranked 47th on 2005 Fortune 500 list of largest industrial corporations E M P LOY E E S :
~130,000 people worldwide at
939 facilities in 457 cities in 45 U.S. states and 56 nations and territories C U S TO M E R S / M A R K E TS H A R E :
U.S. Department
of Defense/intelligence - 58%; civil government/ homeland security - 22%; international - 17%; commercial domestic - 3% SUPPLIERS:
has proactive supplier diversity
initiatives designed to develop the capabilities of and pursue subcontracts and other procurements with small, disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran, historically under-utilized, black and Native American Indian and other minority institutions
10
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
In attracting the best and brightest, we focus on what we call the “total value” of a Lockheed Martin career. First is an inclusive work environment based on the conviction that the success of the individual promotes the success of the enterprise. At Lockheed Martin, there’s the chance to work at a company with 60,000 scientists and engineers and still follow an alternative work schedule that provides life flexibility and balance. Other elements of our “total value” package include outstanding pay and benefits, a commitment to career development, and excellent rewards and recognition programs.
Your Web site says LM wants to be a place of ‘institutionalized inclusion’, but with five distinct business areas, how do you make sure it’s still ‘one company, one team’? Lockheed Martin was formed 10 years ago from the combination of more than 18 companies, and we have made major strides in developing one corporate identity— no small feat in my opinion. Also, we have embarked on an initiative to enhance our ‘horizontal integration’, which simply means to leverage our diverse technical strengths and find the most effective solutions to complex challenges. In the context of our efforts to develop an environment of ‘institutionalized inclusion’, each of our five principal business areas has accountability for encouraging employees to reach their full potential in contributing to business success. Meanwhile, we have established standards, processes and metrics that are uniform across all our business areas to independently evaluate our continued progress.
Do you have any examples of how tapping employee diversity has yielded significant product or profit breakthroughs or synergies? First, our drive toward one company, one team has achieved remarkable financial success for the corporation in the last several years. We continue to build on the progress made. Many of our key wins would not have been possible without a commitment to diversity and teamwork—both within the corporation and by thinking globally in the context of partners from other countries
Special Feature
“
Lockheed Martin
We deliberately set our standards high so this would not be viewed as a gimmick to make us look good.
throughout the world. A few examples of recent big wins underscore this approach, from the U.S. Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program to the Joint Strike Fighter and various government IT solutions. Internationally, Lockheed Martin today has more than 300 alliances, joint ventures and other partnerships in over 50 countries. All this activity requires a diversity of individuals, thoughts and perspectives that mirrors the world in which we do business.
In 2001, your predecessor Dr. Coffman established the LM Executive Diversity Council and appointed you as chair—what is your current role and how is the Council going beyond theorizing the corporation’s diversity commitment? I am very proud to continue leading our Executive Diversity Council, and I believe we are making significant progress. We have done our best to put words into action. At the same time, we must recognize that we are on a journey to achieve a fully inclusive work environment, and it has to be a long-term commitment. In addition to our Executive Diversity Council, we now have 35 local diversity councils actively supporting our business units’ efforts to achieve the diversity vision. Since 2002, we have required diversity training of our managers to help them understand barriers to inclusion as well as their accountability in the process of inclusion. In 2003, as a result of an Executive Diversity Council discussion on mentoring best practices already
existing in the corporation, we formalized a requirement for all vice presidents and directors to serve in an Executive Mentoring Program. We have also encouraged all our employees to seek out mentoring opportunities in many ways, such as participating in mentoring roundtables or informally seeking out the knowledge of others. Last year, we introduced Diversity Dialogues that managers lead with employees on scenarios that illustrate the importance of inclusion to business success. The dialogues afford our employees an opportunity to express their views on diversity issues. We are continuing the Diversity Dialogues this year, and the feedback has been very positive. Beyond these efforts, we have been fully involved in a variety of initiatives to enhance outreach, recruiting, new employee orientation, and career development.
How do you measure diversity, and what targets do you have for 2005? Last fall we introduced a new metric that provides us with a common set of criteria to measure our level of diversity maturity and identify opportunities for improvement. This metric combines an employee survey, objective demographic data around diversity, and business unit self-assessments. The most weight goes to the survey, because we will know we have reached a state of institutionalized inclusion when employees tell us so. We deliberately set our standards high so this would not be a viewed as a gimmick to make us look good. This fall, we will complete our second assessment, and our overall corporate objective is to achieve a 25 percent improvement in this measurement.
”
RO B E RT J . S TE V E N S
This is linked directly to our management incentive compensation program to assure accountability.
Who monitors this survey process to assure it is effective? In addition to the specific diversity survey I just mentioned, we conduct two other surveys on ethics and employee satisfaction—each done every two years and each including diversity topics. The Executive Leadership Team for the corporation, the Executive Diversity Council, and the management team at each business unit are all responsible for assuring that this feedback is leveraged for opportunities to improve. I am pleased to say that since we accelerated our diversity activities a few years ago, our survey results, particularly on the work environment around inclusion, have improved dramatically.
How does LM do ‘continual re-recruitment’ of its workforce, from new-hires to seasoned employees approaching retirement? Is diversity/inclusion helping forestall a brain drain of boomers? Our approach begins before people join Lockheed Martin. We have engaged with some of the most important community partners in developing interest, opportunities and scholarships for the best talent. Overall, with a much-improved new employee orientation program, we are seeing a positive impact on hiring and early introduction to the Lockheed Martin work environment. Independent awards seem to be
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
11
Robert J. Stevens
Chief Executive Officer
validating our conclusion that we are making progress. For example, Universum Communications’ 2005 student survey named Lockheed Martin the first choice as an ideal employer for engineering and science students. Once employees get here we need to keep them here, and that is facilitated by providing a supportive environment where they can develop and grow. In addition to mentoring, we are putting increased emphasis on our leadership development programs as well as on career planning and growth for all employees. Soon we will also launch an alumni network to keep our ties with employees who leave for other jobs but may wish to return. We try to re-recruit our workforce through exciting challenges, education and development in an environment of encouragement for individual differences as part of a team.
Can you name specific ways your company supports upward development of women and minorities toward management positions? We are making measurable progress in upward development of women and minorities, but we recognize that, like a lot of other industries, we must work hard to improve at an accelerated pace. Beyond representation percentages, the outreach, recruitment and development programs I just described should have a major impact in the long term. More immediately, two years ago we established the Lockheed Martin Center for Leadership Excellence, a state-of-theart facility dedicated to the growth and
12
development of our employees. What should not be lost in this discussion is that we need more people to fill the pipeline. With the baby boomers nearing retirement, there are not enough minorities and women going into the technical disciplines. Fewer students are studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and at the same time shifting demographics are bringing more women and minorities into the labor force as a whole. It is critical for the future of business and industry to be actively engaged in outreach efforts to encourage and support tomorrow’s engineers today. At Lockheed Martin, this is a big commitment—because our survival hinges on it—in everything from the multitude of ways our employees volunteer in our communities to bigger, nationwide initiatives like Space Day and National Engineers Week.
What is the company’s commitment to minority suppliers? This is an area in which Lockheed Martin is especially strong, doing over $4 billion of subcontracting a year with small businesses. By any measure, that’s a staggering amount. Our outreach activities have identified many small minority- and womenowned businesses as suppliers. We have begun holding one-day workshops around the nation that focus on how to do business with Lockheed Martin. We also have a STAR Supplier Program that recognizes our top performing suppliers to communicate their success across the
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
corporation. Internally, we have upgraded our training efforts with the help of computer-based modules and are examining our procurement processes with the help of lean thinking. Our supplier diversity efforts have garnered the corporation many awards of which we are very proud. In 2003, we joined just eight other companies as a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable for our leadership in support of small, disadvantaged and minority-owned businesses. And we are continually working to improve.
In accepting the 2004 Executive of the Year Award from the National Management Association you said, “leadership performs best at the front where the action is.” What elements of leadership do you see as important for your executives in carrying out the Lockheed Martin diversity vision? What I am saying is that leadership can’t hide in offices or behind titles, but has to be engaged with the people who are responsible for our success. This is a major priority of mine, and it is one reason I have spent considerable time meeting with employees throughout the corporation. We continue to make progress in the representation of women and minorities in our executive ranks. We are developing a new Leadership Competency Model that will help us encourage, develop and grow the best kind of leaders for the success of people and the business. This model is based on what I call ‘full spec-
Special Feature
Lockheed Martin
CORPORATE VALUE STATEMENT These are the standards that inform and inspire all of our activities, and distinguish us as a corporation.
Opposite page: In keeping with his theme of “Leadership as a Verb,” Stevens has made a special effort to connect with as many LM employees as possible. Above: Stevens reviews a presentation for an upcoming Executive Diversity Council meeting with Manny Zulueta, senior vice president for Corporate Shared Services, and Shan Carr, vice president for Diversity and Equal Opportunity Programs.
•
Ethics
•
Excellence
•
‘Can-Do’
•
Integrity
•
People
•
Teamwork
FIVE BUSINESS AREAS ARE DETAILED IN SUBSEQUENT PAGES OF THIS FEATURE: A E RO N AU T I C S • Combat Aircraft
trum’ leadership—delivering on the ‘numbers’ and having the necessary people skills to ensure a positive environment where employees can grow and fully contribute. We will be implementing the new Leadership Competency Model in evaluating candidates for management. In our assessments of current managers, we look at how well they are modeling our values, which put ethics, performance, people and teamwork at a premium. Finally, as I indicated, we have introduced a diversity component into this year’s management incentive compensation program. Our leaders will be held accountable for behavior consistent with this model, and I believe it will help us continue to improve.
What has been your proudest moment as leader in this company? Since taking over as CEO, I have traveled throughout our enterprise and have met literally tens of thousands of employees. These are my proudest moments—to be there to speak with them and listen to their desires and concerns, and to let them know that what they are doing really matters, not only in this country, but also to our allies as well as vital institutions throughout the world. I always come away inspired by the people who make this the great enterprise it is today. Lockheed Martin people give me the strength and motivation to do everything in my power to help them succeed personally and professionally in support of some of the most important and, in reality, historic initiatives of our time. PDJ
• Air Mobility • Research & Development E LE C T RO N I C S Y S T E M S • Missiles & Fire Control • Maritime Systems & Sensors • Platform, Training & Transportation Solutions I N F O R M AT I O N & TE C H N O LO GY S E RV I C E S • Information Technology • Defense Services • Engineering and Science Services I N T E G R AT E D S Y S TE M S & S O LU T I O N S • Intelligence Systems • DoD C4ISR S PAC E S Y S T E M S • Satellites • Launch Services • Strategic & Defensive Missile Systems Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
13
Thanks to the diversity of our workforce, we are able to show young people that success looks just like they do.
Elevating Communities, Suppliers and the Organization The Aeronautics business area of Lockheed Martin makes a positive impact on the eight communities where its facilities and 28,000 employees are located in Texas, Georgia, California, Florida, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Utah.
J
ust as diversity is a key component in our company’s success, it is also a major factor in community-building efforts,” says Ralph Heath, Lockheed Martin executive vice president in charge of the Aeronautics business area. “The interests of a diverse and caring workforce are reflected in the depth and breadth of involvement our employees have in their communities. Last year, our employees contributed more than $3.2
“
million to a wide variety of charitable causes. When combined with $3.4 million in support from the company, it shows our communities are important partners for LM Aeronautics. “In addition, 420 Aeronautics employees each volunteered over 100 hours of service to local not-for-profits and hundreds more served on boards of philanthropic organizations—well over 98,000 hours of service in total to many diverse organizations. Some employees like to pick up a hammer and help build a house with Habitat for Humanity, others advance the arts, and still others go into the classroom and help youngsters learn to read, mentor underserved student populations or participate with them in science experiments.”
Starting Young : Educational Outreach
top left: LM Day Camp students got to see the C-130J airplane being built. left: LM Aeronautics - Marietta volunteer David Pettett teaches students about electricity during an LM Smart Lesson. lower left: Jeff Thom, a mechanical engineer, helps middle school students build a can creation. The students discovered the engineering and manufacturing process and also built one-of-a-kind advertisements for Lockheed Martin's Make Cans Count Program, where proceeds from recycled aluminum soda cans help fund Habitat for Humanity houses. lower right: Brenda Hogan, a senior administrative assistant, helps fifth graders create craters at the Lockheed Martin Space Day celebration. The annual event inspires students to study math and science by putting the power of the universe in their own hands.
Many, if not most, of the Aeronautics business area’s community initiatives focus on youth and include a diversity component. Programs like Aviation Camp, the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering, and Aerospace Careers Outreach provide opportunities for underserved student populations. “We see the importance of helping to develop a capable, competent, technical workforce of tomorrow. Our employees serve as role models, encouraging non-traditional math and science students to pursue technical studies and careers. Through mentoring relationships and educational programs, we provide young people with confidence and encouragement. Our goal is
to teach, to inspire, to motivate. Thanks to the diversity of our workforce, we are able to show young people that success looks just like they do,” says Heath. Aeronautics outreach events for young people range from week-long day camps to ongoing education programs. “These programs are not only a way to be a good corporate citizen, but they also help us ensure that young people look forward to careers at Lockheed Martin—or a similar company —in the future,” explains Lee Rhyant, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics executive vice president and general manager at the company’s Marietta, GA, site. “We pride ourselves on ensuring mission success for our customers at their defining moments. The school years are those defining moments for this nation’s future business leaders. For our company, our aerospace industry and our national defense to survive in the future, these children must be exposed today to the excitement of a career that uses math, science and technology. That will be mission success for all concerned.” Each summer, Lockheed Martin teams with the Georgia National Guard, Dobbins Air Reserve Base and Fernbank Science Center to sponsor an educational day camp open to 4th through 8th grade students from metro Atlanta. Hands-on activities help students experience the wonders of science and math through classroom discussions, aircraft tours and a chance to see the C-130J transport and F/A-22 fighter being built. The company’s partnership with the University of Texas Pan American (which contributed to selection of LM as 2003 “Employer of the Year”) includes a mentoring program in which technical professionals use video-
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
15
Lockheed Martin
Aeronautics
teleconferencing to coach students in a math-science acceleration program in the Rio Grande Valley. Lockheed Martin also hosts officials from the schools to support their critical role in encouraging young people to explore careers in math and science. LM Aeronautics has helped foster similar partnership initiatives with Jackson State University and Cal Poly Pomona. LM Aeronautics also supports the Peach State STARBASE (Science & Technology Academics Reinforcing Basic Aviation & Space Education) Program run by the U.S. Department of Defense and conducted by the National Guard. After classroom instruction on the principles of flight, at-risk elementary school students begin learning sophisticated flight simulation in the Lockheed Martin Technology Center at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. Science, math and research technology are the focus of LM SMART (Science, Math and Research Technology) in Marietta. Working with two partner-in-education elementary schools, the program encourages exceptional students to increase their knowledge in math, science and technology through classroom experience, faculty and peer recognition, and mentoring. Aeronautics employees conduct monthly workshops and a graduation ceremony. LM Aeronautics has an impact at the high school level as well. In Marietta, engineers work with high school students each week as part of (Advancement Via AVID the Individual Determination) Program. An elective class, AVID focuses on college preparation, writing, inquiry, and collaboration. Floyd Jerrod Hall, an aeronautics engineer, recently described working with AVID for LM Today, a corporate newspaper. “We work with the students every week, and we develop close relationships with the students over the two or three years they are in the program,” Hall said. “These kids are exposed to people who are dealing drugs. Some of them come from abu16
We pride ourselves on ensuring mission success for our customers at their defining moments. sive homes, and very often they are coming from homes in which no one went to college. We provide thirdparty support, and the kids know we’re third party support that wants to to be there with them. When I go into a classroom and a student comes up and starts talking about the A’s he or she has gotten in a particular class, it makes me feel like I’m giving something that’s priceless. We may have the next Lockheed Martin CEO sitting right in that classroom.” Learning Points Foundation has designated Lockheed Martin’s Young Engineers for America (YEA) Program as a national best practice in academic educational programs. YEA, a partnership between the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) and LM Aeronautics, was selected as the 2003 Spotlight Program for FWISD. Several years ago Lockheed Martin assisted FWISD in applying for a $30,000 Department of Education grant to purchase the Academy of Engineering and Academy of Robotics laboratories. The implementation of the labs at Riverside Middle School is the first corporate-sponsored / schoolbased K-12 engineering Lego lab in Texas and the only such laboratory in the nation to fully integrate a six sigma approach within its curriculum. “The laboratory is a project-based, merit-based, and inquiry-based learning lab,” explained Norman Robbins, manager of Community Relations for Aeronautics. “While building 21st century technical skills, the curriculum also emphasizes personal development and self-esteem. Students build, design and solve problems with hands-on projects resulting in knowable, touchable and observable real-world outcomes. The portable engineering lab provides educational opportunities in math, science, engineering, technology literacy, physics, electricity, and Web page design. Foundations of mechanical engineering and structures in architecture are also explored.”
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Since 1992, more than 1,200 middle-school students from California’s Antelope Valley have gathered at the LM Aeronautics Skunk Works in Palmdale, CA, to attend the Lightspeed Institute, an outreach initiative that exposes youth to engineering and physics principles involved in aeronautics. The weekend technical ‘camp’ gives students a chance to explore engineering concepts through competitive exercises facilitated by technical professionals who work with aeronautical systems and principles on a daily basis. “Our employees are making a positive impact not only internally but in our community as well,” said Rick Baker, LM Aeronautics vice president and general manager at the Palmdale facility. “You’ll find us out in the community volunteering to share our strengths where we find weaknesses. Mentoring youth on many levels is a primary focus. While Lightspeed is our signature program, our employees also take their knowledge and expertise directly into local classrooms— all grade levels—mentoring robotics teams, sponsoring American Enterprise Speech contests, judging senior projects and teaching about the importance of environmental responsibility, to name a few. We believe it is up to us to offer opportunity to all; it’s what each person does with the opportunity that makes the difference.”
Building Communities Community service happens at smaller LM Aeronautics facilities, as well as the large sites. Employees in Meridian, MS; Clarksburg, WV; Johnstown, PA; Pinellas Park, FL; and Ogden, UT, support activities such as Habitat for Humanity, March of Dimes’ WalkAmerica, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fund-raisers. Almost 1,000 LM Aeronautics employees participated in volunteer activities throughout the country for the 2004 Make a Difference Day. In Marietta, employees welcomed troops
Special Feature
Members of the Lockheed Martin Leadership Association joined with local community members to celebrate diverse cultures during the ninth annual Black History Celebration Dinner in Palmdale, CA. home from Iraq, renovated houses, and donated books and toys to a childcare center. In Fort Worth, employees worked on several Habitat for Humanity projects, providing families in need with safe, comfortable homes. And in Palmdale, employees helped renovate local elementary schools, providing 5,000 elementary students with a cleaner, safer place to learn and play. “Giving back to the community is a tradition of service taken very seriously here,” said Alyce Sarno, director of Community Relations at Marietta. “Participating in Make a Difference Day provides our employees with the opportunity to strengthen the foundation that makes our local community successful: education, opportunities for youth, social services, economic development and arts and culture.” “Make a Difference Day is a great way to reach out to our neighbors and lend a helping hand,” said Paul Weatherman, a Palmdale employee. Company initiatives designed to increase inclusiveness and diversity both in the business itself and in the community include fund-raising, scholarship programs and recognition events for organizations (National Urban League, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Latin American Association, Southern Institute, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and United Negro College Fund, to name just a few). LM Aeronautics is a prime sponsor or program participant in Martin Luther King Day celebrations in Fort Worth and Marietta—serving on the planning committees, providing speakers, or hosting tables at events, many attended by over 500 guests, including students, civic and political leaders and corporate representatives.
“Our participation in these ways offers more than just contribution dollars,” said Ernesto Duran, director for the LM Aeronautics Diversity and Equal Opportunity programs. “It also communicates our commitment to the values and mission of the organizations, as well as our commitment to support the communities in which our employees live and work.”
Supplier Diversity Suppliers are another fundamental part of the diversity emphasis at LM Aeronautics. As part of the corporation’s commitment to furthering business partnerships and helping to develop minority, small, and womenowned businesses as potential suppliers, LM Aeronautics supports groups such as the Georgia Women’s Business Council, Fort Worth Women’s Business Center, Georgia Minority Suppliers Development Council, and Native American Procurement and Technical Assistance Center. Working with the Georgia Women’s Business Council, for example, Lockheed Martin has increased its local supplier diversity database by more than 50 potential partners, contracted with women-owned businesses, provided business development guidance and donated several thousand dollars worth of office equipment and furnishings. LM Aeronautics Marietta also co-sponsors a southeastern regional women’s leadership conference that brings together more than 150 women entrepreneurs for sessions on business planning, marketing, developing competitive bidding packages, mentoring and access to corporate opportunities. This year, LM Aeronautics sponsored the Annual Showcase for Commerce
Lockheed Martin
hosted by Congressman John Murtha and the Chamber of Commerce in Johnstown, PA. In Texas, the LM Aeronautics Small Business Office hosted the presentation at the University of Texas-Arlington’s Automation and Robotics Research Institute. The company also provided a presentation at the Western Regional Business Matchmaking event in Pasadena, CA.
Kudos and Careers Another priority for LM Aeronautics is highlighting the achievements of minority and female employees through national honors programs. Through nominations by the company, employees have been honored at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards, Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards, Emerald Honors Awards, and by the Women of Color Technology, the Chinese Institute of Engineering, Women in Aerospace and Women in Aviation organizations. Professional development and leadership opportunities for employees are another aspect of the emphasis on inclusiveness at LM Aeronautics. The Excellence through Development and Growth Enhancement (EDGE) program, which won a best practice designation by the U.S. Department of Labor, puts strategic focus on providing opportunities for high potential employees. EDGE is a two-year program that provides mentoring, professional development classes and special assignments for participants nominated by their managers and selected after panel interviews. Many past participants are now senior managers and directors in the company. “The strength of our company rests on the diversity of our workforce,” emphasizes Ralph Heath. “Our high technology products are sold and manufactured around the world to a very diverse set of customers. Through the diversity of our workforce and our employees’ breadth of experiences, talents, and perspectives, we are better equipped to create the innovative products that are relevant to the wide range of customer needs. All of this translates to greater competitiveness and success in the marketplace.”
Profiles in Diversity Journal
PDJ
July/August 2005
17
Understanding our customer enables us to deliver better value and provide business solutions that exceed expectations. To do this, we need a workforce and standards that mirror the diversity of our customers.
Delivering Better Value by Creating an Inclusive Business Environment Because the Lockheed Martin Systems Integration unit in Owego, NY (part of the LM electronic systems business area) fosters an environment that encourages all employees to feel valued and comfortable to express their ideas and bring their skills and abilities to bear each day, the business is able to provide its customers with outstanding products and services.
D
iversity takes many different forms. Beyond factors like race, gender and age, ultimately every single employee is uniquely different from many dimensions. According to LM Systems Integration–Owego president Frank C. Meyer, who is also a founding member of Lockheed Martin’s corporate Executive Diversity Council, strengthening core values like diversity and inclusion nurtures empowerment, creativity and ‘what-if’ solutions. This, in turn, has led to winning significant new business for Owego and Lockheed Martin Corporation—such as the multibillion-dollar award to build 23 next-generation Marine One presidential helicopters for the U.S. Navy. How did diversity play a role in this win? Linking AugustaWestland’s platform, Lockheed Martin’s systems integration expertise, and Bell Helicopter’s manufacturing abilities made for a winning team comprised of talented and dedicated people. AugustaWestland is an ItalianBritish firm that specializes in designing and manufacturing helicopters. Many
Newer aircraft use precision engagement upgrades by Lockheed Martin.
time zones and a continent away, LM employees—primarily in rural, upstate New York—specialize in integrating complex systems. Add to the partnership Bell Helicopter’s operations based in Texas, and you have a scenario that requires great coordination and collaboration to manage the challenges that developed as a result of different languages, cultures, and national pride. Overcoming these differences through teamwork was made possible by a dedicated group of employees from each company—who also demonstrated the importance of inclusion—and allowed LM Owego to remain focused on the critical business and product issues required to win the program.
Creating Competitive Advantage The presidential helicopter project illustrates how the company considers diversity an important key to creating a competitive advantage. Superior performance and high productivity are major elements of the corporation’s customer-focus goals. “At LM Owego it starts with each employee’s drive to deliver excellence,” Meyer noted. “One of the key ingredients of our inclusive approach is reaching out to people for their input. There is no doubt in my mind that doing whatever you can to help all your employees feel like part of the team adds value, which in turn makes a real difference for our customers.” How is this achieved at LM Owego? The Technical Assistant (TA) Program is a good example: each business area executive competitively selects a midcareer, high-potential employee to work with one-on-one for up to eight months. From this arrangement, the executive gets an eager, hard-working,
skilled professional assistant who participates in 70 percent of the events the executive does—from driving action items to closure to managing the office. Equally important, the executive also gets a fresh set of eyes and a diverse perspective from the assistant. The TA accomplishes his or her job by developing close working relationships with each member of the executive’s team and working with them as an equal. At the end of the assignment, the business has a well-trained member of the team intimately aware of the business status and strategies as well as an employee with keen insight into working with high-performing executives. As to diversity, it isn’t so much the age, race or gender of these TAs, but the unique personality, skills and approach that each one brings to the job that makes a difference.
Teamwork Andrew Carnegie once said that teamwork is the “fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” According to Diversity Program manager Tara Mancinelli, the nearly 4,000 employees who comprise LM Systems Integration-Owego are great examples of how, given the right environment, dedicated and innovative teams can form to deliver some of the most powerful and important systems integration products worldwide. It’s noteworthy that an eighth of LM Owego’s employees are located in Canada, where about half of those workers speak French as their first language. LM Owego also has operations in the United Kingdom where the majority of the workforce is comprised of local nationals. This certainly makes for a geographically and culturally diverse employee population from which high performance work teams
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
19
Lockheed Martin
Electronic Systems
Programs with long performance are forged to win business the box, we were able to every year. At the core of makreach out in a new direction periods are helped by processes ing this complex organization and take a different that ensure technology and perform is a solid sense of approach that helped us leadership, a willingness to knowledge transfer. We use training, succeed,” said Steve Ramsey, communicate, a belief in executive vice president for mentoring and formal process process, and an inclination to Helicopter Systems. “We encourage participation. looked for the right people standards excellence to transfer Another illustration of who were the right fit, knowledge and skills from complex teaming in a diverse without having any preset employee environment that determinations. Each employee team to employee team. allowed Lockheed Martin to be employee brought a unique Mentoring is, at its core, a tool of a contender on the U.S. presiperspective to our business, dential helicopter bid is a and continues to help us diversity. successful program in the create innovative solutions Part of that U.K. maritime helicopter for our customer, and customer focus is United Kingdom managed by LM Owego. In 1991, LM Owego competed program involved moving 150 always our key priority. The more for and won a helicopter integration Americans and their families to Britain inclusive we are, the more we can benbid to provide 40 maritime helicopters during the first year. Teamed with a efit from our intellectual capital and to the United Kingdom’s Ministry similar number of British employees, deliver the best product to the cusof Defense. LM Owego won this the group overcame cultural and skill tomer,” he emphasized. bid even though it didn’t make mix boundaries that could have caused helicopters and wasn’t a British the program to fail. Through teamwork Product and good communications, an environcompany. A different aspect of how diversity has By teaming with Westland, a ment of trust and respect developed. shaped the business and employees in British helicopter firm, LM Owego Ultimately, working relationships were LM Systems Integration-Owego is the used its systems integration skills— so solid that many of the American spectrum of products developed and honed by performing well on an employees and their families extended produced by the business. Drawing American helicopter program for more their work assignments, some for more talent out of each business area makes than 20 years—to be a serious con- than 10 years. for a very diverse team, in addition to “These close partnerships and the tender for the Royal Navy program. helping recruit employees who are In addition, LM Owego built a set of resulting business success allowed attracted to such a broad business base. subcontractor relationships in Britain Lockheed Martin to be in an excellent “If you really want to be a company and Europe that made it a viable com- position to use our partner’s platform that brings about the best ideas, the petitor for this U.K. proposal. After to bid into and win the presidential best information, the best performing winning, the company worked hard for helicopter opportunity 12 years later,” teams, diversity is the kind of attitude another decade, delivering 40 helicopters Meyer emphasized. that will help you do that,” said Jeff “Thanks to the ability of our on time, at contract performance, and Bantle, vice president of Multi-Mission diverse population to think outside of at budget. Solutions. 20
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Special Feature
An automated package processing system operating at a U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center serving metropolitan Chicago.
Lockheed Martin
knowledge and skills from employee team to employee team as we continue to perform well and enhance customer satisfaction. Mentoring is at its core— a tool of diversity,” Meyer said.
Supplier Diversity
By the end of 2004, LM Owego employees worldwide had delivered 14 common cockpits ahead of schedule on the U.S. Navy’s MH-60 multi-mission helicopter program, bringing the overall number of cockpits delivered on the program to 81. In 2004, Bantle’s team also completed major operation and development testing on the same MH60 program, prepared the rollout of a newly re-designated A-10C aircraft for the U.S. Air Force which will keep the “Warthog” flying through 2028, and finished the last of 57 installations of Lockheed Martin’s direct infrared countermeasures systems for the Navy. The Subsystems Solutions business at Owego provides further illustration of how diversity impacts products and customer service. Employees in this business achieved significant intelligent electronic warfare milestones in its Soothsayer project in the United Kingdom; co-developed the technology that powers Royal Mail’s award-winning SmartStamp™ online postage service targeting small and home office users throughout the United Kingdom; and maintained its superior record of applying innovative technology to make operations more efficient for its U.S. Postal Service customer. All of these complex programs are only possible in an environment that encourages teaming and cooperation— wherein employees communicate and feel as if what they have to say and what they bring to the team is valued.
Knowledge Transfer A third vantage point for how diversity in the workplace directly impacts a customer is to consider how changing demographics drive success or failure. Globalization, an aging workforce, and shifting demographics in the labor pool are trends transforming how LM Owego works—but more importantly, transforming how the business unit continues to serve customers despite changes in personnel. Providing customers with consistently high performance can be difficult to achieve when employees retire and new staff is hired. Companies need to ensure that longterm programs can be sustained and that critical knowledge and quality standards are maintained. “This fact was never more true than now for us,” said John Zimmerman, LM Owego’s HR vice president. “Because of our recent success, we’re aggressively growing our population. By the end of 2005, more than a quarter of our employees will have less than two years’ experience at the company. Implementing programs that encourage reliable knowledge transfer is vital; to survive, we have integrated diversity initiatives into our workplace.” LM Owego’s B-2 program, which employees have been working on since 1984, demonstrates how programs with long performance periods are helped by processes that ensure technology and knowledge transfer. “We use training, mentoring and formal process standards excellence to transfer
Supplier diversity and outreach programs that encourage an inclusive subcontracting environment are also essential components in LM Owego’s business objectives. At Owego, Lockheed Martin pursues opportunities to use firms representing small, women-owned, disadvantaged, and HUBZoned businesses for procurement. Recognized for its leadership in supplier diversity and mentoring, LM Owego’s world-class subcontracting program placed more than $147.8 million of business with diverse suppliers for services on multiple key 2004 programs.
Customer Satisfaction In the end, the final measurement of any business is satisfied customers. Customer satisfaction metrics for LM Owego have continued to climb annually during the past five years, from a solid position of a high “satisfied” ranking to the highest “very satisfied” category. Contractor Performance Assessment Reports, which are used in a defense industry system that rates customer satisfaction, are strong for Lockheed Martin’s businesses in Owego. “This is a very competitive world, so this excellent customer recognition would not be possible without the best efforts of every one of our employees, partners and teammates,” Meyer said. “Understanding our customer enables us to deliver better value and provide the business solutions that exceed their expectations. To do this, we need a workforce and standards that mirror the diversity of our customers. Without this common understanding, we cannot provide insight to their values, priorities and business needs.”
Profiles in Diversity Journal
PDJ
July/August 2005
21
Bridging the divide between high-potential underprivileged students and the technical disciplines is critical to expanding LM’s prospective source of engineering and IT talent.
High School Project Helps Students Cross Digital Divide together. Lockheed Martin had long been a supporter of the University of Maryland in nearby College Park. The deans of its Clark School of Engineering and the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences were eager to recruit promising students from Prince George’s for their academic programs. Through an associate in the community, Gooden had heard that Potomac High School, located in t’s all coming together!” That’s how Oxon Hill adjacent to Southeast D.C., Linda Gooden envisioned a new was working to make a difference in diversity project that would partner the lives of its students. The school her company, LM Information had recently redesigned its curriculum Technology, with two higher to reflect a series of ‘career pathways’. educational institutions to benefit Coursework was engineered to students of a high school in a Maryland prepare students for the changedominated technology of the 21st suburb of Washington, D.C. The president of the corporation’s century, but Potomac sorely needed burgeoning IT business unit in corporate sponsorship to further Seabrook, MD, was returning one develop the program for students with evening from a meeting at Prince potential in math and science. Enter George’s Community College, where Lockheed Martin. As a member of the corporation’s she served on the school’s Foundation Board. The college had impressed her Executive Diversity Council, Linda with its growing information technology Gooden was keenly aware that the program and its efforts to reach out to company’s future depended on the youth of Prince George’s County. attracting a wider distribution of The school is the institution of choice college hires if it would ever meet its for most college-bound students in a engineering requirements in coming county that is 62.7 percent African decades. Creating an all-encompassing atmosphere of inclusiveness throughAmerican. Gooden began to put the pieces out the corporation was the key. Bridging the digital divide between high-potential Lockheed Martin presents its first check to underprivileged students and the Prince George’s Community College the technical disciplines Foundation in September 2003, establishing would be critical if the corpoa scholarship fund for Potomac High School ration ever hoped to expand math and science students. From left: its prospective source of engiWillie Callahan, diversity director of LM neering and IT talent. Information Technology (LMIT); Sandra L. Gooden engaged the Nelson, principal of Potomac High School; Potomac principal, the presiLinda Gooden, president of LMIT; and dent of Prince George’s Dr. Ronald A. Williams, Prince George’s Community College president.
The Lockheed Martin Math and Science Academy, sponsored by the LM Information Technology business unit, uses a special curriculum coordinated through local educational institutions to prepare promising underprivileged students in the technical disciplines.
I
“
Community College, and the deans of both University of Maryland colleges for a meeting in June 2002 at College Park, and the plan came together. Everyone wanted to see it succeed. The venture was named the Lockheed Martin Math and Science Academy, to be established as a continuing program to support up to 20 high-potential Potomac students from their freshman year through college graduation. The project tackled the challenges of nurturing the students through financial support to the school, mentoring, and college tuition assistance at Prince George’s Community College and, later, at the University of Maryland. Fine tuning the project involved scores of details over a year of presentations, preparations and organization. In August 2003, with the help of the Community College’s foundation, Lockheed Martin established an endowment based on annual funding. The endowment will fund student tuition and fees for enrollment in math and science programs. LM Information made an annual Technology funding commitment of $20,000, and that was matched by the LM Corporation Foundation. At that level, Gooden’s team estimated that in 2009 the program could be fully operational and community college tuitions could be paid. Willie Callahan, one of Gooden’s young African-American high-potential IT professionals who’d been promoted to a new staff position as director of diversity, got the task of making the Potomac program a success. Callahan enlisted the support of the company’s technical staff to prepare surplus computer hardware for donation to the school. A Lockheed Martin team
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
23
Lockheed Martin
Information & Technology Services
transported the near-new computers to the school’s computer lab, installed them, loaded software, and ensured they worked in a network environment. The lab was ready for the 2003-2004 school year. The company continues to maintain the system, and will be refreshing it every two to three years. For the 2003-2004 academic year, more than 150 Potomac High School students participated in academic and career development activities focused in math and science, far exceeding the originally targeted 20 students. During the fall of that first year, Academy students participated in six Saturday sessions to enhance their math and reading skills. In the spring, students again participated in six Saturday sessions focused on math using investment club activities as reinforcement. Then, last summer they participated in a component devoted to the study of geometry and physics. These sessions were coordinated by the University of Maryland School of Engineering’s Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering. Throughout its second year, the program continued to blossom at Potomac. Lockheed Martin added to the curriculum biannual visits to its Seabrook headquarters facility where students spend a day working with technical staff at LM’s Enterprise Solution Center. There students are exposed to LM’s NexGen lab, where commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software are being tested and integrated into solutions for the company’s government customers. Potomac High School administers all academic work that leads to college entry. Each year, the school selects 20 ninth-grade students into the Academy. Students qualify for the program based on desire, previous
24
Its first year, more than 150 students participated in the LM Math and Science Academy, far exceeding the originally targeted 20 students.
grades, recommendations from faculty, and aptitude for math and science. To remain in the program, students agree to maintain an overall 2.8 grade point average and maintain clean academic and police records. Since many Lockheed Martin projects require clearances, this stipulation is stressed to students. Under Callahan’s guidance, the company also committed to providing students in the program with mentors from LMIT staff for guidance and counsel and a link to the job market. In school year 2005-2006, Gooden’s organization will begin offering students personal mentoring and shadowing opportunities. After graduation from high school and continuing through their college years, Academy students are offered the opportunity of summer employment within LM Information Technology, which maintains a workforce of about 3,500 employees in the Washington D.C. area—about onethird of its worldwide personnel base. Beginning in the fall of 2007, Prince George’s Community College will enroll the selected Academy students in one of four academic tracks: math, computer science, engineering, or engineering technology. The Lockheed Martin scholarship provides in-state tuition for two years, enabling the students to acquire an associate’s degree and matriculate into the University of
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Maryland. Coursework at the University is directed toward a degree in engineering or computer science, disciplines sorely needed in technology-driven companies such as Lockheed Martin. Beginning in 2009, the company’s endowment will pay in-state tuition for the students continuing in these disciplines for the final two years to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Once they have completed their degree requirements, LM Math and Science Academy graduates will be given employment opportunities within Lockheed Martin and prime consideration for entry into the company’s renowned Leadership Development Program, putting them on a fast track to advancement. Today the LM Math and Science Academy program represents an important step toward helping Potomac High School meet its commitment to prepare all students for the change- and technology-driven economy of the 21st century. Beyond helping just one high school, however, the program also fulfills objectives for every other partner and participant: • The Academy enables Prince George’s County to provide quality education for those students whose future has been clouded by a mismatch between their potential and the resources available to them. • The community college and the university get to receive and educate students in technical disciplines. • Lockheed Martin derives a potential pipeline of a diverse population of engineering and computer systems talent to meet the company’s longrange employment goals. • And, of course, the students who take advantage of the program will be prepared to enter the workforce
Special Feature
Lockheed Martin
Willie Callahan, then diversity director for LM Information Technology, leads a team of company employees installing computer equipment in Potomac High School’s new Math and Science Academy laboratory.
with skills that will ensure them a bright, meaningful future. The LM Math and Science Academy has been made possible due to a dream—along with the dogged determination—of Linda Gooden and her company; and LM Information Technology has assumed an important role in educating children for the future.
Beyond helping just one high school, however, the program also fulfills objectives for every other partner and participant. Together with teachers and parents, the company is helping young men and women learn how to be accountable, to be productive, and to achieve success. PDJ Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
25
The Virtual Career Center gives all employees the opportunity and the flexibility to work on their careers anywhere, anytime.
Career Initiative ‘Grabs’ Talent at LM Integrated Systems & Solutions Group dialogue sessions, an interactive online career center, and a portfolio of career development strategies provide opportunities for all employees to increase their understanding of career options and take hold of their future.
A
room full of Lockheed Martin employees considers what Shawn Jones should do to ‘unstick’ his career. Jones, a mid-level systems engineer, has had a lot of experience on big projects, but doesn’t want to take what some might consider the next step: becoming a people manager. Suggestions from the group pour out. Has Jones considered becoming a subject matter expert or expanding his current responsibilities? Has he talked to other senior non-management employees to find out what they do and how they might have confronted a similar problem? Does he have a mentor in the organization, someone he could turn to for advice? What’s behind his concern about becoming a manager? Is it simply a ‘fear factor’ that could be overcome with the right set of preparatory experiences? Jones is a fictitious character—an example created to help spur discussion—yet the employee sessions to consider his career are very real. They’re part of a new company initia-
Melissa Mong, Lockheed Martin software engineer, appreciates access to the Virtual Career Center because it provides a framework for skills development and is easy to navigate and use.
tive called Grab Hold of Your Career. In addition to the group dialogue sessions that provide opportunities for all employees to get involved and increase their understanding of career options, it includes an interactive online career center and a portfolio of career development strategies, including mentoring. “The new initiative is designed to leverage the diverse talents and abilities of all employees by empowering them to take responsibility for their own careers,” said Cynthia Smith, vice president, Human Resources, for Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Systems & Solutions business area. “The initiative goes hand-in-hand with the company’s pursuit of workforce diversity and an inclusive and supportive work environment.” The Grab Hold of Your Career diversity dialogues initiative has two main components: the group dialogue about career development conducted by company leaders with their direct reports, and one-on-one career discussions that each company leader has with their direct reports on specific career aspirations and plans.
Group Dialogue Sessions The open group sessions are a focal point for the Grab Hold of Your Career initiative, for it is here that the interplay of background and experience is most visible. “When you bring an entire function together, you can really see the interplay,” notes Christine Rinaldi, the lead for career development programs who spearheaded the Grab Hold of Your Career initiative, which is now fully implemented at LM Integrated Systems & Solutions business area. “A group typically will include people from various cultural and
experiential backgrounds,” said Rinaldi. “The way a lead systems engineer who has been with the company for 16 years views the world is going to be different than the outlook of a recently-hired technical analyst who is early in her career. Gender, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, education and experience are some of the many factors that will influence perspectives, and yet in the total chemistry of ideas, each employee is gaining new insights from the others. That’s what makes the process involving and worthwhile.” Leaders are provided with toolkits to help them facilitate the group dialogue. The toolkit consists of comprehensive career development charts, facilitator talking points and handouts that help define career development, offer comments from executive management about its importance, and provide a model for development planning for employees to follow. Real-life scenarios—including that of systems engineer Shawn Jones and his mid-career concerns—are also included as well as a guide for employees that takes them through the steps of career planning. In addition, a training video featuring a prominent executive facilitating the group dialogue was produced to prepare all leaders to conduct meaningful career dialogues. “The group dialogue is a great opportunity for everyone, regardless of what discipline you work in or what level you are in the company,” said Loretta Best-Harris, a Lockheed Martin systems engineering senior manager. “During these sessions, you can take a pulse of where you are in your career in the grand scheme of where you want to be.”
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
27
Lockheed Martin
Integrated Systems and Solutions
One-on-One Sessions At the conclusion of the group dialogues, every leader is expected to extend invitations to each of his/her direct reports to engage in one-on-one career discussions. Employees who accept this invitation have the opportunity to discuss their goals and establish specific career development plans with their leaders. The approach of giving each individual employee the opportunity to shape their career opens the way to a more inclusive organization, says Rinaldi. “There is no better way to foster an inclusive work community, leverage the strengths of all employees, and ensure business success than to empower each person to grab hold of her or his career,” she states. The individual career discussion sessions invariably require thoughtfulness on the part of both manager and employee, particularly when it may involve confronting potentially difficult questions. A toolkit designed to help employees and leaders prepare for these discussions is available at Lockheed Martin’s Virtual Career Center online. It includes career path information and development guidance, as well as talking points and guidelines for the discussions themselves. Managers can take the time to preview typical questions and suggested answers before a session to ponder some of the possible “hard” questions—such as, what if the employee’s career goals don’t seem to fit into the department’s functional goals? Or, what if the employee’s career goals seem unrealistic in terms of time? In addition to career discussions, the diversity discussions that the company requires leaders to hold each year with employees are checkpoints in the company’s tracking of progress
28
in building an inclusive work environment. Help for managers in conducting the group sessions and individual employee dialogues is available at an online ‘Leaderlink’ Web site, where managers can access toolkits and other diversity information. The site prominently features the corporation’s diversity vision statement:
Lockheed Martin Corporation is committed to creating one company, one-team, all-inclusive, where diversity contributes to mission success.
Virtual Career Center Web support for the Grab Hold of Your Career initiative also takes the form of a Virtual Career Center accessible to all employees via the company’s intranet home page. With Lockheed Martin employees scattered across the United States as well as the globe, the Virtual Career Center gives all employees the opportunity and the flexibility to work on their careers anywhere, anytime. In addition to the toolkits that help employees prepare for the individual diversity dialogue with their manager, the center includes comprehensive career tools for employees to assess where they are in terms of their career development and better determine where he or she needs to be. The online center features a broad array of practical and thought-provoking information. There is a segment on clarifying personal and work values and another on how to identify goals and set a career action plan. There are even sample career paths showing the routes various people in the organiza-
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
tion have taken to reach their current levels of success—a caption reminds employees that “Not all roads that lead to Rome lead to a great leadership position, but a lot of them do, if we pay attention to the milestones along the way.” “The Web site provides resources to help all employees generate effective and realistic career goals and plans,” said Melissa Mong, an LM software engineer. “It provides a framework for technical, leadership and people skills development, and is easy to navigate and use.” The training aspects of the site are comprehensive—from guidelines on how to be a leader and how to be a technical specialist; to suggested resources for Web-based professional training and virtual classrooms; to recommendations of books and development activities; as well as advice and tips for developing the skills and approaches needed to meet professional and personal objectives. “Career development has always been a priority for me,” said Steve Dyas, LM senior systems engineer. “After discovering the vast career planning resources online, I’m confident my company has made it one of their priorities as well.” “The exciting thing about the online center—and, indeed, our entire Grab Hold of Your Career initiative— is that it is all-inclusive,” said Myrtis Brame, director of diversity for the LM Integrated Systems & Solutions business area. “Everyone can take part and as a result everyone benefits. The individual can learn and grow and, as they reach out to achieve their career goals, at the same time the company grows by becoming a more inclusive organization.”
Special Feature
Developing Talent Through Mentoring
Lockheed Martin
Mentoring offers the opportunity to convey the importance of the tacit or soft skills of leadership
A finishing component of the Grab Hold of Your Career initiative is mentoring engagements, which Lockheed Martin sees as vital to the success of its business. The intent is to bring together all of the company’s mentoring initiatives under a single umbrella designed to pique employee interest and provide the resources and skills for employees to engage in constructive mentoring relationships. Mike Thomas, company vice president and general manager and an executive champion of mentoring, looks at it this way: “We are a people business, and our success relies on the interaction between people. We all need to weave mentoring into our daily work lives. All of us should be getting to know people and getting them to know us. If we do this, we will connect the organization from top to bottom and become more successful as a business.” Grab Hold of Your Career mentoring applies a common approach to one-on-one mentoring programs across the organization. The company views mentoring as an excellent way to enhance employee development, transfer organizational knowledge, and bolster employees’ engagement in their work and commitment to the company. Quarterly workshops are designed to provide skills and information for current mentors and their proteges as well as individuals interested in initiating their own mentoring relationships. Employees are encouraged to take advantage of the workshops and to consider talking with their manager or someone they admire. They are
advised to think about what they want to discuss and some objectives for the conversation; the process may well establish a relationship they can work with on a regular basis. In turn, managers are encouraged to facilitate mentoring for employees unsure of whom to approach for mentoring by suggesting people inside or outside the employee’s environment. After Stephanie Herr, a software applications engineer, decided that a mentoring relationship would benefit her career, she found and worked with her mentor, Chris D’Ascenzo, director of Business Development, to mutually established goals and objectives. “My mentoring relationship with Chris has provided me with an expert to gain knowledge from, opportunities outside of my work environment, and someone to talk to about professional matters and school work,” says Stephanie. “During our mentoring sessions, we have discussed many different issues. He’s really been able to help me focus on my career development, where I want to be and what I have to do to get there. He also has helped me to gain a better understanding into different areas of the business, which has broadened my experiences at Lockheed Martin.” Mentoring is beneficial to both the mentor and mentored employee. “I learned a lot about the issues that Stephanie and her peer group encounter that I would not necessarily have been aware of but that help me be a better leader,” says Chris, adding, “One of the fulfilling things about being in the mentor role is that you
can add some dimensions and perspective to professional issues for someone else’s growth.” Mentoring offers the opportunity for employees to appreciate what isn’t covered in technical training courses yet can be just as vital to their career success—understanding relationships. Auretha Baldwin, an engineering manager and a strong advocate of mentoring put it this way: “Mentoring offers the opportunity to convey the importance of the tacit or soft skills of leadership.”
Support for Diversity Means Support for the Business While Lockheed Martin’s Grab Hold of Your Career initiative offers opportunities for individual fulfillment in many ways and goes a long way towards fostering a sense of participation by employees and managers in building careers, it is also very much in the company’s best business interests. Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO Bob Stevens explains that the company has embarked on a course to build a fully inclusive and supportive work environment, and for good reason. “Besides being the right thing to do, it makes good business sense. With a shift in demographics occurring as many in the workforce approach retirement, we need to keep our experienced skills base for as long as possible while attracting and retaining the best talent from an increasingly diverse world,” says Stevens. “This allows us to effectively foster both innovation and institutional knowledge to assure our long-term success.”
Profiles in Diversity Journal
PDJ July/August 2005
29
Affinity groups are not just for those with special interests or a specific culture.
Lockheed Martin's role in the Hubble Space Telescope program began in the 1970s when the company was selected as the prime integration contractor. Today, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company provides a range of Hubble Space Telescope-related service and support functions for NASA.
Affinity Groups: An LM Space Systems Company Best Practice It’s not unusual for employees who share ethnic or cultural ties to meet for support and growth; however, the groups at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company may also include employees ‘outside’ the group’s experiential focus, and even ‘meet’ in cyberspace rather than at local events.
W
hat do a design engineer in Sunnyvale, CA, an industrial security representative in Denver, CO, and a technical trainer in Harlingen, TX, have in common? Each belongs to an affinity group at LM Space Systems Company. With approximately 1,000 employees involved, the company’s nearly a dozen groups center around cultural and other common interests, such as Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Black heritage, disabilities and gender. Vanessa Williams, workforce diversity manager for the 18,000employee company based in Denver, notes that the affinity groups “not only address the specific needs of their membership, but also do an excellent job of helping other employees learn about their cultures.” In addition, the groups are an important resource for “employee recruiting and retention, community relations, and internal focus groups for topics such as generational differences and employee communications.”
Generation to Generation Mentors “An affinity group creates a sense of belonging,” says design engineer Sophey Phuong Tiet, who is a
member of the Asian American & Pacific Islander American Leadership and Mentoring Association (ALMA) in Sunnyvale. “For people who are away from their native country, they come together culturally. You don’t feel isolated,” says Tiet, who emigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. at the age of seven. Tiet, who specializes in circuit logic for high-performance government systems, joined ALMA in 2001 during her first year at the company. Through ALMA, Tiet met other Asian Americans who served as “older generation to younger generation” mentors. “They had been in the working world and, being Asian and being older, had gone before me, showing me that it’s possible to succeed. One Asian woman who is a senior engineer was one of our advisors. Seeing a minority female who had done well for herself influenced me by just having exposure and access to her.” Tiet views fostering innovation as an important contribution that affinity groups make to the company’s culture. “Everyone has different ways of doing things. If you have multiple ideas, you can come up with one great idea.” Having been involved in the ALMA affinity group for several years, Tiet now has a leadership role as a member of the mentoring committee. Those who had established the organization “stepped out and let us take charge, but they are always in the background helping us and guiding us.” Internally, the group hosts networking sessions and panel discussions featuring company leaders; activities are geared to the entire employee population to give nonAsians an opportunity for cultural awareness. Externally, ALMA represents the company in the community,
participating in public television fundraising telethons and local cultural festivals. ALMA also joins forces with affinity groups from other companies —such as Hewlett Packard in Cupertino, CA—for networking seminars. Notes Williams, “Within ALMA are so many different cultures. I’m proud of them because they had to work through a lot more issues than some others. Once pulled together, they have been very creative and innovative. This goes to show that there’s strength in differences and brilliance in unity.”
A Product of What They Have Put In Place When M.B.A. student Kwasinda Curtis received Lockheed Martin’s Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship in January 2004, he did not know that he would join the company eight months later. However, he was hoping. “I had always wanted to join the company,” he says. Before receiving the scholarship he had submitted his resumé “over and over—I just kept pushing it on them.” The scholarship program operated by the Black Effectiveness Support Team (BEST) affinity group in Denver “put me in contact with a lot of people, and it brought to light the different types of people who work here,” he says. He again submitted his resumé, and landed a job with the company in August 2004 as an industrial security representative. “My background is a little different,” says Curtis, who holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and completed his M.B.A. in June. “Industrial security is a good way to get my foot in the door at a great company. I’m learning aspects of business I didn’t know existed.”
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
31
Lockheed Martin
Space Systems
Curtis credits BEST for helping him feel connected within the company. There’s strength in differences “Without BEST, I wouldn’t and brilliance in unity. have the employee network I have now,” he says. “I would be limited to the individuals who are in my department. It allows me to establish a personal relationship—that’s what makes work much more feasi- The Value in Having a Voice ble.” Donald Crow, who provides qualificaCurtis, who learned of the schol- tion and certification training to the arship opportunity from a BEST workforce at the company’s southwest volunteer at a local recreation center, Texas plant, joined Space Pronow represents the company as a fessionals Empowering Employees BEST member in the community. with Disabilities (SPEED) not because “BEST allows me to reach out and let he is disabled, but because he is not. people in the community know that Crow explains, “I think one of the they can be a part of this company. In things you need to do is get us nonmy neighborhood, BEST allows me to disabled people involved because we say, ‘Hey, this is where I’m at, and this can stir things up.” As a result, Crow is available to you as well. Lockheed has helped the Harlingen facility go Martin has opened its doors to you.’” beyond the letter of the law in ensurCurtis explains that besides ing access for disabled persons. “Our serving as role models and mentors, facility is disabled-friendly, where the group “gets involved in events, people can get around safely. We’re such as bowlathons and 5k walks, to ready to go,” says Crow. uplift our community and raise aware“The very first issue I think disness about Lockheed Martin. If I abled people face in the workplace— wasn’t part of an organization, it and one reason I’m proud to be part would be difficult to reach out and let of SPEED—is attitude,” he says. “Too people know about opportunities.” many people automatically think a Coming full circle, this past schol- physical disability means a mental disarship recipient was a member of the ability. Secondly, they face mechanical selection committee for the 2005 Martin limitations. Getting around many Luther King Scholarships and a speaker plants can be very difficult.” at the banquet. “The real benefit (of my Crow says, “The big value of scholarship) came a year later when I SPEED is that it’s a voice. People can was in a position to speak to those who come to us and say, ‘Here’s a probhave supported BEST and to let them lem; what can we do about it?’ Almost know I’m a product of what they have invariably, it’s been fixed.” put in place. At the banquet I got to A virtual affinity group, SPEED is stand up and speak on what BEST had open to employees across the compadone for me with the scholarship. I had ny’s nearly 20 U.S. locations. SPEED the opportunity to emphasize to the members meet in a monthly teleconnew scholarship recipients that they ference. The group hosts activities at can take the same road.” various company sites, such as the guest speaker presentation that inspired Crow to join the group.
32
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
“When we had Gary Karp, a former jazz guitarist now in a wheelchair, down here talking about life on wheels last year, I became very interested,” says Crow. “Quite honestly, I felt like we hadn’t done enough about it.”
People Out There to Help LM Space Systems’ affinity groups are formed and operated at the grass roots level in coordination with the company’s Workforce Diversity Office. The company provides funding and facilities for employee events and community activities. Each group has an executive host, who serves as a link to the company’s senior management. “This serves to get the executives more involved and is a great way for the executives to get exposed to different cultures within the company,” notes Williams. As an example of the involvement of the company’s executives in the affinity groups, Curtis met his mentor, a human relations director, through BEST. “It’s very rare that, as someone who just walked in the door,” says Curtis, “you can have such a great relationship with a person in a high position. It helps to know there are people out there to help.” Vanessa Williams also says, “Affinity groups are not just for those with special interests or a specific culture. They are for other people to become aware of people different than themselves. Donald Crow is a perfect example of this.” In SPEED, Williams sees a model for the creation of additional affinity groups and the expansion of existing ones. “I would like to see more affinity groups operate like SPEED in a virtual manner, pulling people in from field sites,” she says.
PDJ
Special Feature
Lockheed Martin
Approximately 1,000 employees participate in affinity groups throughout Lockheed Martin.
Photo by Russ Underwood
Donald Crow, qualification and certification trainer in Harlingen, TX, joined the Space Professionals Empowering Employees with Disabilities (SPEED) Group.
Sophey Tiet, an electrical engineer, belongs to the Asian American & Pacific Islander American Leadership and Mentoring Association (ALMA) group in Sunnyvale, CA.
Kwasinda Curtis, an industrial security representative, belongs to the Black Effectiveness Support Team (BEST) in Denver, CO.
Interview
May Snowden Starbucks
A Conversation with May Snowden
M
ay Snowden, vice president, Global Diversity at Starbucks, talks about how burritos and baloney sandwiches contributed to her perspective for helping create a community gathering place for Starbucks’ partners and customers as the company “grows big while staying small.”
About D&I at Starbucks Please define diversity/ inclusion. At Starbucks we define diversity as “all the ways we differ and are the same” and inclusion as “applying our collective mixture of differences and similarities in the pursuit of organizational objectives.”
In today’s marketplace, does Starbucks have any particular challenges or opportunities? Our greatest challenge is our growth. We hire over 200 people a day, and open four stores a day. But because of our age and growth, we have great opportunities for expanding multicultural marketing initiatives, supplier diversity initiatives and acquisition and development of diverse talent. We have one of the lowest, if not the lowest, turnover rates in our industry.
Has tapping employee diversity yielded any significant product breakthroughs or profit synergies? Just this week, a store manager in California told me how his customers who are deaf have increased a hundredfold because he has partners (employees) who can sign. Looking at another aspect of diversity that we call ‘organizational dimensions’, one of our greatest product innovations, our Frappuccino, came from a barista (counter person who serves the drinks and makes sure that we have a welcoming environment within our stores).
How does a young and fast-growing company keep up with diversity development throughout the organization? Any strategy to sustain diversity development throughout the organization must first
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
35
Interview
May Snowden Starbucks
M a y Sn o w de n COMPANY:
Starbucks Coffee Company
TITLE:
Vice President, Global Diversity
IN
C U R R E N T P O S I T I O N : 1.5 years
EDUC ATION:
Early on I wanted to be a teacher—I felt I had a purpose of educating people, teaching by example, dialogue and that type of thing. So I got my undergraduate degree in business education, but actually never taught after I did my student teaching. After working awhile, I got my master’s degree in public administration because I wanted to be versatile. Then I had an opportunity to go on loan for a year working for U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong, from Colorado; it was a great experience. Afterward, I decided business was going to be my career, and I got my master’s in business administration.
FIRST JOB:
I worked my way through school in most cases, with some assistance through scholarships. I feel very privileged to have been able to do that. My very first job was as telephone operator working my way through school.
PHILOSOPHY:
I think that life is about the paradigms that we have, how we see things. My philosophy is to always broaden my paradigm, my mindset. I commonly check myself: when I feel that I have done everything that I can do, and I have engaged everybody that I know to engage about something that I think is a problem, and it doesn’t change, then I need to change my mind about that problem. I need to see it differently. So it’s really working with the lenses that I have about situations, people, cultures, and so forth, all within me, to make the change.
W H A T I ' M R E A D I N G : I love to learn about different cultures. But I’m also a person that focuses on life and experiences and what I’m here for. Right now I’m reading A Purpose Driven Life. It’s a very interesting book, very engaging, because it helps you to look at those special gifts that you have—we all have those talents and gifts that come naturally to us—and understanding what those are and how to apply them in your career. FA M I LY:
My best friend and my personal counselor is my husband, Chuck.
INTERESTS:
I enjoy exercising, reading, listening to music. My husband and I like to engage with and help other people. So we go out—whether it’s on the street or wherever—there are so many people who are homeless and many people don’t really want to talk to them. But my husband is really good with individuals who have had bad situations and they like to talk with him. He brings me out, and we sit and talk with people and try to help provide things they need—shoes or coats or whatever. We prefer to do it privately, but we also support other things, like CARE, because it’s so international; plus our church has a significant outreach and prison ministry.
CHILDHOOD
H E R O : My Mother has always been my best ‘shero’. She was one of nine children, and she didn’t have an opportunity to start first grade until she was 12 years old. It had to be very embarrassing to be in first grade when she was twelve and everybody else was six. But she was very persistent and went through and got her high school diploma and her bachelor’s degree in Spanish, then went back and got her master’s in education. She was just an outstanding school teacher and eventually got her Ph.D. later in life. I’m just amazed at her—how much courage she had, and stamina, and how she’d stick to things. So when I think of a shero, it’s my Mother.
FAVORITE
G A M E : One of the things I’m enjoying right now is playing Uno with my grandkids—ages 3, 5, 6 and 11— who stay with me for a month every summer. I enjoy it because the little ones are learning their colors and their numbers, and they have so much fun and energy around it.
PERSON
I ’ D L I K E T O G E T T O K N O W O V E R L U N C H : Probably Nelson Mandela. I saw him once at the White House; I was going into President Clinton’s office and he was coming out, and I tell you there was just a sensation about him that was very noble. I’d love to be able to spend some time with him and just chat about his experiences and how it felt to be in prison so many years and what kept him being positive. It’s so easy to get an attitude of defeat or resentment and have a bitter life. He didn’t do that. So I would love to be able to ask him personally about it.
36
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Interview
ensure senior leadership awareness, readiness, visibility, commitment and accountability. Second come education and awareness of the employees throughout the organization. Third is initiating business unit diversity councils; these develop the unique action plans required to implement the overall strategy and facilitate the implementation of grassroots affinity groups (which in turn assist recruiting, retention, mentoring, development, and serving as a voice in the enterprise and externally). Fourth, there must be internal and external communication of our results, our stories, our successes and our challenges. Finally, we need measurement, accountability and recognition for high performance. All of these steps are phased in to build a
strong foundation to support fast growth and change.
What are the components of Starbucks’ approach to the global workplace? The President of Starbucks International is part of the Global Diversity Strategy Team, composed of the CEO, his direct reports, and other key executive leaders—they own the execution of the strategy. Currently, I have been largely focused on the U.S., but my next step will be to resource the international initiatives. We’ll be looking for resources, including new partners as well as budget dollars, to support the initiatives in the international arena.
May Snowden Starbucks
What usually happens internationally is that we focus on nationality, what country people are from, and ensuring an inclusive environment with the nationality. And of course, gender issues are common everywhere.
What is at the heart of Starbucks’ vision for diversity? Starbucks built its inclusive environment foundation on guiding principles that are very, very powerful. We really do gather our partners around those principles and we look at the appropriateness of our decisions based on the six principles. That builds a really strong foundation to create an inclusive environment once you let all of your partners and new partners know how important respect and dignity
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
37
Interview
May Snowden Starbucks
are, and how important it is to embrace diversity in the way that we do business: our focus on the community, on the environment, on our customers, on making our product the very, very best. And then, of course, while we’re doing all these things, we want to make profit. When you build a diversity and inclusion strategy around the guiding principles it just helps people identify key behaviors.
Regarding leadership commitment, what resources are allocated for diversity? I have been in my position for 21 months. When I took the position, there were two direct reports and one dotted line report; now I have seven direct reports and four dotted line reports.
How is Starbucks assuring global cross-cultural competencies for its leadership? Our first step was to establish the Global Diversity Strategy Team, made up of the CEO, his direct reports and four key executive leaders. This leadership council is headed by the CEO. We are in the process of assessing our executive leaders to determine their learning needs and provide information for their 2006 action plans. From the analysis of the assessment, we will develop a full-day learning event for all vice presidents and above to be implemented in 2006. Even internationally we want the same concept of having a community gathering place for our people in general; our objective is to grow big while staying small.
How does your company gauge inclusion of employees?
What is the company’s commitment to minority suppliers?
We include diversity and inclusion questions in our Partner View Survey, and do a demographic analysis based on gender, ethnicity/race, length of service, job level, job title and age. Starbucks’ Partner View data, like Starbucks itself, is unlike any company data that I or my team have ever seen—we have almost none of the traditional differences by race or gender. We have exceptionally satisfied partners, regardless of their demographic makeup. For employee suggestions, we also have a Mission Review Team at each site who monitor and respond quickly to comments based on our guiding principles. Broader questions are referred to my office, and all leaders review summarized quarterly reports of the Mission Review Teams.
Supplier diversity is much like talent acquisition in that it requires a lot of outreach. It’s important for us, number one, to be welcoming and be able to identify those woman-owned and minority-owned small businesses that have the capability of fulfilling the needs our company has. We bring those organizations together with the leaders of our business units that have a need for a vendor or supplier and offer them access to the opportunities in our company. Suppliers doing business through Starbucks’ Supplier Diversity Program must meet strict criteria: • 51% woman- or minority-owned, or socially or economically disadvantaged (per U.S. Small Business Association)
How does Starbucks support upward development of its partners toward management positions? Through succession discussions, development planning, training and development lateral movements.
38
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
• Certified by the National Minority Supplier Development Council, National Women Business Owners Corporation, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, Small Business Administration, or other government or public agency • Diversity Program suppliers must sign an agreement pledging compliance with Starbucks’ Supplier Code
“I am
making a difference.”
“I am
“I am taking care
improving your life.”
of you. And people you care about .” People define our success. Diverse perspectives and talents allow us to provide
I am
innovative food and
Sodexho facilities management
services that improve the quality of daily life for the millions of people we
“I am ensuring
serve in the U.S. every day.
your safety.”
“I am a step ahead.”
mit
us i on
t e d t o Di
s i t y and I
nc l
ve r
Com
Food Services, Facilities Management, Vending, Catering, Office Refreshment Services, Environmental Services, Landscaping & Grounds Management, Conferencing, Plant Operations & Management
sodexhoUSA.com • 1-800-SODEXHO ©Sodexho Member of Sodexho Alliance®
Interview
May Snowden Starbucks
“MENTORING MEMO” from May To anyone who wants to rise in their organization: be courageous; be visible; ask clarifying questions of Conduct and Standards—including demonstrating commitment to the welfare, economic improvement and sustainability of the people and places that produce products and services; and adherence to local laws and international standards regarding human rights, workplace safety, and worker compensation and treatment. Verification of compliance is subject to audits, and failure to comply or to correct situations is grounds for cancellation of open orders and termination of the business relationship.
About Her Role Where does your personal belief in diversity and inclusion come from? I’m about learning, and when you’re about learning, you engage yourself in areas where you may not be as comfortable. I learned diversity at an early age because I grew up in Las Cruces, NM, where Caucasians were the major population, but the next largest population was Mexican Americans. I lived in a Mexican-American neighborhood, and African Americans were a very small group, so I learned very early to interact with Mexican Americans and Caucasians. In school, my friends took bean burritos for lunch, and my mother made me baloney sandwiches. None of us wanted to take our lunches to school, so we traded: I would have the bean burritos and they would have the baloney sandwiches. They were embarrassed for their bean burritos and I was embarrassed for my baloney sandwich. It’s really interesting when you look at cultures and how people
40
see things they feel are part of the majority group and to increase understanding; how they want to see themselves differently. demonstrate your competence I’m really glad I grew up in that environment, and I through continuous high have kept in good contact with Hispanics in my life, such as my mentor, Solomon performance; and develop an Trujillo, who was CEO at US West when I worked there. I internal and external network also remember friends in my neighborhood wanting to through relationship building. learn English and regret that I did not learn Spanish; so I’m doing some self-taught classes right now because Spanish is such a bridge to the concern or recognition I received. My culture. It all comes from having a pastor helped me identify my purpose need for learning and exploring and and mission in life and how that can getting out of my comfort zone and be integrated in my career. My husmy little area to broaden my perspective. band gives me a male perspective and reminds me how history and geography influence our paradigms or world What was your career path? How did you come to be working views. I am also mentored by my three adult children who give me a at Starbucks? generation X and Y perspective. My career path has taken me through In the corporate arena, one of my several line and staff positions in closest mentors is Solomon Trujillo, a telecommunications and manufactur- Hispanic male who has led a Fortune ing industries. My first diversity posi- 500 company, start-ups, and internation was in telecommunications, tional businesses, and is a director where I was selected because of my on four boards. His style—working operational experience and success in hard, being confident, being a high hiring, retaining and developing a performer and selecting great diverse high-performance workforce. I was talent—has influenced my career. recruited by Starbucks for this posi- Another CEO mentor is a white female tion; I did not seek it out. business owner dedicated to developing and advancing women and the Who were/are your mentors, readiness of men in leadership. I have and are you mentoring anyone? two executive African-American I have had several mentors in my women who help me with undercareer, including my Mother who standing the culture of Starbucks and helped me develop my character with how to get things done here. I am much love and attention. I could now mentoring several people; to always go to her with any question, whom much is given, much is expected.
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Interview
May Snowden Starbucks
People Value: “We have the most knowledgeable work force in our industry. Each partner participates in an extensive training program that facilitates strong … product expertise and a commitment to customer service. I take great pride, not in the number of locations we have opened, but in the growth and development of our people. We realize our people are the cornerstone of our success, and we know that their ideas, commitment and connection to our customers are truly the essential elements in the Starbucks experience.” - Howard Schultz, Chairman, Starbucks
What are your responsibilities and strategies for advancing diversity and inclusion in your organization? ®
Company Profile COMPANY:
Starbucks Coffee Company
HEADQUARTERS: WEBSITE:
Seattle, WA
www.starbucks.com
B U S I N E S S : Leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 9,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim
2 0 0 4 R E V E N U E S : $5.3 billion (~ 84% from company-operated retail stores; 16% specialty operations) E M P L O Y E E S : >90,000 partners (employees) worldwide. Named one of the best places to work for African-American women by Essence Magazine May, 2005 CUSTOMERS:
How have you modeled diversity and inclusion in your own team selection, management or development?
S U P P L I E R S : Starbucks has >80 certified minority- and woman-owned business enterprise suppliers—$114 million of business in 2004
I insist on a diverse slate of potential hires. I currently have 100% women, 60% white and 40% people of color (and two vacancies) on my team. All of my team members are provided development budget and are integrated in the work of developing tools and helping to execute diversity and inclusion initiatives. PDJ
>9,500 coffeehouse in 35 countries (including the U.S.) w/potential for 30,000 stores worldwide (15,000 in the U.S. and 15,000 outside of the U.S.)
42
I consider myself a business leader and catalyst to help Starbucks effectively address demographic, social and market realities by: a) tapping into new multicultural markets to expand market share and establish a strong brand image and corporate reputation while improving customer loyalty and satisfaction; b) recruiting, developing, promoting and retaining diverse talent to ensure the workplace mirrors the marketplace and the surrounding community; and c) creating and implementing workplace, procurement, and ‘giving’ policies and management practices that maximize the potential of our partners, suppliers and the communities we are in. Our strategy is building cross-culturally competent leadership in a way that will add a measurable difference to organizational performance; maintaining an inclusive environment as we grow; continuing to increase the diversity mix in our talent profile, customer base and supplier base; and finally delivering and communicating our results. We are working on improving our representation of people of color in middle and professional management.
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Is Your Culture Aligned with Diversity? By Peter Linkow
Linkow describes diversity as behaviors that require a hospitable environment. Before launching a diversity initiative, each organization must determine whether its culture offers an environment conducive to diversity; if not, either the culture or the diversity strategy or both must be changed.
D
iversity is a series of behaviors—modes of thinking, acting, and working—that, like orchids, thrive only in a hospitable environment. Since culture is a primary determinant of the environment in an organization, before embarking on a diversity initiative (or at least early in the voyage) an organization must determine whether its culture offers an environment that is conducive to diversity. If not, either the culture or the diversity strategy or both must be changed.
Fifty organizations recognized for their diversity initiatives shared seven core diversity values and beliefs: Organizations that achieve a significant level of diversity will enjoy a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
1. Competitive advantage.
Employees should be free from harassment, discrimination, and intolerance, and free to speak up without fear of reprisal.
2. Psychological safety.
All differences should be respected and valued. An organization will achieve superior outcomes when it effectively embraces a wide range of different cultures, perspectives, thought processes, assumptions and beliefs.
3. Value differences/foster inclusion.
What is a diversity culture? Marvin Bower, former managing director of McKinsey and Company, aptly defined culture as “the way we do things around here.”1 More formally, culture is the values and beliefs that most members of an organization share. Beliefs are assumptions about what is true, while values are assumptions about what is worthwhile or desirable. An organization with a true culture of diversity and inclusion has clear values and beliefs that foster desirable diversity behavior. It relentlessly manages every aspect of its work environment to support those values and beliefs.
44
All recruitment, employment, development, promotion and compensation decisions should be made purely on the basis of objective merit.
4. Advancement through merit.
The practices and demographics of the organization should mirror the practices and demographics of its customers and communities.
5. Reflect customers and communities.
All suppliers throughout the value chain should demonstrate diversity success.
6. Value chain diversity.
Taking action in the interest of diversity is morally correct.
7. The right thing.
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Figure 1: How Culture Shapes Behavior
Cultural media Values and beliefs must be transmitted before they can affect behavior. Three primary mechanisms transmit culture throughout the organization and affect individual and group behavior: heroes; myths and artifacts; and rites and rituals. Heroes transmit the culture and affect behavior by modeling behaviors that succeed in an organization. They personify the fundamental values and beliefs the organization
seeks. One senior leader became a hero when he uncharacteristically overruled a manager to enable a high-performing employee to take advantage of a flexible work option.
that group composed of people of color. The client leader told the company’s team to come back when they could more adequately reflect the makeup of the client organization.
Myths communicate the history of the organization through words. Occasionally fictitious, they emphasize the organization’s critical values and beliefs. One story frequently retold at a leading company depicts a team, composed of white men, converging on a client site only to find
Artifacts are objects—like buildings, tools, and written materials—that communicate the history of the organization. At IBM, for example, a policy letter on equal opportunity, written in 1953 by Thomas J. Watson, Jr., former Chairman and CEO, is a frequently cited, highly revered document.
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
45
Rites and rituals express values and beliefs through action. They describe the work environment and how work gets done. Rites and rituals have been described as the ‘dance of culture’. For example, a company that has a carefully defined process for objectively evaluating every employee and that adheres invariably to that process sends a strong message about merit.
Strength of the culture Strong cultures have a greater impact on behavior than weak cultures. Vijay Sathe 2, professor at the Drucker School of Management, says two features of the culture help determine its strength: • Extent of sharing. Organizations with values that are more widely shared among their members have stronger cultures. To foster commit-
ment to shared values, IBM created its values over a period of 72 hours through a highly inclusive, on-line, commitment-building process called a ‘values jam’, which was open to all 319,000 employees; “tens of thousands” participated in the process. • Clarity of ordering. In strong cultures, members have more clarity about the relative importance of various values and beliefs. IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has been unequivocally clear and focused about values priorities at IBM: dedication to every client’s success; innovation that matters, for the company and for the world; trust and personal responsibility in all relationships.
Management system variables Culture is not the only organizational variable that affects behavior (Figure 1). Management system variables that work in concert with culture to shape behavior include formal management processes (e.g., measurement, planning, and budgeting); leadership commitment and style; human resources policies and processes (e.g., performance management and total rewards); and organizational structure. An initiative to support diversity values and beliefs might not have the desired effect on behavior if it is contradicted by management system variables. For example, if the performance management process is inconsistently applied, advancement through merit is unlikely. Behavior also shapes the culture in a never-ending chicken-andegg process.
Front-Runners in Sports Issue
4th Annual Women Worth Watching Issue
Profiles of major U.S. sports organizations and interviews with diversity leaders in: Major League Baseball, NASCAR, U.S. Tennis, NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, World Team Tennis, U.S. Olympic Committee • Advertising closing date is September 20, 2005
Special anniversary issue of PDJ celebrating the success and personalities of over 60 leading women executives nominated by their colleagues, peers, and mentors for distinctive achievements in their spheres of influence. • Advertising closing date is Oct 15, 2005
Both issues will serve as resources for: • • • • • •
Diversity and inclusiveness officers and their teams—for upward and downward presentation of business case issues HR and Personnel Department officers—to use in orienting and guiding employees and managers Business educators, MBA programs, or internship directors—as case studies of accomplishment in the face of challenges Business consultants and trainers—for illustration of principles and messages Career counselors and coaches of women/minorities aspiring to leadership positions in their fields—for encouragement and guiding principles Entrepreneurs—for motivation, guidance and training
It would be our pleasure to work with you to • • • •
46
feature your D&I team / particular initiatives in upcoming issues consider nominations for Front-Runners of 2006; include any supporting ad or corporate commentary announce items of interest to the diversity community.
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Call or email publisher Jim Rector 800-573-2867 profiles@diversityjournal.com
Figure 2: Diversity Culture Matrix
The refractive effect culture has on management systems variables is analogous to the experience of reaching into water for a bar of soap and not finding it where it appeared to be: variables are altered as they are filtered through the culture before they affect behavior. Beware—culture may divert the impact of management actions away from the behaviors you thought you were getting.
Matrix for evaluating cultural alignment The diversity culture matrix tool (Figure 2) helps to determine whether your culture is ready for diversity. The
48
tool is useful whether the organization is embarking on a new diversity strategy, or not achieving desired results from an ongoing strategy. The matrix includes five steps: describe the current culture; establish core diversity values and beliefs; correlate core values and beliefs with the current culture; determine the strength of the current culture; and analyze the results and identify targets for cultural change. Top management should be involved in the culture assessment and change process. At best, top management should complete the tool with the guidance of an experienced facilitator; at minimum, top management
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
must agree upon core diversity values, sign off on the targets for cultural change, and champion the cultural change process. Step 1: Describe the current culture For each of the cultural media— heroes, myths and artifacts, and rites and rituals—identify as many current examples as possible from the organization. This can be done through small-group brainstorming or by interviewing. Ideally, participants should represent all levels and functions of the organization. Do not be concerned about which
Diversity. It’s what drives us.
From the cadres of minority designers, engineers, and office staff to the men and women on the factory floor and our network of minority owned dealers, we're dedicated to creating the best cars and trucks possible. In fact, this dedication to work ethic, smarts, and quality is inherent in every vehicle we produce. It's what makes us the proud American brands of DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
Chr ysler, Jeep, and Dodge are registered trademarks of Daimle rChrysler Corporation.
Figure 3: Diversity Culture Matrix for “Cyblex�
category an example fits; for example, many myths are about heroes. Step 2: Establish core diversity values and beliefs Many organizations have already defined their diversity values and beliefs or will want to create their own. In any case, top management should have final approval. Values and beliefs should be collectively exhaustive—no other values and beliefs should be required to fully describe diversity. They should also be mutually exclusive: to the greatest degree possible, they should not overlap with each other. Step 3: Correlate core values and beliefs with the current culture
determine whether it is highly correlated, correlated, or negatively correlated with each core value or belief by placing the appropriate symbol in the square. If there is no relationship, leave the box blank. For easy visualization of results, you can use symbols rather than numbers, as in the sample figures. Step 4: Determine the strength of the current culture For each core value or belief, determine whether the extent of sharing and clarity of ordering indicates a strong, moderate, or weak culture. (Use the same symbols you used for Step 3.)
For each current culture example, 50
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
Step 5: Identify targets for cultural change Identifying targets for cultural change is a relatively simple matter once the other steps have been completed. By reading down each core value or belief, you can determine the correlation between the core value / belief and the current value. Then, the strength of the culture can be established. If the correlation is negative or nonexistent, or the strength of the culture is low for a particular value or belief, that value should become a target for cultural change. Figure 3 illustrates how a company can use the diversity culture matrix to identify its targets.
‘Cyblex’ is a hypothetical mediumsized technology company that makes automated language translation systems, most of which are purchased by women. Cyblex is strong on diversity as a competitive advantage, even including diversity among its business goals. There are strong corporate messages about the value of mirroring customers—not apparently shared by employees. Although there are examples of heroic individuals, the culture at Cyblex does not convey psychological safety. Valuing differences and fostering inclusion are somewhat ambiguous, while merit and doing the right thing appear to be strong in the culture. There is no message at all about value chain diversity. Cyblex should first strengthen safety and valuing differences and inclusion, then enhance value chain diversity. Ultimately, the need for a cultural change is a judgment call. Step 5, identifying targets for cultural change, is most effective when done as a group. The critical question to address is, “What does the diversity culture matrix communicate to you?” A seasoned facilitator can help lead the group to a consensus on interpretation and priorities for action.
Getting Started To initiate development of a culture of diversity, leaders may want to make a few bold changes to symbolize the new culture. For example, one senior leader unequivocally rebuked an employee for making a racially derogatory remark; by the end of that afternoon, the whole company had received a strong message on psychological safety. Another leader delivered the diversity business case to every employee, a handful at a time; e-mails back to HR indicated that employees
52
An initiative to support the seven core diversity values and beliefs might not have the desired effect on behavior if it is contradicted by management system variables. At minimum, top management must agree upon core diversity values, sign off on the targets for cultural change, and champion the cultural change process. had gotten the message about diversity as a competitive advantage. Use the organization’s particular management system variables—organizational structure, formal management processes, leadership commitment / style, and HR policies / practices—to move the culture toward diversity and check for a consistent message across systems. In the long run, implementing a diversity culture often requires significant cultural change and must be implemented like any transformation3. Changing and then maintaining a culture is by no means easy or certain. Nevertheless, cultural development is essential to diversity success. PDJ NOTES: 1Terrence E. Deal and Allen A. Kennedy. Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982), p.4. 2Vijay Sathe. Culture and Related Corporate Realities (Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1985), p.15.
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
3Harrison M. Trice and Janice M. Beyer. “Using Six Organizational Rites to Change Culture,” in Gaining Control of the Corporate Culture, Killman, Saxton, Serpa, and Associates, editors (San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass, 1985), p. 371.
Peter Linkow is president of WFD Consulting in Newton, Massachusetts, where he focuses on work-life and diversity strategy.
A Albany Interntional Corp. 1373 Broadway Albany, NY 12204 www.albint.com
We are an AA/EOE/M/F/V/D employer.
Researchers Find Gender and Parenting Skew Job Evaluations Psychologist Kathleen Fuegen at Ohio State University and her colleagues investigated how a worker’s gender and parental status might influence managers’ assessments of job competence for hiring and promotion.
T
wo sets of undergraduates (from Midwestern and Eastern colleges) were asked to review “resumes” of male and female job applicants depicted as either single or married with two young children; participants rated the workers for potential hire and also for advancement based on a range of specific skills. Citing the current sociological literature, Fuegen notes that “in the
United States the ideal worker is one who enters the workforce in young adulthood, works 40 or more hours per week, is always available to the employer, works consistently for 40 or more years, and does not take time off for raising children.” She says the standard perception of the ideal worker is one who is ‘unencumbered’, and that many of the traits considered necessary for being a good parent are “contrary to those needed to be successful in the workplace” (e.g., independence, competitiveness, dominance, and availability). The study revealed that parental status alone or in combination with gender colored the evaluations of
applicants, the standards for hiring, and promotion decisions. Parents were judged as less assertive and less committed to the workplace than non-parents; fathers were held to significantly more lenient performance and time commitment standards than mothers and childless men. Furthermore, women tended to be held to somewhat higher standards if they were parents than if they were not parents (i.e., less likely to be hired and promoted). PDJ To explore the implications, of this study, read "Mothers and Fathers in the Workplace: How Gender and Parental Status Influence Judgments of JobRelated Competence" by Fuegen, Biernat, Haines, & Deaux : Journal of Social Issues. Vol. 60, No. 4, 2004, pp. 737-754.
̽ÃÊ ViÊ Ì Ê ÜÊ Ì >ÌÊ iÛi Ê Ü i Ê Ê V iÊ iÊ>vÌiÀÊ>Ê }Ê`>Þ]Ê i À} >Ê * ÜiÀÊ ÃÊ ÃÌ Ê Ü À }Ê Ì Ê ii«Ê Ì iÊ } ÌÃÊ °Ê / iÞ½ÀiÊ Ü À }Ê iÛiÀÞÊ `>ÞÊ Ì Ê > iÊ ÃÕÀiÊ Ì >ÌÊ ÜiÊ >ÛiÊ >vv À`>L iÊ > `Ê Ài >L iÊ i iVÌÀ V ÌÞ°Ê / ÃÊÜ>ÞÊ Ê` ½ÌÊ >ÛiÊÌ ÊÜ ÀÀÞ°Ê `]Ê ÊV> ÊÃ>ÛiÊ ÞÊi iÀ}ÞÊv ÀÊÌ iÊÌ }ÃÊ Ì >ÌÊ >ÀiÊ Ài> ÞÊ « ÀÌ> Ì°Ê / Ê i>À Ê ÀiÊ >L ÕÌÊ Þ ÕÀÊ « ÜiÀÊ V «> Þ]Ê Û Ã ÌÊ}i À} >« ÜiÀ°V °
#/-&/24!",%
Profiles in Diversity Journal
July/August 2005
53
Reaching a World of Opportunity By Catalyst Global experience is becoming a more critical requirement for those who aspire to senior leadership positions.
I
n today’s global marketplace, getting international experience is an increasingly crucial factor for career success. But women often face “glass borders” that prevent them from being selected for global assignments and gaining this experience. Stereotyping such as “customers outside of the United States won’t do business with women” causes managers to be wary about tapping women for global roles, and may make women themselves more hesitant to accept such assignments. Women also face assumptions about their willingness to relocate that often don’t match reality.* Organizations need to debunk these myths and provide their women with global assignments to give them the experience they need to advance and develop in the increasingly global business environment. And individual women who are considering global assignments need to pursue, evaluate, and prepare for these opportunities. Both men and women seeking global experience can take steps to advance this career objective:
1. Express interest in global opportunities. Catalyst’s study, Passport to Opportunity: U.S. Women in Global Business, demonstrates that one of the chief barriers to women in global business is the assumption that
54
women are not willing to relocate. For women who are considering a global assignment now or in the future, conversations with supervisors, mentors, human resources professionals, and other decision-makers about global opportunities are critical. The discussion can touch on timing, the type of assignment (e.g., frequent flyer, expatriate, global team), prerequisites, and how to pursue global opportunities.
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
“Global assignments are a great opportunity, but be sure they fit your life-cycle stage.” –
WOMAN, FORMER EXPATRIATE, CONSUMER PRODUCTS
“The timing was right because I knew enough about the company to contribute, but it was early enough in my career that I have also learned a lot about doing business worldwide.” – WOMAN, EXPATRIATE, TECHNOLOGY
“If offered an expatriate assignment, you should take it. It’s a wonderful opportunity.” –
WOMAN, FORMER EXPATRIATE, FINANCIAL SERVICES
“Be open to the experience. Accept that there will be some hurdles because of your gender, but don’t let them stop you.” –
WOMAN, EXPATRIATE, CONSUMER PRODUCTS
“The experience is invaluable. I worked in two different production facilities and at headquarters. It’s nothing like moving geographically and working in another culture.” –
56
WOMAN, EXPATRIATE, CONSUMER PRODUCTS
2. Evaluate the best time for a global assignment. Consider your personal situation as well as the optimal time for your career. The vast majority of expatriates in Catalyst’s study, both men and women, say that the timing was about right for their assignments. On the personal front, women can assess their current and future mobility by the age of children, significant other’s career, and the health of family members. Expatriates with children say the best times are when children are young and adaptable or after high school when they have moved out. Consult with partners and family members about their willingness to move overseas well in advance of a relocation opportunity. Career-wise, global managers want enough experience to succeed and gain host country nationals’ respect, but they need that experience early enough in their careers to leverage it for future advancement opportunities. Individuals can also discuss ideal career timing with their supervisors and mentors, or others who are currently global managers.
3. Keep up with global business issues. Understanding the global business context will help individuals prepare for a future global management role. For example, regularly read The Financial Times or The Economist. Also, broach discussions with higherups and current global managers about the impact of globalization on your organization.
4. Consider the range of ways to gain global experience. Expatriate assignments are not the only way to develop global business experience. Short-term assignments, global teams or task forces, and frequent flyer assignments are other options—either as complements to or
Profiles in Diversity Journal July/August 2005
substitutes for expatriation. Determine with supervisors and mentors what ‘counts’ as global experience in your organization and field.
5. Assess readiness and suitability for global management roles. Human resources professionals and global managers agree that ‘soft skills’, such as flexibility and listening skills, are critical to success in cross-cultural interactions. There are numerous selfassessment tools that evaluate strengths and weaknesses for global assignments generally, or gauge the ability to adjust to specific cultures. Tailored assessment tools are available for family members through global relocation organizations.
6. Recognize how valuable you are. With a shortage of global talent, women in particular have negotiating leverage. Don’t be afraid to ask for the position that you want and the support you’ll need.
7. Just do it! Overwhelmingly, women expatriates recommend global assignments for other women. Catalyst finds women to be as satisfied and successful as men; both groups describe the experience as both personally and professionally rewarding. PDJ With offices in New York, San Jose, and Toronto, Catalyst is the leading research and advisory organization working with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women at work. For more information about gaining global experience, or to purchase your copy of Passport to Opportunity: U.S. Women in Global Business, visit www.catalystwomen.org. You may also sign up to receive our issue-specific newsletter, Perspective, and our monthly email updates at news@catalystwomen.org.
* Also see “Global Issues for Women,” summarizing the Dell Women’s Global Summit findings, in the PDJ March/April 2005 issue. Editor.
The Drive for Diversity and Inclusion starts right here.
A
s a proud sponsor of NASCAR’s “Drive for Diversity” initiative, Waste Management is racing toward the same goals as you are. From Bill Lester behind the wheel of his Number 22 Waste Management Toyota Tundra to our constant efforts to recruit and support a diverse workforce, we are truly committed to speeding past today’s conventions of diversity and inclusion. ®
Waste Management salutes the many other workplaces that are on the same track as we are. By working together, we already find ourselves on the road to a more diverse, inclusive tomorrow. From everyday collection to environmental protection, Think Green. Think Waste Management. ®
NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. ©2004 Waste Management, Inc.
www.wm.com
When you bring out the best in every individual, you can achieve great things together.
When you join Lockheed Martin, you become part of a team that’s dedicated to providing everyone with the opportunity to succeed. This spirit of inclusion is the foundation of our success. We believe in an environment that welcomes, respects, and leverages our differences into one competitive strength. It’s all about giving our best every day. And eliminating the barriers that might stand in the way of innovative solutions. Lockheed Martin. One company. One team. Where diversity contributes to mission success.