Diversity Today

The idea of diversity in the corporate sector has shifted dramatically over the past several decades. In the early 1960s, legislative initiatives focused on ensuring women and individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds could find a place in the workforce. Then, in the mid-1990s diversity was a hot topic again. During that time I represented a company that sold Corporate Mentoring Programs to Fortune 500 companies in North America, and the focus on diversity dramatically increased our sales.

A recent Forbes article said this about diversity management: “Diversity management is the key to growth in today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace. No longer can America’s corporations hide behind their lack of cultural intelligence. Organizations that seek global market relevancy must embrace diversity—in how they think, act and innovate.”* So, smart companies recognize that diversifying in the workforce means more than simply placing people in positions.

Today, developing a diverse set of skills, talents and voices within your organization is as important as attracting all other forms of diversity. Building such an organization today means taking into account these factors:

• Is your company developing culturally intelligent leaders?
• Does your team have the experience and insight to understand and represent your target audience or customer?
• Is your team made up of individuals with assorted work styles, personalities, talents and skills?

In an increasingly global world, companies whose leaders cannot communicate in today’s diverse environment are floundering. What initiatives is your organization taking to ensure you have culturally intelligent leaders?

Ask yourself: do your leaders and teams understand and represent the views and habits of your target audience or customer? I worked as part of Best Buy’s Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF Program). Best Buy understood that women represented more than 80 percent of their customer base—influencing most buying decisions. So for Best Buy it was important they attract, develop and retain women leaders; that decision was critical to business success. When this was de-emphasized during CEO transitions, so was Best Buy’s success. A correlation, perhaps?

What about the other skills and talents that can give your organization a competitive edge? Is your team truly diverse? Do your employees have the skills to keep your company innovating? Or are you experiencing gaps in skills and training?

Diversity is much more than just multicultural quotas. Diversity is about embracing many different types of people who represent different cultures, generations, ideas, styles and thinking. Developing a diverse employee and leadership base means creating a collaborative environment where every voice is heard.

What is your company doing today to maximize its diversity of thought, style and people? What training programs do you offer to increase communication and collaboration so that all the diverse voices can be heard? What else can you do to enhance that culture and embrace all types of diverse talent?

JD Coaching & Consulting are experts at improving an organization’s performance and helping diverse teams enhance collaboration and communication. Let’s keep the conversation going.


*Llopis, Glenn. "Diversity Management Is the Key to Growth: Make it Authentic."Forbes, June 13, 2011.

Managing Multicultural Teams

Globalization has led to diverse, multicultural teams working together. JD Coaching & Consulting knows the importance of creating a high-performing organization. And the truth is, multicultural teams often generate frustrating management dilemmas.

Lack of communication is one of the main reasons teams falter, and communication within a multicultural realm can be even more challenging. Here is one communication tip:

Recognize the difference between direct and indirect communication.

Western cultures like the United States tend to communicate rather explicitly. The message and its meaning exist directly in their words. A direct communicator may say, “These project expectations were misrepresented to the client.” There is no need to imply the meaning; the context exists very clearly within that statement.

However, many cultures do not communicate so implicitly. For example, in a country such as Japan, it could be considered very brash, rude or embarrassing to speak so directly about a mistake. Instead, some lengthy discussion may be built around the question, “How might this project have run if the client expectations had been different?”

Our world is becoming more global by the minute, and organizations that don’t embrace these changes will struggle. Does your organization have the tools to traverse the challenges of multicultural communication? JD Coaching & Consulting has a passion for building more collaborative and engaged teams. Contact JD Coaching & Consulting to help guide your organization to embrace its full diversity potential.

Communicating Across Cultures: 5 Quick Tips

Bill Gates recently made headlines with a prime example of why cultural intelligence is so important in our modern world.

Gates is known for his hand-in-pocket handshake, but South Koreans perceived the casual greeting as rude.

Are your words or intentions getting lost or misinterpreted across cultural boundaries? Here are five very quick tips for communicating in unfamiliar territory:

1. Be respectful and courteous
2. Be a good listener
3. Keep casual communication to a minimum
4. Ask and learn
5. Watch and learn

There is much to be gained from patience and careful observation when you’re interacting with a culture foreign to you. We look forward to discussing topics like this over the course of 2013. Want to know a little more about indirect versus direct communication? Read more.

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Seminar on Evaluation

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) is a great resource for nonprofit leaders and their boards. In April, MCN will host a seminar that puts evaluation in the spotlight. The conversation is sure to be productive. Later in the month the seminar will be repeated in Duluth.

The rationale behind the development of the JD Coaching & Consulting board assessment survey was based on years of working with nonprofits and seeing how they too often struggle to discover the underlying issues blocking greater success. Using the board performance process we've developed, boards and nonprofit leaders are finding that the time it takes to identify key issues is greatly shortened. The result is less effort directed towards struggling to discover the issues, so more work is channeled towards actually improving board performance.

Learn more about the MCN seminar here.

Download the benchmark study that launched the board performance evaluation.

Five Tips for a Fabulous Resume

Today recruiters are speaking out—they want to see a resume that is clear, concise, comprehensive, current and clean. As a resume writer, I've worked with professionals at all levels of the employment spectrum, from new college grads to senior executives. They all share a similar need: to craft a resume that will successfully advance their career goals.

Writing about our own strengths and accomplishments is a challenge. Some lack clarity on which transferable skills and talents will actually attract prospective employers. Others draft pages of detailed career-related duties and responsibilities that drown out their true value and employability. Many make a similar mistake by writing about their own goals and objectives, failing to focus on the employer’s needs.

What makes for a winning resume? My general recommendation is to do the following: be authentic, have integrity and present yourself with passion. When JD Coaching & Consulting works with clients, we tailor our services to their specific needs. A resume service that touts the hundreds and thousands of people they've helped is likely developing boilerplate resumes. While it may be helpful for some job seekers, often more personalized service is required.

Follow these top recruiter tips* to create a resume that resonates:

1. Be clear about the qualifications you offer, including career experiences and transferable skills.
2. Be concise and articulate measurable achievements. Fluffy adjectives will dilute the power of your accomplishments.
3. Provide a comprehensive summary of your career—education, employment, advanced training, awards and contributions.
4. Keep your resume current with your most recent position, knowledge and successes. Even if you are not looking for a new position right now, keep a personal log and track current work details that will ultimately strengthen your next job search.
5. Design a resume that is clean. The document needs to have significant white space, which will make it easier to read. A cramped resume will get crumpled quickly!

Remember that while your resume is an essential element of a career strategy, networking is also critically important to your success. People read resumes, people open doors, and people are the ones who offer jobs. Be sure to network with people during your search!

When we are contracted to write a resume, we offer a great perspective that the individual rarely gets otherwise along with top-notch writing. We keep you on track in your job search. Executives who utilize the services of a resume writer are not only saving time, but are also adding value to their career advancement. Spend your time and money wisely. Instead of preoccupying yourself writing your own resume, network and meet that next great opportunity!

Learn more about our resume writing services by contacting Jodi@jodidavis.com.

* These tips are assembled from a variety of sources and have been consistently mentioned as important components of a resume.

12 REASONS YOUR NON-PROFIT WILL SUCCEED IN 2012

It’s January 2012. There are 12 months ahead to make this year a success. Twelve months to advance your organizations to the next level. Twelve months to make it happen.

Based on our work with non-profit organizations, there are 12 things to consider as you prepare for the year ahead. There are six aspects of high-performing boards that make them great and six areas in which all nonprofit boards can improve.

The six reasons that make nonprofits great - their boards have:

1. Knowledge of the mission

2. Passion for the vision

3. Dedication to the organization

4. Commitment to achieve results

5. Desire to maintain a strong foundation

6. Outstanding Executive Leadership

The six things most nonprofits need to improve:

1. More engagement (in committees & fundraising)

2. Increased collaboration

3. Improved knowledge and skill in fundraising

4. Enhanced community connection

5. Better awareness of advocacy issues

6. Clarity about how the board can make an impact

The last one is perhaps the most crucial. The organization's board, made up of volunteers, really needs to see positive outcomes result from their work. They want to make a difference.

Our work continues to help nonprofit leaders advance their organization to the next level. We activate the relationship between the board and management. We help them make it happen – not just let it happen. In 2012 you’ll have 12 months to accomplish your goals. We’d like to help you achieve your potential.

Make it a great year!

Non-profits win more donations through high-performance

Interesting article about how high-performance leads to more success. It reinforces that success leads to success. Check out the article here.