Lalit Chaturvedi’s Post

On Monday, I journeyed up to the Bay Area to speak at two leadership symposiums, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. My arrival at the San Diego airport was delayed significantly, to the point where I could hear the gate agent paging my name as boarding was almost complete. Rushing through security, I reached the gate just in time, only to be apologized to by the gate agent for having to check my carry-on due to the limited overhead space available, as I was the last to board. In response, I refused the agent's apology, admitting, "Don't apologize; it's my fault for running late." Surprised, the gate agent remarked, "I've worked here for 9 years, and you're the first person to take responsibility for being late." This encounter left me pondering. Over 9 years, that gate agent had undoubtedly encountered countless tardy passengers, most deflecting blame or offering excuses. This highlights a widespread leadership issue: a reluctance to hold ourselves accountable and take ownership of our actions. As leaders, our responsibility extends beyond the workplace or volunteer commitments; it's a 24/7 role. Embracing accountability and ownership is foundational. The more we practice, the easier it becomes. When we struggle to be accountable to strangers, how much more challenging is it within our professional circles? Let's seize every opportunity to lead, to own our actions, and to be accountable—building habits that become second nature.

To effectively mitigate conflict with senior leadership, a two-pronged approach is recommended: firstly, ensure optimal resource allocation to achieve the leader's vision, and secondly, maintain regular meetings with senior leadership to keep them informed of progress and facilitate adjustments as necessary.

A Thought for Hiring Managers, Recruiters, and Inspirational Leaders. As professionals, we often speak of the importance of mentorship, leadership, and contributing to the growth of others. Yet, I’ve noticed a recurring challenge for candidates—particularly those returning to the workforce—who reach out for feedback after an interview only to be met with silence. To those who guide others, I ask: How do we reconcile the title of "inspirational leader" with the missed opportunities to provide a few words of guidance or encouragement? Even a brief note can make a difference in someone's career journey. For those who have faced this, how did it make you feel? Did it affect your perception of leadership in our industry? Let's remember that leadership isn’t just about hiring the right candidate—it's about fostering a culture where every interaction, successful or not, adds value to someone's professional growth.

Set yourself up for success by …. Promoting leaders not experts It is not just your hiring processes that you need to think through carefully and intentionally. You have to take that same level of intentionality to your promotional processes. What do you really want out of your leaders? If you promote only on business generation or on the ability to get the work done, will you get what you want out of the people that are supposed to lead others in your organization? Do you want real leadership? Do you want an inclusive climate? What you promote on is what you are going to get. And if what you are hiring and promoting and training on is not aligned with what you say that you value, you are not going to get the outcomes that you want out of your organization. Take that intentionality and apply it to developing each individual system, recruiting, hiring, promotion, training, and development to ensure that you are actually capturing and reflecting the things that you need at each position, at each level in your organization.

🚨All signs point to it being time that we shatter the cookie cutter… @ NALP’s 2024 Annual Education Conference, Volta consultant Juliet Aiken, PhD (She/Her) spoke about the exclusivity of traditional hiring practices on a panel. More specifically, the discussion underlined the way that these methods leave out diverse, non-traditional candidates. And unsurprisingly, there’s a lot more to say. If you missed her session, or are interested in hearing about the import of thoughtfully designing and auditing your organizations’ talent management processes, check out her follow-up video below. 🗣️“If your hiring, promoting, and training is not aligned with what you say you value, you’re not going to get the outcomes that you want.”

These questions go out to the senior leaders of organizations. Do your front line leaders and managers (the ones who make things happen) understand the strategic mission of the company? Do their daily actions support the strategic mission? If you answer no to either question well as the the famous line says "Houston we have a problem." You won't be successful unless you can answer Yes to both questions. Your mission tells your people where you are going. So if the answer is No to one or both, time to peel that onion back and ask why but I suggest you look at yourself first. Have you made it clear what the strategic mission is, do your actions align with your words, do live and breath it yourself, are you the one making it a priority or do you say it but ask your leaders to do a bunch of other things that don't support the strategic mission?

ERG Leadership Alliance (ELA) wants to know if you know how to spot the signs your ERG leaders need some support 🤔 Proactively addressing these signs of struggle early is essential to revitalize tension of resource group leaders and ensure they continue to play a meaningful role in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization. These are some SUPER simple things to keep an eye on in order to spot where your ERGs might need help: ❗️Decreasing Participation Rates: A decline in attendance and engagement at ERG activities and events can indicate some employees are not finding value or relevance in the initiatives organized by ERGs. ❗️Lack of Leadership Support: Difficulty recruiting, training, engaging and retaining Executive Sponsors. ❗️Ineffective Communication and Collaboration: Not using, being aware of or underutilizing available communication channels, thus inhibiting collaboration among ERGs and other department and teams. ❗️High Turnover or Disbandment of ERGs: Potential underlying issues or challenges within the ERG structure or organizational dynamics that need to be addressed. Consultants will tell you "what" you should do to address and prevent these issues, but that doesn't help you if you don't know how! Sound like you’re groups? ELA might be right for you! Contact Alyssa Dver to learn more. https://lnkd.in/gUTWeAyv

Boards can and should have a key role in shaping an organisation’s culture. Board members, CEOs, chairs, and executives, here are 3 best practices to inspire your board to drive change. 👇 When top leaders actively champion and embody inclusive behaviours, they pave the way for an environment where diversity isn't just acknowledged but is celebrated and leveraged for better decision-making. Read the "EWOB Toolkit for Change" and learn more on how you can become a catalyst for change!

INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP | Leaders who are successful in fostering diversity and inclusion are skilled in building a diverse team, fostering interpersonal safety, and integrating differences. Building a diverse team involves promoting equitable representation across rank and role. Fostering interpersonal safety involves creating environments where employees bring their authentic selves to work. Integrating diversity involves ensuring different ideas and perspectives inform work practices and decision-making. Achieving these goals often necessitates unlearning ingrained habits and mindsets and developing new and complex interpersonal skills. Our inclusive leadership training assists leaders in understanding their implicit assumptions and preferences. It also seeks to improve their motivation and ability to empower diverse talent and transfers proven strategies for integrating and leveraging differences to improve group outcomes. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gcXxtSg or email us info@cultureplusconsulting.com, and download our inclusive leadership infographics here: https://lnkd.in/ejCp8hUh

How can you ensure the guardianship you hold over your membership organisation remains secure and protected? We've put together this helpful toolkit for Board members to empower you in your search for diverse and ethically-driven leaders. Here's what's included... 👇 ✅ How to spot harmful leadership before it manifests in your organisation ✅The role of Boards in cultivating positive leadership ✅Positive and red flag traits to look out for during candidate evaluation ✅Questions to ask to get to really know your candidates behaviours and values ✅The importance of successful onboarding and the Board's role Download your free copy here: https://bit.ly/3vwlHjR With special thanks to Trade Association Forum and Professional Associations Research Network (PARN)