Creating Pathways for Diverse Leadership: A Conversation with Div Pillay

In our final article exploring how CEOs create leadership opportunities beyond traditional succession planning, I sat down with Div Pillay , co-founder of Mind Tribes. Together with her husband Vick, Div helps organizations foster truly inclusive environments that embrace diversity.

Their journey is particularly insightful - both South African-born and educated under apartheid, they began their careers in post-apartheid workplaces before migrating to Australia in the early 2000s. As they climbed leadership ladders, often as the first people of colour in their teams, they gained unique perspectives on organizational change and inclusive leadership.

The Evolution of DEI in Australian Workplaces

While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) discussions have expanded beyond gender leadership to embrace multiculturalism, Div notes that organisations still struggle with challenging conversations. Whether it's addressing casual racism, microaggressions, or the local impact of global geo politics, many prefer silence over dialogue. This hesitancy, while perceived as safer, ultimately hinders structural change.

Moving Beyond Surface-Level Success

A critical observation from Div is how organisations often highlight DEI successes in entry-level positions - graduate programs and mentoring initiatives - while leadership ranks remain unchanged. This disconnect becomes particularly evident in risk management: "In longitudinal studies of board papers, I've seen potential risks raised by women or people of colour dismissed by consensus, only to resurface later as critical issues that could have been mitigated earlier."

Practical Pathways to Change

Div advocates for formal sponsorship programs as a practical solution. Using examples from state government initiatives such as the NSW Public Service Commission’s Elevate and Advocate program, she explains how multi-year sponsorship programs can create lasting change:

- Year 1: Learning and adaptation

- Year 2: Embedding and demonstrating impact

- Year 3: Enterprise-wide adoption supported by governance frameworks

Successful sponsorship involves senior leaders actively promoting their sponsees in executive settings through practical actions which enables them to build their professional networks at level that they normally would not have access to. These include:

- Including them in high-level meetings

- Creating speaking opportunities at conferences

- Enabling them to represent the organization in significant forums

The Business Case for Inclusive Leadership

The impact of diverse leadership extends beyond social responsibility. When organisations have racially and ethnically diverse executives (representing the 30% of diverse communities), they create products and services that authentically meet community needs. This nuanced design approach strengthens brand loyalty and referral rates, positively impacting the bottom line.

?Leading with Courage

The key to successful inclusive leadership?

Div emphasises openness, curiosity, courage, and conviction. "Most people know the right thing to do," she notes, "they just fear backlash when challenging the status quo." The foundation for structural change begins with leaders prioritizing psychological safety within their teams to ask the awkward and hard questions.

As demonstrated during COVID-19, when organizations centre diverse lived experiences in their decision-making, they create better outcomes for all. This approach not only improves service delivery but also builds a more economically engaged workforce through better health, education, and community connection.

Liska Turner

Partner, Government and NFP | Omera Partners

MindTribes https://mindtribes.com.au/about-mind-tribes/

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This article is part of a series exploring alternative pathways to leadership in organizations.