The Hidden Dangers of Labeling Leaders as ‘Pale, Stale, and Male
Are we pushing our leaders out the door?
Call me naive, but I only heard this phrase for the first time in a meeting recently. Maybe the term has been around for a while now, but it must have been said behind my back. For those who know me, sensitivity is not a character trait used to describe me. However, this hit me hard.
Whoever coined this phrase might have used it as a joke. But as the heads nodded from those gathered around the table, I was shocked. Most of the twenty or so in the room fit this description and surprisingly affirmed that there was no more room for them.
Having been a child in the '60s and '70s (that is the stale part, I assume), Dr. King's words taught me that character was the only thing that mattered. Sure, many of our parents, those born in the '30s and '40s, didn't live as Dr. King asked. We must put his words into action and teach our parents and grandparents that they were misguided.
Many of us have worked hard to be inclusive in our personal and professional relationships. If we hadn't worked so hard, progress would not have been made at the rate it has been. Does that mean it's perfect? No, it does not. But what’s that old saying? You don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Things to consider
Roughly one in nine men ages 25 to 54, an individual's prime working years, are out of the labor market today; that compared to one in 50 in the mid-1950s. Why is that?
Maybe men are feeling unwanted? Why would they enter a company where they have no chance of advancing? If merit is no longer considered the primary factor for advancement, what incentive is there to be outstanding in their field? It’s not out of the question that they might reconsider a new career choice and become independent.
The Wall Street Journal had an outstanding article, "A Generation of American Men Give Up on College," showing that the gap between men and women in college has continuously widened for 40 years. Doesn't anyone feel that this is a problem? In Tuesday's blog, I wrote briefly about the out-of-control action plan. You don't have to be an engineer to see that this statistic is out of control.
Are you running your business like this?
Let's bring this back to your organizations and the purpose of The Kole Hard Facts. How do these social policies affect our company? Many of you are responsible for families and the lives of our employees, stockholders, and stakeholders. Are your policies jeopardizing any of those areas?
We ask these specific questions in every consulting opportunity we are involved in:
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If the answer is not a Hell Yes for every one of these questions, then there is a potential harm to your business in the future. If the answers are no, that may be eating away at your employee’s motivation and engagement. With an already record-low level of employment in our workforce today, we should be doing everything possible to get our entire team engaged. This is the fastest way to upset half your potential workforce. I wrote about this a while back in a blog; Republicans buy sneakers, too. Are we intentionally alienating qualified people just because they belong to a group?
Can we do better?
I am not advocating dismissing these initiatives, only that they become secondary in decision-making for your business. Maximizing shareholder value should still be a driving force for your management team. As soon as you place a goal to reduce your PSM level, you are doing a disservice to your stakeholders.
During a recent podcast, Douglas Murray, the British Author, said something enlightening. In China, an entire generation of children has grown up with one thought: we need to be better than Americans. They have studied harder, made sacrifices to grow their economy, struggled, and worked endless hours. Undoubtedly, China has become the only real competition for America in the past few decades. During that same timeframe, the same generation of Americans became focused on social engineering initiatives without worrying about China or other future competitors. Will you be surprised when China passes the US in GDP? And who will you blame?
What are you doing today to beat or stay ahead of your competition?
You can’t design a perfect look to your organization, it must grow organically and naturally. Nobody knows what balance will look like in the future. However, there is one thing for sure: the only way to have everyone treated the same in the future is to treat everyone the same right now.
It starts with you.
For those new readers, I don’t editorialize often. When I do, I try to bring it back to how it affects your business. Social engineering has been gnawing at me for a while, and it has kept popping up in the past several weeks. Equality of opportunity is what matters for your team. Treat everyone the same as you do now, and you will never grow stale.
As I wrote in the article on building trust, begin with trust in mind. Treat your problem children the same way you as your superstars. Give everyone an equal opportunity to excel; don’t block them if they meet those expectations.
Schedule a 30-minute meeting to see how KPG can help you have a better tomorrow!