How to Work with & Lead People Not Like You by Kelly McDonald

Author:Kelly McDonald
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119369967
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2017-08-14T00:00:00+00:00

Building trust takes time, but it happens in teams when respect, cooperation, listening, caring, and integrity are at the very foundation of the team. Model the behavior and attitude you want your team to have and they will follow your lead.

CHAPTER 7

The Leader's Role: Educating and Setting the Example

How would you handle it if one of the top executives in your company told you they are transitioning to another gender? I'm betting that might really throw you. It's one of the most challenging and difficult diversity issues an organization can face. It would also truly put your “we value diversity” mantra to the test, because you'd have to explain it to your other associates and ensure the news was handled with sensitivity and respect.

This is exactly what a large Southern law firm was faced with recently. Their chief learning officer (CLO) came out as a transgender woman. She'd been living and presenting as a man who then transitioned to living authentically as a woman. That's not a diversity issue that many firms have much experience with. It's different from other aspects of employee diversity—after all, no one asks an Asian person why they are Asian or asks a person who uses a wheelchair why they don't walk. Transgender identity is difficult for many people to understand and grasp. This law firm needed to tell their associates that Bob was becoming Sarah. This firm had a stated commitment to diversity and their handling of this news would be the true test of the respect and inclusion they espoused to their hundreds of associates. While most readers aren't going to face this particular issue, the way it was handled applies to any challenge that leaders face around “leading people not like you.” Here's how they did it.

Lead by Example

Bob was the CLO, and worked closely with the leadership of the law firm. Bob informed the top executives of his need to undertake gender transition and together they made a plan for sharing the news with the more than 600 associates at the firm. They knew the news would come as a shock to many. They also knew that all eyes would be upon them and that what they said, did, and expected of their associates would be watched closely by all. They had to lead by example. The CEO sent a memo to all associates. There is no way I can adequately summarize how perfect this memo was, so here is the actual text: Dear ____________. A valued firm employee, Bob Smith, has for some time been undergoing medical, social and legal changes related to a long‐standing medical condition known as Gender Dysphoria (popularly called transgenderism or transsexualism). Although these changes have been mostly private so far, the next stage in this process involves all of us.

On March 17, our colleague will begin working full‐time in her appropriate female gender role and thereafter will be known, both at the firm and otherwise, as Sarah Smith. Sarah is fortunate to have the support,

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