By Dr. Laura Hills, President, Blue Pencil Institute, www.bluepencilinstitute.com
Assess your dive
rsity management skills by answering yes or no to each of the questions below:
1. Do you test your assumptions about the people you manage before you act on them?
2. Do you believe that there is usually more than one way to accomplish a goal?
3, Do you convey that to your staff?
4. Do you have honest relationships with each staff member you supervise?
5. Are you comfortable with each member of your staff?
6. Do you know what motivates each member of your staff, what his or her goals are, and how he or she likes to be recognized?
7. Are you able to give negative feedback to a staff member who is culturally different from you?
8. When you have open positions in your organization, do you ensure that a diverse pool of candidates has applied?
9. Do you orient new employees to your organization’s culture and unwritten rules?
10. Do you rigorously examine your organization’s policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that they don’t differently impact different groups?
11. When they do, do you (or would you) change them?
12. Are you willing to listen to constructive feedback from your staff about ways to improve the work environment?
13. Do you implement staff suggestions and acknowledge their contributions?
14. Do you take immediate action with members of your staff when they behave in ways that show disrespect for others in the workplace, such as inappropriate jokes and offensive terms?
15. Do you make good faith efforts to meet your affirmative action goals?
16. Do you have a good understanding of institutional “isms” such as racism, ageism, and sexism and how they manifest themselves in an organization?
17. Do you ensure that assignments and opportunities for advancement are accessible to everyone in your organization?
If you were able to answer yes to more than half of the questions above, you are on the right track to managing diversity well. Continue to improve your diversity management skills so that you can answer every question with a resounding yes.
