Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 60)

CASE STUDY Driven to Success: AAA Pilots Program for African-American Leaders AAA of Northern California, Nevada and Utah is driving results by addressing the different experiences African-Americans face in the workplace and raising awareness of the roadblocks that slow them down. By Annalisa Adams-Qualtiere It’s easy for white managers to assume their colleagues of color face the same basic challenges they do. And on one level, that’s true: The work challenges largely are the same. However, people of color face a variety of social and environmental challenges they sometimes call a second job. In a 2002 Harvard Business Review article titled “Dear White Boss,” Keith Caver and Ancella Livers called the difference black employees feel in their work environment “miasma” — a dangerous or foreboding inﬂuence or atmosphere that is invisible but noticeable. Caver and Livers described how African-American leaders often endure a work atmosphere full of tension, instability and distrust that can hinder career development. Leaders at AAA of Northern California, Nevada, Utah (AAA NCNU) decided to tackle this diversity of experience through a new initiative, the African-American Leadership Program (AALP). “It’s one thing for an organization to commit to diversity as a value. It’s another to commit to exploring the realities that difference may hold for individuals and then respond in a creative and productive way,” said Marie Andel, senior vice president of AAA NCNU. “Our African-American Leadership Program does that and makes diversity real for not just our participants, but for all employees.” The program is designed to engage, equip and educate African-Americans, but also enroll non-African-American leadership as advocates and educators to help dispel blindness to difference — a mindset that contributes to miasma. Launched as a pilot in July 2007, AALP delivered a targeted leadership curriculum for African-Americans that extended baseline leadership program offerings and examined themes speciﬁc to the African-American leader in the areas of risk, work, perceptions and career derailment. The program’s goals were to motivate the attendee, promote career ownership, increase employee engagement and preserve the differences diverse leadership brings to the organization. Businesses and organizations today are increasingly realiz60 Diversity Executive | www.diversity-executive.com | September/October 2008 ing the beneﬁts of fully engaging a diverse workforce. Yet, despite strides made by businesses to ensure equality in the workplace, barriers still exist. African-Americans and other minorities have achieved middle management and executive positions, but their career trajectory often takes longer than their white counterparts. AALP came about as leaders of AAA NCNU’s University/ Enterprise College and black leaders in the organization uncovered a need to design and deploy leadership programs to enhance career development for people of color. Figure 1: AALP Survey Results 100 percent said the content addressed their key challenge areas. 75 percent found the tools presented in class were useful and have applicability to their careers. 92 percent stated they gained skills and/or knowledge they did not have before. 82 percent found the use of assessments useful in understanding self and others. 100 percent would recommend this course to African-Americans and other leaders of color. 58 percent showed increases in overall effectiveness in personal leadership competencies when compared to pre-assessment. AAA NCNU ﬁrst took the pulse of the organization by sending out a brief questionnaire to key executives describing the proposed leadership program. The team then researched the key challenges faced by African-Americans in the corporate workplace and the leadership qualities they needed to cultivate to advance their careers. The conversations ultimately expanded to include talent management and the representation of diverse talent at the managerial and executive ranks — a business case that supported the implementation of the program. To ensure AALP focused on critical skills and career obstacles preventing upward mobility, AAA NCNU assembled a core team of African-American leaders and used discussion fo- http://www.diversity-executive.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity Executive - September 2008

Diversity Executive - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Leadership Connections Guest Editorial Diversity Executive Online 2042: A New Business Era Begins The Rules of Attraction Where to Look for Diverse Talent Like Minds Think Great Culture Teams Target Business Opportunities at Luxottica Retail Special Section Rebalancing Gender At ING Americas, the Color of Diversity Is Orange Profile Business Intelligence Case Study Strategies Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources

Diversity Executive - September 2008

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