Diversity MBA Magazine - Fall 2008 - (Page 54)

Taking The Leadership High Road …When You Can Find It. by Sandra Finley A good friend suffering nearly to the point of tears called me the other day. She was so angry she could barely tell me about the series of last straws that threatened to break her back. She talked about a business deal she desperately needed but that was probably not going to happen, because at the last minute someone she trusted yielded to other political pressures and reneged on what she earnestly believed was a commitment to support her. The deal was dying and nothing she could think to do would be enough to revive it. Her rage had reached the point where, by the time she called me, a part of her was already laying plans to get even. But she made one last attempt to find a plausible reason for the injustice of the betrayal. Her agony was personal to be sure, but a large part of it was concerned, as it should have been, with her leadership of the fortunes of those who trusted her to be successful. Even so, I wasn’t sure if she was genuinely asking my opinion or hoping to enlist me as her wartime consigliore. I couldn’t pretend to know the outrage she was 54 going through, but I did know that when she looked back on the decision that she made that day weeks and months from now, she’d be happier with her memory of the whole event, if she were proud of what she’d done in this instance. I took a chance that her intense anger was an aberration and I reached out to her: “Take the high road. Maybe you can’t save this deal, but it’s critical that you save your spirit. If it’s intact, you’ll always attract other, better deals.” Though we were on the phone, I sensed a marked change in her voice. “I’d gladly take the high road,” she said, “if I could find it. Where is the high road in this mess?” The sheer weight and scope of our daily communal efforts to succeed is staggering. There are 36 million Black people in America today and 20 million of them are women. As women, striving to live in the uncertain times that we do, we get faked out and have to endure far too many false starts. We collectively fall 20 million times daily and are often pushed down hard onto frightening bridges of broken trust. Still, the best of us w w w. d ive r s it y mb a ma g a z in e. c o m http://www.diversitymbamagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity MBA Magazine - Fall 2008

Diversity MBA Magazine - Fall 2008 Contents Letters to the Editor In Your Own Hands Editor's View Business Briefs Off the Shelf Diversity MBA 2008 Awards Gala and Leadership Forum "Diversity Next Practices" Illusion of Inclusion Good Is Not Enough Revisiting Your Personal Brand Discover Your Power Voice Authentic Leadership In An Ever-Changing Marketplace Stopping the Brain Drain: How Companies Can Keep Talented People of Color Corporate Succession Planning - How Do You Fit In? How To Manage Virtual Teams Beyond Demographics Recruit, Recognize, Retain, Reinvest – Winning the Talent Acquisition Game Leave Ego at the Door Modernizing Supplier Diversity Taking the Leadership High Road… When You Can Find It Think Boardroom Bound; It’s Happening Who's Who In Diversity Fail to Succeed 4-Star Start-Up, Chris Ward: Character Above All Get Them at Hello – Tips to Improve Your Marketing Kit Sonny Vu, Entrepreneur A World at Your Fingertips Big Brother Wants Your Bank Account Stepping Off The Corporate Ladder HR Focus with Monica Ross A Unique New England Vacation Bold Caballeros y Noble Bandidas Women of Color and Cancer: The Chicago Phenomenon Being Single Isn't Easy International MBAs Flock To U.S. Schools Smart Strategy Gadgets+Gizmos Advertiser's Index

Diversity MBA Magazine - Fall 2008

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