Sharon Smith-Akinsanya - Colorfull: Competitive Strategies to Attract and Retain Top Talent of Color

COLORFULL

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

COLORFULL

Competitive Strategies to Attract and Retain Top Talent of Color

2021 Sharon Smith-Akinsanya

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

ISBN 9781631951763 paperback

ISBN 9781631951770 eBook

ISBN 9781631951787 audio

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020937770

Cover and Interior Design by:

Chris Treccani

www.3dogcreative.net

Morgan James is a proud partner of Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg. Partners in building since 2006.

Get involved today! Visit
MorganJamesPublishing.com/giving-back

This book is dedicated to my mom Amanda, my dad Al, my brother Gary, my dear friend Oscar, and my daughter Rae.

Rae, I hope this book will help create a space that allows you to bring your full, authentic self to work and offers you a seat at the table.

Full disclosure: Im an older White guy. And like many older White guys, Ive built my career by leveraging my own experiences and expertise. Ive stuck to what I know and understand, and thats worked for me.

Im the current CEO of a major nonprofit and former CEO of the fifth largest bank in the nation, which means Ive spent many years surrounded by people who look and operate just like me. However, I am also keenly aware that when we meet and work with people who look different from us, we tend to expect those differences to be surface level. We assume that we have more in common than differences. While our intentions are good, we might not value the diversity of thought and working styles that stem from different life experiences.

This needs to change. Especially since the vast majority of people working for a corporation dont look (or operate) like the C-suite executives running the show.

Of course, leaders and CEOs of all stripes already know that diverse employee pools innovate more and perform better than homogeneous ones. We all agree that a variety of worker experiences and perspectives creates a stronger, more innovative and prosperous company. Yet, many leaders still have a gap in understanding around the needs of our employees of color. We know that supporting and engaging them is vital; but since their experiences are so different from ours, we struggle to optimize these relationships.

We also find it challenging to develop corporate boards that are just as diverse as our workforces. But, when we can successfully achieve our goal of creating a board that is comprised of people of color, we also create a foundation for our management teams to see and understand the importance of installing diverse leaders throughout the ranks. Board diversity needs to be job one for equity-minded leaders.

The underlying challenge is that even though we know and want to resolve these roadblocks to creating a workforce that is enriched by its diversity, finding the solutions creates uncertainty. We find ourselves trying to navigate in uncharted waters yet navigating them is something we must learn to do. To do it well, however, requires guidance from experts on how best to lead in this changing worldand why its a smart decision.

While we know experience is the best teacher, the reality is most C-suite executives do not have much experience working for (or alongside) professionals of color. Even fewer are people of color themselves. This book is here to help! It is specifically intended to help business leaders, just like you and me, jump ahead in the experience curve by hearing from others who have already lived it. Theyve made mistakes and learned lessons that only experience can teach. But theyve prevailed and can now build a bridge for other leaders to cross. This book is for corporate executives who want to take that journey. Maybe theyve already started down the diversity, equity, and inclusion path, but they know they are still far from the paths end. Its also for those who know they are ready but dont want to make avoidable missteps along the way.

CEOs dont need a new starting point. We need a new place to go towe need a new ending point.

Enter Sharon Smith-Akinsanya.

Sharon has spent decades of her life teaching corporations to build stronger and more authentic relationships with talent of color, training CEOs and CHROs to see the world with different eyes. She saw a gap in the working world and stepped in to fill it with her creativity, business acumen, and empathy. Shes entered countless uncomfortable conversations about race and equity, and has left them having forged lifelong partnerships.

I, myself, had one of these uncomfortable conversations with Sharon. I recall sitting with her at the Minneapolis Club, having a conversation with such intensity that the wait staff chose not to refill our water glasses. We both brought our energy and emotions to the table and shared our opposing perspectives with a healthy dose of candor. It was a challenging discussion for us both, but we respected each other enough to show up and do the work together. And thats Sharon through and through: fearless, dedicated, and boundlessly passionate about making the world a more equitable place.

Sharon has since expressed to me that our friendship and candid discussions opened her eyes to the key issues top executives face and struggle to conquer. My friendship with her has reinforced the values of being open and honest, especially in debating difficult topicseven when its uncomfortable to do so.

In the business world, we talk about proof of concept as an essential benchmark. Sharon is proof of concept embodied. If she says she can show you how to attract, recruit, and retain professionals of color, you can take her word for it. I did.

By working with Sharon and my CHRO, we were able to set strategies and goals for the organization that accelerated its transformation. I was already inclined to lean into the important work of building equitable organizations from the top down, and working with Sharon helped me achieve the next level of success sooner and more completely. With Sharons help, it became clear that diversity was only the start; creating an environment of true inclusion, engagement, and a sense of belonging is the endgame.

Sharons philosophy guides her teachings. She provides tools to avoid the emotional trap that comes with reacting defensively to opposing viewpoints. Instead, she knows that leaders always make more headway by saying, Ive never looked at it that way. Thank you for giving me a new lens. And, this philosophy was embedded in the work we did together at my firm.

Sharon has successfully captured her core lessons in this unique and engaging book. By reading these six short, entertaining chapters, youll get a glimpse of what its like to have her as a DEI mentor. (Work with her in person, and youll get the unvarnished truthand you may even make an awesome new friend.)

Those of us in charge of hiring and promoting are the gatekeepers, the ones who arent opening the doors at the right time or to the right applicants. The good news is that were also the ones who have the power to break through that block, to change the flow, to release the stranglehold.