In many organizations, the career ladder that leads to the top levels of leadership are less accessible to women, Blacks, Asians, Indigenous People and Hispanic/Latinx people.

With limited resources and pressure to do more with less, companies often take a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership development. Unfortunately, as numerous studies show, even the most well intended organizations often fall short of achieving diverse representation in its leadership ranks. 

So what's the answer?

We believe it's time to apply a strategic diversity, equity and inclusion lens to talent practices. A strong diversity recruiting strategy is simply not enough. We have to invest in the talent that is already inside our organizations. We need leadership development programs that educate leaders about the role of unconscious bias in identifying top talent. 

More importantly, we need coaching and talent development programs that enable people of color and women to embrace their cultural and gender identities to show-up as authentic leaders. We also need their leaders to value and respect that leadership styles should be diverse. As one participant in one of our recent webinars said, "If you look different, then you need to act like the majority. If you act differently, then you need to look like the majority. But you can't be both different looking and acting."

While progress is happening, it is all too slow. Most leaders develop those who are much like themselves. This natural human tendency displays our innate affinity bias. Because of this, those who are tapped for development are of the same gender, race and ethnicity, same socio-economic background, same educational background, and same personality as the leader. This causes a cycle of low diversity to perpetuate within an organization. 

It's time to apply cultural intelligence to our leadership development efforts, and our team of executive coaches can help.