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Diversity ManagEment Tips

Periodically, we offer tips we have written to help you succeed in managing diversity.  Our newest tip appears below. But scroll down to see others we have published in the past.


Promoting Talent Self-Identification
By Graciela Kenig--©2008

If your team includes diverse employees you probably have noticed that some of them have trouble recognizing their own strengths.  In part, this stems from cultural values that stress collective achievements and discourage self-promotion.

But in this era of constant change and rapid-results expectations, talent identification is crucial to organizational success. The more you help your employees figure out what they can do well the more you can deploy their strengths when you need them.

Here are some ways in which you can promote self-assessment, which ultimately leads to career self-management.

• Provide concrete examples of what the employee does well. This not only helps hone in on the employee’s strengths but it also gives him/her objective language that increases comfort with self-promotion. These are some possibilities:

 

“I particularly appreciate the research you do when you prepare your weekly reports. It gives me the context I need to understand your conclusions.”

“Mr. Jones said you are a strategic thinker. He heard your presentation the other day and was impressed with the concepts you proposed.”

• Mention your employees’ strengths to others in the organization. While this may appear self-defeating, it really isn’t so. When you are generous with your team’s talent, new talent will naturally flow to your team.

 

• Be truthful –and very objective--about weaknesses and areas of improvement.  And offer the comments in tandem with potential solutions. Concrete examples are particularly important here because they allow people to make corrections in future similar situations. Possibilities:

“When you don’t make eye contact with people they think you are not self-confident. I realize this may be uncomfortable for you. If that is the case, you might try focusing anywhere on the person’s forehead and they won’t know the difference.”

“When you argued with Charles yesterday in front of the team, some people felt you lost credibility. We all know that Charles can be difficult but getting emotional is stooping to his level. With him, as with others who behave that way, it is always better to stick to the facts. For example, you might have said…”

Try these ideas and watch productivity increase. People who understand and are able to utilize their talents are more likely to remain engaged and interested in what they do each and every day.   

 

Click on the links below to read other Diversity Management Tips we have published in the past.

• The Role of Cultural Perceptions in Interviewing
• Hiring Diverse Candidates
• Connecting with New Diverse Employees