I have broad research and reading interests. My posts on HTM are inclined to be motivated by serendipitous encounters rather than meticulous planning. Despite the title of my blog, I’ve always tried to write and share information about topics that I feel passionate about rather than a specific expertise. Doing so compels me to step out of my comfort zone and learn about new subjects, meet new people, and create new ideas. I don’t feel any sort of careful planning would offer me the same benefits!
In the spirit of Menudo of Links, going forward I’ll begin sharing more studies and reports which I think you might find interesting as well – all directly or indirectly related to the development of the Hispanic workforce and Hispanic talent. Below is my first offering. Enjoy!
Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality: Great report that provides an overview of parental leave policies in 21 high-income nations and identifies five “best practices” for parental leave policies. The study shows that the U.S. has the least generous leave policies of the 21 countries examined in the report. The study provides some valuable points regarding how organizations can be more attuned to the needs of their workforce.
A Wake-Up Call: Latino Youth Speak Out About Arizona SB 1070: This excellent report is furnished by NCLR. It provides findings of focus groups with Latino youth in four different cities, emphasizing the common experience of discrimination and stereotyping. Because Latino youth represent a vital and rapidly growing segment of our future leaders, workers, and voters – it’s a great read.
On The Rocky Road To Strong Global Culture: An article rather than a study (via Forbes) that suggests that organizations with “global cultures” are the exception rather than the rule. I wrote about this topic in an earlier post. It’s apparent that organizational strategies and culture are not able to remain in sync; therefore, many companies remain too “headquarters-centric” to operate effectively over long distances. Globalization, ironically, gets in the way.
I wanted to bring your attention to a wonderful event happening in Atlanta on October 14th. The Hispanic Achievement & Business Leadership Awards (HABLA) is an annual luncheon recognizing the contributions and successes of Latino community leaders in corporate executive, civic-community, small-business and unsung hero categories.
This year’s keynote speaker, Cristina Benitez, is the author of one of my favorite books,”Latinization: How Latino Culture is Transforming the U.S.” Dr. Benitez’s book covers a number of topics including Hispanic talent and the Hispanic workforce. I referenced the book in my doctoral dissertation. Please also review the biographies of this year’s award recipients. Each is a leader in his or her respective category and serves as an inspiration for Latinos.
The event will also serve as an opportunity to award scholarships to some very deserving Latino students. Take note that scholarships are available for graduating high school seniors or current college freshmen or sophomores. You can find more scholarship information here.
Great work HABLA and congratulations on a wonderful event!
Mary Gentile, director of business curriculum at Babson College, discusses the topic of values in the workplace. An interesting video (via McKinsey) regarding ethics and today’s business environment. The video provides excellent advice to new college graduates as well as senior executives. The question becomes essentially, when is it a good time to be ethical? Professor Gentile provides some marvelous insights about ethical dilemmas and how to act on them. Enjoy!
Busy days with different projects and meetings this week — but a few things caught my eye today that I wanted to share around the topics of the Hispanic workforce/demographics, mentoring, and education. Enjoy!
UCLA Project Examining Latino Baby Boomers: I was speaking with a colleague earlier in the week regarding Hispanic population trends. We discussed how there’s been a lot of analysis on immigration, educational, and workforce related topics. We both agreed we’d start seeing more of the type of studies being conducted by Latinos and Econmic Security (LES) and UCLA. An excellent report which discusses the characteristics of Baby Boomer Latinos. A definite must read. Also browse around LES website to see the fine research work they do! You also might want to review the work of Dr. Fred Bonner who has written extensively on the learning attributes of Hispanic millennials.
Why Men Still Earn More than Women: Excellent piece by Harvard Business Magazine examining the reasons why men still earn more than women. The article was co-written by Herminia Ibarra one of my favorite researchers. I included a lot of her research in my doctoral work. Much of the article’s discussion centers on mentoring — which happens to be in line with my post a couple days ago. Check out the article and Google Dr. Ibarra’s work – she’s excellent at what she does.
Unlearning Teaching: Another great piece I found via Alastair Creelman, who works with net-based learning at Linnaeus University, Kalmar in south-east Sweden. He also writes the blog Corridor of Uncertainty. As an online instructor for over eight years now, I found his thoughts very much in line with what I attempt to do in my online classes. Alastair shares this entry from the original source, Will Richardson, “Learner in Chief” at Connective Learning:
“I think that’s one of the hardest shifts in thinking for teachers to make, the idea that they are no longer central to student learning simply because they are in the room. When learning value can be found in a billion different places, the teacher has to see herself as one of many nodes of learning, and she has to be willing to help students find, vet, and interact with those other nodes in ways that place value at the center of the interaction, meaning both ways. It’s not just enough to add those who bring value; we must create value in our networks as well.”
I’m often asked by Latino professionals what the ONE activity they can do to help increase the representation of Latino talent in leadership positions. Obviously, there are many things you and I could suggest. However, when it involves assisting Latino professionals, I always recommend mentoring. Thinking back to the start of my career, I found it challenging to find a mentor that understood my background and experiences. Given my non-traditional educational and career path, I probably wouldn’t have found anyone!
Aside from the counsel, support, and guidance, mentors can also lift as they climb.
Remember that mentoring doesn’t simply involve encouragement; it must also involve career (and leadership) development. Although some organizations have made diversity a priority, many have yet to strike a diverse balance at their senior-levels. There are many reasons for the lack of representation, one of which can be associated with mentoring. People that reach leadership positions are there in part because of a mentor: someone that’s “connected.” Research demonstrates that Hispanics and other minorities are not mentored as much as other groups. This is primarily due to the lack of diversity within senior-level positions. And so it goes – the continual loop.
So ask yourselves: have you created opportunities for Latinos? Have you made the effort to lift as you climb?
We often get preoccupied with measuring our own success with standards established by others. This occurs in our education, our careers, and personal lives. When I was choosing a place to attend college, for example, I wasn’t concerned about whether it was 1st-Tier or 2nd-Tier school – in fact – I didn’t know there was such a “system” until I was in college.
As a college recruiter, there was always pressure to recruit from “top-tier” schools. We did but I also made an effort to recruit from schools that we’re not on anyone’s radar. I really don’t get why there’s a preoccupation with lists or rankings. An education is ultimately what you make of it. I got out of my education what I put into it. The president of my alma mater (The University of Texas at El Paso) would say at every graduation that the quality of any educational institution can be measured by the performnace of their graduates in the workforce.
I think it’s good advice. It equalizes the playing field.
A few years ago, I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. with a community legislative group. We were there to lobby government leaders for an empowerment zone designation for our community. One evening while in Georgetown, I spent time chatting with one member of our group. When it came to our community, he was always at the forefront: helping, advocating, coordinating, leading. I respected his insights. His thinking was constantly strides ahead of everyone else. As we sat at an outside café, he asked about my studies (at the time I was completing my master’s) and what I was reading outside of course books. I was probably reading the latest management or leadership paperback, I don’t recall now. But what I remember after all these years was his response.
“If you want to learn about being a leader,” he said, “stop reading business books.” Surprised by his reply I asked why. He argued that one important strategy leaders should change is what they read. In many ways, over the long-term, what leaders read influences their interpretation of various issues. It helps define their world view. People who aim at developing a wider and truthful leadership perspective must – and should – always expand their thinking. Leaders must begin to read history, biographies, fiction, and the classics.
Because of that conversation many years ago, I’ve made an effort to supplement my business-related readings to include biographies like those of Washington, Lincoln, Adams, Jefferson, Chavez, and King. I’ve gained a better appreciation of the classics by re-reading books from my high school years by Hemingway, Emerson, and Twain. I’ve also immersed myself in books about art, culture, and society. In short, I’ve always balanced my interest in business with books that remind me about what impacts organizations the most – life.
Over the last month I’ve read a couple books: Made to Stick and The Tipping Point. Both books essentially discuss why some ideas spread (like an epidemic) and why others do not. The underlying theme in both books is change – why change happens quickly and why it sometimes does not. This morning I read a post by Seth Godin on the power of slow change. An interesting perspective given that we live in a society that’s often dictated by short-sighted thinking. Our time horizons have shortened dramatically: politicians driven by the next election are always campaigning; organizations pressed by their next quarterly earnings are constantly selling; and the media motivated by ratings is constantly entertaining.
As the authors of Made to Stick note, change that’s unexpected usually alters the way things get done. But this is rare. Not all lasting change is driven on this time scale. Issues like the environment, for example, work on a much different timeline. Our environmental problems can be solved but require decades to see the solutions or even progress. The same can be said about issues like immigration, education, and diversity. Many organizations or institutions are unable to grasp the idea of addressing these challenges simply because they’re not able to function within a different time scale.
What time has shown us is that many of these challenges are solvable. Today, organizations that took the long-term view of diversity, for example, are reaping the rewards of the multi-cultural workforce needed to function in a globalized economy. Other organizations are trying to accomplish this on the short-term time scale – an approach that’s fast but not very deep. Diversity teaches patience.
Patience is a vital characteristic of a progressive organization. It’s advantageous and smart for an organization to function at different time scales at the same time. Technology and business can change rapidly – they must. Culture and demographics change at a much different pace – as they do. Because most organizations focus on change that happens quickly, they overlook the long-lasting benefits of profound measured change. Much like glaciers that take centuries to sheer off the side of mountain, slow deep change can leave behind a landscape that’s beautiful to look at and very hard to alter.
The Summit will explore the role of Hispanic professionals and diversity at-large, as well as its impact and influence on propelling innovation in the workplace. By examining the evolving landscape of business, society and the trends that now define the “new normal” – attendees will learn about the new types of leadership opportunities for Hispanic professionals and multicultural groups at-large.
The list of delegates thus far is impressive coming from various industries, backgrounds, and experiences. I’ll be writing more about the event over the next few weeks leading up to it.
I just finshed reading “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose” by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos. A good book that describes the founding and growth of Zappos. The book provides a lot of great lessons, but I was struck by one in particular: the organizational commitment of its employees.
Nothing harms a company more than employees not “showing up” to work. Absenteeism or turnover has obvious consequences to an organization’s success. The impact of turnover has financial costs when you consider the time and expense it takes to recruit and train an employee. Another way employees miss work, or “don’t show up,” happens when they’re not mentally engaged due to a lack of motivation or support. This combination of physical and mental absence might be viewed as a lack of commitment to the company. Organizational commitment can be described as the degree to which an employee senses a connection with a company. It includes an employee’s belief in the organization’s values, the motivation to perform organizational activities, and the desire to stay engaged with the company.
Therefore, it’s important for employers to understand that Hispanics might have unique perspectives regarding organizational commitment. Numerous management studies have shown that Hispanics have a higher sensitivity of bias in the workplace. Despite having comparable qualifications and experiences, research has shown that Hispanics still face discrepancies in income and fewer promotional and/or career opportunities. Given this data and perhaps based on their own personal experiences, Hispanics might also be more conscious of organizational inconsistencies. Taken together, Hispanics perceiving any partiality or unfairness might question the organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. This could eventually lead to decreased engagement with the company.
By understanding that Hispanics have unique perspectives about organizational commitment, companies can enhance the way they communicate and manage Hispanic employees. To thoroughly benefit from diversity efforts, organizations should be aware of these characteristics. A positive aspect of diversity initiatives is the opportunity to increase personal effectiveness and communication with employees as well as create an environment of fairness and equality. By engaging and understanding their perspectives as it relates to organizational commitment, employers have a greater opportunity to make Hispanic employees feel they’re part of an organization – a place where their diversity is valued. Building this awareness will also help Hispanic employees feel they’re part of an organization where professional opportunities are not only obtainable but equally distributed.
I have broad research and reading interests. My posts on HTM are inclined to be motivated by serendipitous encounters rather than meticulous planning. Despite the title of my blog, I’ve always tried to write and share information about topics that I feel passionate about rather than a specific expertise. Doing so compels me to step out of my comfort zone and learn about new subjects, meet new people, and create new ideas. I don’t feel any sort of careful planning would offer me the same benefits! 
I wanted to bring your attention to a wonderful event happening in Atlanta on October 14th. The 
Busy days with different projects and meetings this week — but a few things caught my eye today that I wanted to share around the topics of the Hispanic workforce/demographics, mentoring, and education. Enjoy!
A few years ago, I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. with a community legislative group. We were there to lobby government leaders for an empowerment zone designation for our community. One evening while in Georgetown, I spent time chatting with one member of our group. When it came to our community, he was always at the forefront: helping, advocating, coordinating, leading. I respected his insights. His thinking was constantly strides ahead of everyone else. As we sat at an outside café, he asked about my studies (at the time I was completing my master’s) and what I was reading outside of course books. I was probably reading the latest management or leadership paperback, I don’t recall now. But what I remember after all these years was his response. 
As the authors of Made to Stick note, change that’s unexpected usually alters the way things get done. But this is rare. Not all lasting change is driven on this time scale. Issues like the environment, for example, work on a much different timeline. Our environmental problems can be solved but require decades to see the solutions or even progress. The same can be said about issues like immigration, education, and diversity. Many organizations or institutions are unable to grasp the idea of addressing these challenges simply because they’re not able to function within a different time scale.
