Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 2:02am
Values first
Column: Executive Soul
The health of the soul of a leader and the soul of the organization the leader serves depend upon staying true to their values. Gus Tolson, currently a recruiting executive for a chemical materials company, has battled for his own soul and the souls of the companies he has served by continuing to stand up for his own values and the values his companies espouse.
When seeking employment, Gus seeks companies whose values align with his own values. In his 25 years in human resources, Gus has sought companies committed to sustainability, to strengthening the communities they inhabit, to integrity, to diversity and to putting people first.
Staying true to values, day in and day out, is no easy task. For example, in the area of diversity, Gus faces constant challenges. He likens the workforce of a company to an orchestra, which requires the full complement of instruments in order to produce the best music. In his current role of recruiting executive, Gus serves as the conductor, assembling the orchestra.
In his efforts to recruit a diverse workforce, Gus challenges his team to find strong minority candidates. With respect to engineers, Gus hears the constant refrain "We just can't find minority engineers. They're just not out there." Gus finds himself in the position of standard bearer, constantly bringing the company back to its core value of diversity. For example, while African Americans and Hispanics currently constitute only 3 percent of North American Ph.D.s in chemistry, Gus maintains that pointing at the low percentage provides an easy way out of pursuing the minority candidates that do exist. When Gus hears a comment about the low numbers, "I find myself saying, 'OK, you can let that comment go, or you can try to educate.' Because, by people saying there aren't that many, they're casting a cloud over the ability to achieve it. And if nothing is said, then potentially you could now have a room of 20 more people who will then wipe their hands and say, 'OK, so that's why we shouldn't try to recruit women in engineering, or minorities in chemistry.'"
Gus finds himself growing weary of constantly fighting to recruit minorities, yet he knows that often he is the only one in the room who sees the issue. If he doesn't speak up, the opportunity to educate others will pass: "It plays out further in my being a person of color, where I'm too often selected as the spokesperson for all the others. I'm speaking as the representative African American, as one of the few in management." Gus consistently raises the question, "What are we doing to recruit the 3 percent? How do we need to change our culture in order to appeal to the minority candidate?" When he grows battle-weary, Gus prays for the strength to persevere, to maintain his integrity in speaking up for what is right.
While assembling a diverse orchestra presents ongoing challenges, bringing out the sounds of the various instruments also presents challenges. When Gus facilitates a meeting, he commits himself to bringing out all the voices. The diversity of perspectives gained in hiring people of different races, ethnicities, national origins, genders and educational backgrounds is lost if one perspective dominates a meeting. Gus seeks diversity of thought in meetings. He creates a safe space for everyone, and encourages the silent ones to express their points of view.
By staying true to his values, Gus nurtures diversity in the company. As a result, the company is stronger and better able to meet its goals.
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.
When seeking employment, Gus seeks companies whose values align with his own values. In his 25 years in human resources, Gus has sought companies committed to sustainability, to strengthening the communities they inhabit, to integrity, to diversity and to putting people first.
Staying true to values, day in and day out, is no easy task. For example, in the area of diversity, Gus faces constant challenges. He likens the workforce of a company to an orchestra, which requires the full complement of instruments in order to produce the best music. In his current role of recruiting executive, Gus serves as the conductor, assembling the orchestra.
In his efforts to recruit a diverse workforce, Gus challenges his team to find strong minority candidates. With respect to engineers, Gus hears the constant refrain "We just can't find minority engineers. They're just not out there." Gus finds himself in the position of standard bearer, constantly bringing the company back to its core value of diversity. For example, while African Americans and Hispanics currently constitute only 3 percent of North American Ph.D.s in chemistry, Gus maintains that pointing at the low percentage provides an easy way out of pursuing the minority candidates that do exist. When Gus hears a comment about the low numbers, "I find myself saying, 'OK, you can let that comment go, or you can try to educate.' Because, by people saying there aren't that many, they're casting a cloud over the ability to achieve it. And if nothing is said, then potentially you could now have a room of 20 more people who will then wipe their hands and say, 'OK, so that's why we shouldn't try to recruit women in engineering, or minorities in chemistry.'"
Gus finds himself growing weary of constantly fighting to recruit minorities, yet he knows that often he is the only one in the room who sees the issue. If he doesn't speak up, the opportunity to educate others will pass: "It plays out further in my being a person of color, where I'm too often selected as the spokesperson for all the others. I'm speaking as the representative African American, as one of the few in management." Gus consistently raises the question, "What are we doing to recruit the 3 percent? How do we need to change our culture in order to appeal to the minority candidate?" When he grows battle-weary, Gus prays for the strength to persevere, to maintain his integrity in speaking up for what is right.
While assembling a diverse orchestra presents ongoing challenges, bringing out the sounds of the various instruments also presents challenges. When Gus facilitates a meeting, he commits himself to bringing out all the voices. The diversity of perspectives gained in hiring people of different races, ethnicities, national origins, genders and educational backgrounds is lost if one perspective dominates a meeting. Gus seeks diversity of thought in meetings. He creates a safe space for everyone, and encourages the silent ones to express their points of view.
By staying true to his values, Gus nurtures diversity in the company. As a result, the company is stronger and better able to meet its goals.
— — —
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., author of "Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations," works with leaders in business, healthcare, government and non-profits to help them develop spiritual leadership. Visit her website at www.ExecutiveSoul.com. © Copyright 2007 by Margaret Benefiel.