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Inclusive Leadership
in a New Era
By L. Mecole Brown
Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer

D
Wal-Mart Stores, U.S.

Diversity is built Becoming Ambassadors of Diversity and Inclusion

on a tradition of strong
leaders—a spirit that
guides us today to
break new ground, meet
challenges head-on, and propel to the next level
of excellence. It is a time to celebrate our accomplish-
ments—and a time to develop a vision on elevating
diversity in a new era of inclusion.
Diversity has evolved from a compliance initiative
to a cornerstone of a high-performing culture based
on inclusion—it’s about harnessing all the differences
employees bring to the workplace.
In this transformation, it’s no longer enough
to be “diverse” in the sense of numbers and data,
stand-alone programs and initiatives. It’s time to move
beyond a “check-the-box” mind set, and build a truly
inclusive work environment that leverages unique
talents, ideas, styles, geographic origins, perspectives,
and backgrounds.
While diversity is valuable in that it gives
opportunities to individuals, inclusion is what allows
organizations to thrive and grow. Looking ahead,
it will be an important factor that will separate those
organizations that succeed from those that don’t.
To help our organizations succeed in the
future, we all must take a renewed leadership role as
ambassadors of diversity and models of inclusion.
This requires vision, influence, acting as a change
agent, and being truly authentic.
Be visionary. Be passionate and intentional
to create a culture of leadership that leverages
diversity of thought. Build diversity and inclusion
in the leadership competency model to drive desired
cultural behaviors. Diversity and inclusion must
live inside, not run alongside, the business.
Be influential. Be resourceful and get everyone
engaged. Enhance people’s career experience by
developing them and equipping them with
opportunities to maximize their talent.
Be a change agent. Just because something has
worked in the past doesn’t mean it will work
now. Think in new ways. Be willing to swim
upstream. This allows you to leverage differences
and encourage collaboration and innovation.
Be authentic. Be real in the way that you invite
and welcome all employees to bring their ideas
to the table. When you are authentic, people feel
valued. When you honor individual differences and
empower others to be authentic, they can make

“
their greatest contribution to your organization.
While diversity is valuable in that A Vision for the New Era
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a
it gives opportunities to individuals, single step. We’ll only reach our potential when
inclusion is what allows organizations to we begin taking the steps to propel diversity to a

”
new standard of inclusion. Each and every one of
thrive and grow. our people has unique gifts to share. It’s up to us to
build an environment where they are willing and
able to do so. With collective efforts, we can build
high-performing teams with an innovative mindset
and a collaborative spirit. PDJ

54 Pro f i les i n D i ve rsit y Journal January/February 2010