valeriegd's posterous http://valeriegd.posterous.com Most recent posts at valeriegd's posterous posterous.com Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:04:42 -0700 when the Swiss get going..... ((tabs: diversity, inclusion, Switzerland, government)) http://valeriegd.posterous.com/when-the-swiss-get-going-tabs-diversity-inclu http://valeriegd.posterous.com/when-the-swiss-get-going-tabs-diversity-inclu

Today is a historic day in Switzerland – just 40 years after women got the right to vote – 4 of the 7 Bundesrate (federal councillors of Switzerland) are now women!  Not bad considering that women got the right to vote only 40 years ago!  There will be much speculation regarding how fast this did move…..  

                                                                                                                                                                                          

While I am of course pleased, what is most important is that competent councillors have been elected and that is the case.  The discussions over the last few weeks have however been very interesting.  There was a certain concern that both open seats would have been filled by women giving a majority of 5 to 2 and that would not be good.  I must admit I had difficulty following this discussion as for many many  years the council has been a male bastion and that did not seem to be a problem.  So how can we find it normal to have an all male council ‘rule’ a country where – as in most countries – women comprise 50% of the population. 

In a world where the challenges are many – financial, demographic, etc, surely it is in the interest of every country to ensure that the government reflects the population and in doing so, understand and address the many challenges we face

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle
Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:46:41 -0700 The Richness of Diversity http://valeriegd.posterous.com/the-richness-of-diversity http://valeriegd.posterous.com/the-richness-of-diversity

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a performance of Aida in Bregenz.  This is such a special atmosphere as it is open air, the stage is on the lake, the lighting is amazing as are all the props.  Positioned in the lake and on the main stage are pieces of metal painted blue with gold stars.  These are pieces of the Statue of Liberty – the symbol of freedom - but a bit strange in a storyline set over 100 years ago in Egypt. The costumes are a mix of old Egypt and modern day clothes (the figures in the photo are actors).  

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So the plot unfolds as per Verdi’s script.  Suddenly there is a commotion behind us.  Turning around I saw a line of riot police – not Egyptian but pretty Germanic looking, with shields, viziers .. They moved towards the audience sitting in the front row and proceeded to engage them with batons and shields, the audience fights back – at this point the main stage is not getting too much attention – and many end up in the cold lake.  So you have guessed, this was part of the performance. 

This production rather than staying with ‘we have done it this way for years and it was successful’ choose to combine the classic vision with a translation of the story into the modern world.  The result was an extremely rich production that in fact takes the audience beyond the beautiful music, costumes and stage to reflecting upon freedom of speech, action in our current world..

Taking this to our professional environment – the value of diversity, be it gender, generational, style can only add to the richness of a discussion or plan and impact the outcome.  When did you last really look at your team to see how diverse it is.  You know that if the team is not diverse, it will be easier to manage (the yes team) but you also know that a diverse team can be more chaotic, more creative, more impulsive but most importantly generally deliver a better outcome.  Note to self for tomorrow – check team composition!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle
Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:32:12 -0700 Rural Inclusiveness in Switzerland http://valeriegd.posterous.com/rural-inclusiveness-in-switzerland http://valeriegd.posterous.com/rural-inclusiveness-in-switzerland

Last week when on vacation in Ticino I was taking a morning hike while it was still cool.  It was an amazing morning, blue skies, almost nobody around – pretty normal for 1400m and the pleasant sound of Swiss cow bells.  As I turned a corner I realised that I was not the only person out there - the cows were also out for their morning constitutional – and were just as surprised to see me.  Now I had always assumed that cows are nice docile animals – a bit big but docile – wrong!  I was confronted by a very large fierce looking cow who glared at me.  I was about to bypass her when she actively blocked my path and looked even more furious.  A few seconds later the reason was obvious as a Disney like calf meandered into the picture, looked even more surprised, made cow like noises to Mama which roughly translated from Italian cowish to – Mom what the hell is she doing here!  This is our territory…

So strategic thinkers start working out their options – reverse, stand ground and pray or advance.  Being an animal lover I choose to reverse a bit and admire the flowers.  This allowed calf plus mama to put a distance between us and for them to continue their journey

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So what does this have to do with diversity and inclusion?  Think for a moment about your professional environments.  Well established professionals, who know the area, understand the rules of engagement; consider themselves owners of the area.  Add in a few new recruits or even other professionals - who look different – gender, race, age, you pick.  Could you imagine a scene like I just described?  Ask yourself how inclusive is your company and professional environment.  Do you glare at newcomers or welcome them…..   What can organisations and people do to be more inclusive?

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle
Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:48:52 -0700 Baby boomers are perceived as more expensive - yes if you just have the $$ filter on! http://valeriegd.posterous.com/baby-boomers-are-perceived-as-more-expensive http://valeriegd.posterous.com/baby-boomers-are-perceived-as-more-expensive

In the current economy, it is not so easy to predict what will happen next.   One thing is sure though, in a weak economy, companies will look at cutting costs and will use the situation to take a hard look at their resources and related costs. Baby boomers can become more vulnerable because more experienced associates tend to command higher salaries. So theoretically, a company looking at the bottom line may conclude that the best thing to do is cut the most expensive employees (C class excluded of course).

We all know the discussion - great guy but can he respond well to change or can he learn the 'new way'? How long more will she stay - she is a very keen golfer. He is so 'yesterday' always comments on new ideas with 'yes but'.... and they all cost so much - I could hire 2 youngsters for that salary.

 If you remove the $$$ filter, the experience, network and ability to call a spade a spade, i.e. the value that these associates bring, is considerable. Secondly has anyone asked the person in question - they may be avid golfers but may value working more or not really  be excited about staying at home full time just yet!

From the associates side - not always a bad thing to be downsized.  Gives you the opportunity to follow that dream that you always wanted to follow.  While an experienced and well connected 50+ tax consultant may be on the company hit list, clients of her new private company would probably be delighted to have such an experienced and well connected person!  And this gives her the opportunity to set up that exclusive catering service she has always wanted to do - on her terms and boy will those years of experience in finance help her. Get your life back in time and on your conditions!

So what do the companies and the associate need to do? How about TALK - discuss options such as reducing from 100% to 80% or even 60%, a sort of easing into retirement.  Consider assigning the baby boomers to key projects as senior coaches, the experience will be valuable.  Remove the perceived hurdles by ensuring that communication is clear around the value these associates have to offer so that projects and younger leaders consider them the latest 'must have' and once there will quickly understand the value.

It is clear that the Gen Yers will bring a fresh view and different skills but the underlying danger is group thinking from business school without experience.  That same risk is present with just baby boomers in the form of yesterday thinking - so out with the cocktail mixer and get the best of both  - bring them together and allow them to collaborate.

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Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:41:17 -0700 What blocks the team spirit in business? http://valeriegd.posterous.com/what-blocks-the-team-spirit-in-business http://valeriegd.posterous.com/what-blocks-the-team-spirit-in-business

The world cup is the key topic everywhere.  Although not really a football fan, I do like to watch top class sport - so sometimes end up watching a match.  As Ireland did not make it that far, I now back Switzerland and today they rattled quite some cages! An amazing victory over Spain – well done guys!

My company pulled out the stops – public viewing on campus!  With free beer and sausages (accompanies every good Swiss event) and plastic raincoats for those brave enough to not dive for cover from the rain.  But what was really interesting was the combination of senior leaders standing beside administrative staff, middle management, etc; Swiss, French, German and a big bunch of ex pats living and working in Switzerland; baby boomers, gen X, gen Y; male and female – the perfect diverse team all united in cheering on Switzerland (Hopp Schwyz!!!) with their bratwurst and bier – an amazing atmosphere!

The team are all Swiss nationals but if you look at the picture, a nice mix considering it is a male sport and for relatively young males.  In addition the trainer is German. 

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And the country has gone a bit mad as well; the two major supermarket chains were announcing since Tuesday that if Switzerland wins against Spain, Thursday is 10% discount of everything in the store.  A major hamburger chain is selling hamburgers for 1 CHF (normally 2.50) on each day the Swiss team are playing etc….

Now stop for a second and reflect on this – we can generate a real wining spirit regardless of hierarchy, gender, age or nationality for a football team – what stops us doing this in our daily business?  The hierarchy or culture? The lack of a common mission? Maybe lack of mission communication?  It is important to start addressing some of these not so obvious hurdles and leverage this energy to deliver amazing results.  

Lets start by being inclusive, then aligning the team behind a common goal (sorryJ) and pushing for diverse teams that reflect better the customer base.  We have a lot to learn from sports teams!

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Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:22:52 -0700 Reengaging the baby boomers http://valeriegd.posterous.com/reengaging-the-baby-boomers http://valeriegd.posterous.com/reengaging-the-baby-boomers

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting at a D&I Champions meeting on the topic of Generational diversity.  The room contained approximately 40 persons from many countries, male, female, gen y, x and baby boomers all united in their passion about diversity being important for business.  One of the challenges they had articulated was how to get to grips with this generational diversity!

I shared a great clip from you tube – best search engine - with some scary facts about the aging populations, decreasing number of youngsters in the workforce etc.  We moved on to discuss what events or technologies have shaped these different generations and more importantly what motivates them.  I don’t need to reiterate this all here as enough has been written about on this subject.  The big question that emerged is when are companies going to get the wake up call and understand that they have a sizable part of their workforce who hover around 50+ with an abundance of experience, an effective network and a lot of value to add to the organisations. 

Think of the opportunities that companies have with this particular segment – but to tap into these opportunities, they need to move beyond their current patterns of thinking.  Many companies engage external coaches for both new and experienced leaders, to coach, reorient etc.  In principle a good thing as frequently the external view is needed, but the possibility of using internal coaches for a part of this does not yet seem to be on their radar screens.  An immediate ROI when you consider how much money big organizations spend on external coaches in areas where the expertise is already available internally….  Consider using the experienced associates to support projects – not necessarily lead but to support new leaders, help them keep the project on track, identify key hurdles, and manage  those all important stakeholders.  

Do you know of any companies who do this? Would love to hear about them

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Sun, 30 May 2010 05:15:19 -0700 Peer mentoring http://valeriegd.posterous.com/peer-mentoring http://valeriegd.posterous.com/peer-mentoring

That last post got a good response via various channels – specifically peer mentoring so let’s continue the discussion.  Peer mentoring is in my view one of the richest sources of advice, counselling and support that you can get.  Your peers – be they in the same company even same department – will frequently have the ability to open your eyes to very different views.  No matter how objective we think we are, we have biases and preferences – moving away from these is important as it allows you to see the world differently.  Once your view of the world is altered, so are the issues and consequently the potential solutions.

Choice of a peer mentor is slightly different to the more ‘formal’ mentor and selecting peers that are different to you enriches the experience.  They can come from a much wider circle of colleagues or even family - be male / female, younger / same age group / older – same profession / different profession. The key is mutual empathy and trust - which is not on tap but needs time to develop.  With the right peer mentor you can openly discuss specific challenges that you have at any moment with your team or specific members of the team, chances are they have had similar situations.  They are great listeners when you have concerns about the progress of a specific project – you know the type - something is not quite right and you can’t put your finger on it, primarily because you are too close in many cases!  Use them as honest sounding boards for your career ideas. – does the direction make sense, is your current skill set sufficient, what gaps are there – and here very importantly if there are gaps, accept them as gaps and as a learning opportunity.  You hear time and again that females when considering a new position or career direction tend to think they need to be proficient in all the skills whereas our male colleagues have less hesitation going for it with 60-80% of the required skills – girls something to learn here!

Two of my best peer mentors are around my age, one male and one female.  My male peer knows me well as we had worked together for many years and we have a solid basis of trust, respect and empathy.  He is one of the few people from whom I can accept the unadorned truth and this because we shared so many experiences – both positive and negative.  My female peer comes from a very different culture and had transferred from the US to Switzerland. Coming to grips with a new business culture is not always so easy, so having lived in Switzerland for many years, I am able to help her understand specific aspects.  She helps me in that she is a fantastic listener and asks very direct questions so by talking I often realised I have my own solution, just needed to articulate it!  Really good peer mentors can easily become very good friends as the discussions move from work to family – how we raise our kids, realising our dreams and importantly Life Work balance – not everyone wants to be on call 24x7…. So reach out to those selected peers and tap into the depth of experience!

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Mon, 17 May 2010 12:38:45 -0700 Mentoring - why? And how to pick your mentor? http://valeriegd.posterous.com/mentoring-why-and-how-to-pick-your-mentor http://valeriegd.posterous.com/mentoring-why-and-how-to-pick-your-mentor

Almost every career book you pick up these days tells you that it is imperative to have a mentor! So many people run off and cop the best mentor they can find.  I often wonder - have they really thought about why they need a mentor and then importantly how to pick the right one.

Almost every organisation has a mentoring programme in place, many run centrally by HR or the specific function within the company.  This is a good start but in my opinion a staid and inflexible system.  Firstly the mentees and mentors don’t really get to choose each other but are ‘matched’ by a mentoring professional or company based upon some criteria.  This can work well but a mentor selected by the mentee for the right reasons will be so much more valuable.  So how to start I hear you say???  Easy…..

  1. Put a lot of thought into what you want from the mentor – career guidance?  Tapping into savvy political skills?  Links to other associates that will broaden your network?  A sounding board (truthful)?
  2. Draw up a short list of potential mentors and check their availability by asking around.  Chances are that the most prestigious mentors may already be overcommitted and may not have the time for you – not really achieving the objective… so do consider more broadly.
  3. Once you have selected the mentor, approach him/her with the rationale for why you want them as a mentor, accept that you as the mentee are responsible for running the programme i.e. setting appointments etc and go!
  4. If you have more than 1 clear objective from the mentoring – consider the possibility of having a second mentor.  This can be particularly beneficial if you are considering a move outside your current functional line or if there are more personal issues you feel more comfortable discussing with a person closer to you.
  5. If the mentoring relationship is not working – try to understand why and as appropriate, have the courage to say it and move onto the next mentor.  

In many organisations mentoring implies seniority – don’t get locked into this.  An incredibly rich source of advice is with your colleagues – so peer mentoring can work just as well and will further strengthen your network.  Last but not least, choose a mentor with whom you can share your dreams and concerns and also a good laugh.

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Fri, 14 May 2010 05:27:59 -0700 Diversity is the colour of the ties http://valeriegd.posterous.com/diversity-is-the-colour-of-the-ties http://valeriegd.posterous.com/diversity-is-the-colour-of-the-ties

Articulating the business case for diverse and inclusive teams seems pretty straight forward – everyone nods and agrees - but do we get the traction?  Prime example – newly minted Prime Minister David Cameron explaining to all UK citizens that this is new politics as he grins over at Nick (new best friend).  Talks at length about how the new politics will make a big difference. We are now going to form a new government, more importantly we are going to form a new kind of government. I hope this is the start of the new politics I have always believed in: diverse, plural, when politicians of different persuasions come together to overcome their differences in order to deliver a good government for the sake of the whole country.’

Sounds good so far – so let’s switch to the group photo – something not quite right?  You got it – a cabinet of 29 persons of whom 4 are women and a suspiciously high percentage of Caucasian males – so which bit of the diversity did David not get?  Or is Nick the diverse bit? 

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But seriously how can he talk about new politics when his new cabinet does not reflect the demographics of his country – I do think that there are more than 14% females in the UK.  

Businesses also have a similar problem - so to really get to a diverse and inclusive culture a different approach will be needed.  What is the correct approach? I don’t for a moment pretend to have the answers but I do know that we need to be prepared to take more risks and for Executive Teams to reflect their customers.  The colour of the ties is not enough diversity!

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Sun, 09 May 2010 09:17:34 -0700 Women are not the problem but the solution http://valeriegd.posterous.com/women-are-not-the-problem-but-the-solution-1 http://valeriegd.posterous.com/women-are-not-the-problem-but-the-solution-1

The Annual Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston last week was a first for me as I participated via live stream.  This is the 31st top notch conference which sets the standard for women's professional events.   It was inspiring to hear about the history and growth of the organization, and of course to hear the speakers.  The Keynote speaker was Sheryl WuDunn whose recent book 'Half the Sky' is a must read!  She deals with topics that need exposure in order to drive awareness and action.  Her key messages are consistent - educating girls is the best way to end poverty and gender inequality needs to be addressed– both key challenges for our century.


Educating women in countries struggling with poverty is beneficial not just to the young women but to the community.  She shared a story of Saima, a woman trying to make ends meet for her 2 daughters against the odds.  She had an unemployed husband who beat her regularly and a mother–in-law who encouraged her son to take a second wife to ensure he had a son – considered more valuable than a daughter as sons ensure the family income!  Saima joined a woman’s solidarity group who were linked to a Pakistani microfinance organization.  She borrowed 65$ to purchase material so she could create embroidery to sell at the local market.  Her work started to sell and she plowed the profits back into the business.  As demand increased, she started to employ neighbors and even her husband - so the entire community benefited.  This has changed her status in the family as she now ensures a steady income and manages the family finances. A key priority for her is ensuring the education of her 3 daughters so they  can be independent  - earn their own money - marry later- have less children and  so have an impact on an exploding populations. 

Gender inequity is also a big challenge.  There are more males than females in the world – somewhere between 60 and100 mio 'missing' females worldwide. In a situation with food scarcity, food goes to the males within a family as does the opportunity for education - discrimination within the family.  So what will happen to those young men who don’t find a partner and stability?

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Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:15:00 -0700 Being Inclusive - Linking Diversity and Inclusion with Community Partnership Day (CPD) http://valeriegd.posterous.com/being-inclusive-linking-diversity-and-inclusi http://valeriegd.posterous.com/being-inclusive-linking-diversity-and-inclusi

For the 14th year, my company Novartis held its annual Community Partnership Day (CPD) on April 21 and, for the second year, a team of 11 colleagues joined me in linking two key initiatives – Diversity and Inclusion and CPD - by working at Frauenhaus, the local Basel women’s shelter.  

The Frauenhaus provides a safe shelter for women and children who are victims of violence – physical, psychological, sexual and economic.  They are taken in with their children and given room and board. The Frauenhaus team supports them through the legal processes, provides basic necessities and gets them back on their feet.  One third of the women return to their marital homes, two thirds don’t.  The team works closely with the police and local social services, and relies in large part on sponsorship and donations to support its work. The inhabitants there are mostly non-Swiss who frequently do not speak German or English, requiring translators to hold the most basic discussions.  

At the Frauenhaus, part of our team did spring cleaning, helped build shelves and designed and completed photomontages in the main room and the offices without hammering our thumbs!. The remaining three members took the group of Frauenhaus women and their children to the Zürich zoo and luckily had a warm day with really blue skies.  With a small personal contribution we left behind several vases of flowers and some chocolates for the women and children in the shelter to enjoy.  The team are impressive in that they are so upbeat despite the tough work

It was a rewarding day and a real wakeup call for a lot of us. Many of the women at the shelter moved to Basel with their husbands for work and have no direct family members nearby. The Frauenhaus team makes a great contribution to our society - sad that it is needed - but good that they are there.  We have already agreed we will come back again next year to continue supporting them

Disclaimer: I work for Novartis. This post represent my own view and opinion and not necessarily that of my company.

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