Dr Patricia Anderson On How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line

An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis

Ask employees to write their own vision statements to support the organization’s vision.

As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Patricia Anderson.

Dr. Anderson is a professor at the Forbes School of Business and Technology with more than 20 years of experience in executive leadership and business. She has combined years of extensive behavioral research with her proven abilities to manage complexity, volatility, and ambiguity in the realm of leadership, to become a leading expert in Authentic Transformational Leadership (ATL). Dr. Anderson’s mission with ATL is to position leaders and businesses to create people-powered, future-proof solutions and sustainable success through authenticity, transparency, and mutual real-time accountability.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?

I graduated from high school at 16, unsure of which career path to take so “I joined the Army to see the world,” where I began to work with technology. After my tenure, I studied Computer Science and supported organizations (country clubs, advertising agencies) and their vertical markets with technological implementations. After a few years, I decided to return to school to study business, while concurrently working in management at General Electric. Shortly after receiving my MBA in MIS and International Business, I started a technology consulting business. What surprised me during my tenure in technological studies and work was the lack of female representation in that field. My organization went through transformation and became a business consulting firm that enabled organizations like AT&T to operationalize their technology and employee wellness vision. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to study Transformational Leadership in a doctoral program and embarked on a path to “transform the world — one leader at a time.”

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

The day I left General Electric to start my business, I had my business cards in hand in less than 24 hours; shout out to Kinkos! In trying to come up with a catchy name; I leaned into a television commercial about dog food that featured Kibbles ‘n Bits; so I wanted to name my company Cables ‘n Chips. I thought it was cute, however, the quickly formed focus group did not! Looking back, the takeaway was that it is important to solicit feedback, nonetheless, disruptors sometimes take risks that do not allow for vetting — knowing when to do what is key.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?

“Be yourself, everyone else is taken.” Although mentors are helpful; it is important to emulate and not duplicate them. In my first management position (right after college) I did not understand how to manage so I mirrored what I saw other managers do. I remember connecting to one of my reports who was noticeably upset by the style I expressed. I immediately knew not to practice that style of management.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?

My mother, Hyacinth, is one of my mentors. Despite the complexities of what I encounter in my career, she provides simple words of advice that work every time. She is that solid rock that is supportive, and at times provides a space to sit on, and just be.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

In the mission to “transform the world — one leader at a time.” I have to begin within and model the behavior that I prescribe; experience is the best teacher. As a life-long learner, I look to best practices and evidence-based research to hone my leadership practices. People need opportunities to thrive and grow; too often we look for a one-to-one correlation of their experience to our requirements. Hiring someone who is adaptable and has a great attitude is how I approach engagement and have found it to be spot on each time. Not only do these individuals appreciate it and work even harder, but you are also authenticating their worth upfront. Most of the talent that I have engaged are individuals who themselves become Authentic Transformational Leaders. Finally, women in leadership, inclusive workspaces, and leading in the metaverse position organizations to lead with intent.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?

My new book on Authentic Transformational Leadership is currently being edited for publishing. In the book, different leadership styles are presented, along with the history of effective and ineffective outcomes. Leaders are provided with 5 creeds to sustain their ATL behavior and are given a playbook of how to lead during disruption, engage their workforce, and position their stakeholders to thrive. In the book, I reposition many of the tried and true tools in fresh and innovative ways that help leaders adopt better practices. A deep dive into the differences between change and transformation is also explored. Women in leadership, inclusive workspaces, and leading in the metaverse are timely topics that are discussed in order to position organizations to lead with intent for now and for the future. Finally, I share the results of the case study on Authentic Transformational leadership and Pseudo Transformational Leadership.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

In my Authentic Transformational Leadership practices, workshops, seminars, and coaching, I have endeavored to “transform the world — one leader at a time.” The immediate application of knowledge to real-world experience is evidenced as leaders are first transformed and their stakeholders follow suit. This Mobius strip-like transformation is awesome to experience and motivates and charges me to do more.

Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line. (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Your leadership diversity should reflect the diversity of your workforce. Do your employees see themselves in your executive leadership? Executive board? Senior Leadership positions? Chances are if they do not, they are less engaged, productive, loyal, etc.
2. Walk the DEIA talk. Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. Accessibility. All should be sitting in the C-Suite replete with budget, resources, and support.
3. Stop asking systematically disenfranchised individuals to solve the diversity problem. Step up and model the example of true diversity. Respectfully challenge leaders who shift the responsibility (and it is weighty) of systemic racism to a person of color to head the effort. This sends the wrong message that the injured parties should solve the problem of their inequity.
4. The lack of diversity leaves unexplored opportunities, innovation, and experiences on the table. The collective mindshare of diversity drives sales, profits, and overall success.
5. Job descriptions should be gender and age-agnostic. Companies sometimes favor younger talent since it is less costly for them, however, experienced employees bring experiences from other organizations to deliver proven results.

What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?

1. Use Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to gauge their engagement. There is a positive correlation between the employee’s needs being met and their level of engagement.
2. Allow the “whole person” to show up, and provide guidance and assistance as appropriate.
3. Ask employees to write their own vision statements to support the organization’s vision.
4. Lean into the “individual consideration” aspect of Authentic Transformational Leadership. Position your EQ to really hear their concerns and ideas.
5. Consider offering unlimited PTO. Trust employees to cover their responsibilities in their absence.

What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?

1. Lean into the “intellectual stimulation” aspects of Authentic Transformational Leadership. Encourage collaboration, innovation, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
2. Invest in self-managed teams. These teams require little management. Give them their marching orders, and the tools to support them. Provide air cover as necessary.
3. Recognize and reward innovation.
4. Invest in new hires as well as tenured employees. New hires can thrive in large teams with coaching from tenured employees.
5. Allow the team to solve the team’s problems (they’re the closest to it.) Intervene only when absolutely necessary.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this :-)

Elon Musk. His journey fascinates me; his triumph in spite of life-altering events, and his outlook on the future are inspiring.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

DrPatriciaAnderson.com

Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.

Thank you and the same to you!