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Organizational Icons as Symbols of Organizational Identity: Research paper

January 11, 2011

I was sending this paper off to some colleagues who are studying the role of symbols and organizational flourishing, and thought I’d post it here for the more academic readers…. just for fun. Making Use of Organizational Identity: Icons as symbolic identity proxies Abstract Organizational identities serve important functions for an organization’s members as a [...]

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SHE Should Talk At TED: 5 Ways to Get Started

December 7, 2010

Thanks so much to you readers who got in touch with me to share your ideas about a diversity & inclusion action plan for TED. I had the chance to fold some of these ideas into a live conversation with two of my favorite NYC feminists, Dr. Debra Condren and Gloria Feldt, and together we [...]

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What is an Authentic Organization?: An elevator speech

November 17, 2010

Last week I went to a program sponsored by the NYC chapter of GirlsInTech and directed towards (women) tech entrepreneurs and (potential) venture capital professionals. After the program, I had great conversation with some of the entrepreneurs about their ‘pitches’ — the 5 sentence elevator speeches that they give to convey the core idea of [...]

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For Diversity & Inclusion, Don’t Treat All Differences The Same

November 5, 2010

I’m troubled by a trend in the conversation about ‘diversity and inclusion’ in organizations. Some Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) consultants and conversations are beginning to treat all forms of difference as equally important. For example, differences in the gender, orientation, physical ability, or ethnicity of organization members are presented along with differences in cognitive styles, [...]

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Is your organization flourishing or withering?

September 22, 2010

Organizations are organic things — they are born, they die, they suffer and they thrive. But very few organizations flourish. Organizations that flourish are rare creatures. We find them where business goals are tied to larger purpose, where larger purpose is linked to community needs, and where individuals’ authentic selves are nourished by and engaged [...]

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Bob Sutton’s Good Boss, Bad Boss: A Review. Of the First Page.

September 1, 2010

Normally, I am obsessive when I write book reviews. Reviewing other scholars’ books is a professional responsibility that I take seriously. I try to give each book a thoughtful, thorough reading, which requires several passes through the book with post-its and a pencil, and usually results in a long, dense analysis like this one. Which [...]

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Target: Why Organizations Should Boycott Target but Individuals Shouldn’t Bother

August 26, 2010

I’m a supporter of LGBTQx rights and of organizational diversity. As an individual, I’m not likely to do much to boycott Target in response to Target’s $150,00 contribution to an anti-gay, pro-bigotry gubernatorial candidate. But, if I were Target’s business customer, business supplier, stakeholder, or other important large stakeholder, I would make a bit deal [...]

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Four Work-Life Challenges That Can Be Especially Difficult For Women of Color

August 19, 2010

A key premise of taking an explicitly inclusive approach to work-life issues is that people of different gender, social, cultural and racio-ethnic groups experience work-life challenges specific to their group. In my overview of research on work-life issues for women of color (see citation below), I’ve identified four types of work life challenges that can [...]

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Work-Life Solutions and Important Differences: Let’s get inclusive

August 17, 2010

Work-life issues are important to everyone, but not everyone has the same kinds of work-life challenges. Even though we know we are not all the same in our work life challenges , it’s been hard to include more than a generalized “everyone” in the conversation. Because work-life advocates often find ourselves struggling with pretty basic [...]

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BlogHer’s Bright, Shiny Secret

August 3, 2010

Many conferences have a quiet, dark secret. The folks attending share some longing yet to be fulfilled, some disappointments buried deep, some ideas that will never become actions. Many professional conferences (like the one I’m skipping this weekend) are marked by a faint whisper of “you’re not good enough” to be here, giving a presentation, [...]

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