I have lived a privileged life. I am the son of a famous sportswriter, Gene Ward, who wrote for the NY Daily News and was syndicated by the Chicago Tribune and on TV and radio. So, as a kid, because my dad was interviewing famous sports stars, I got to meet some of my cherished childhood heroes including Arthur Ashe, the Stanley-Cup-Winning team members of the New York Islanders hockey team (4x in a row!), and someone who made a profound difference in my life, the great Muhammad Ali.
Then, when I became a professional journalist myself in the UK working on the European “culture and arts” beat, I was privileged to interview some amazing stars of screen and stage including Glenda Jackson, Linda Hunt, and the outrageously funny and profane comedian Billy Connolly.
Fast forward to my work in Respectful Leadership over the past 25+ years; every now and then I get the privilege to spend time with and even interview some amazing people in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion world. This is one of the two professional tribes I’m most proud of being a part of and most comfortable with (the other being the Executive Coach tribe).
Recently I was invited to conduct a public interview (at an executive DE&I/L&D conference in Atlanta – expertly produced by the Opal Group) with Lori George Billingsley, the Global Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for The Coca-Cola Company.
Lori is famous in the DE&I world, and is an amazing, highly accomplished, and all-round terrific human being. In addition to her exemplary work at Coca-Cola, she is the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and she serves on several boards, including Pioneer Natural Resources, the NAACP Foundation, ColorComm, The Coca-Cola Foundation and Howard University School of Communications Board of Visitors (she’s an alum).
During the interview, she repeatedly displayed her enormous breadth of experience and knowledge, while being completely down-to-earth, candid, profoundly moving, and even funny. It was an extraordinary privilege to interview her in front of top DE&I leaders and senior executives, and one of the absolute highlights of my professional life.
Here’s my paraphrased summary of some of the key points she made during the interview…
On the Diversity Conversation in America:
In the US, we tend to think and talk about diversity in terms of race; the rest of the world doesn’t necessarily do this. Global companies need to bear this in mind when responding and speaking out on current events. Sometimes we need to speak with one global voice, other times with a regional (such as North American) voice, and still other times locally (such as Atlanta, where Coca-Cola is headquartered). This can be complex and challenging; so, having senior leaders who truly care about DE&I – as we do at Coca-Cola – is really helpful.
On Leading Corporate DE&I Initiatives:
In many companies, DE&I efforts are led by a department of one or maybe two, and that can feel very lonely. It’s imperative to remember that you are not alone; that there are highly experienced and knowledgeable colleagues all over the world (some of whom are attending this conference) who stand ready to help and support you. Find them, reach out to them, ask for their help – they will step up, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
On Getting Your Leadership to Step Up:
You cannot drive meaningful organizational change alone, especially without support from the C-Suite and your Board of Directors. So, you need to find DE&I champions, people at the top of the organization who are willing to not only speak up about the importance of the work you do, but who are also willing to support your efforts consistently with money and resources. Do you have to enroll them with the “business case” for DE&I? Yes, you do. But the moral, decency, and respect arguments supporting DE&I are equally important. Sometimes you’ll find support from people you don’t expect to have a passion for this work. Be fearless in finding them.
On Ensuring Managers Support Your DE&I Goals:
It’s one thing to talk about how important our corporate DE&I goals are to our business success. It’s a whole different thing to hold folks accountable for helping us meet those goals. Recently, with the encouragement of our CEO – who is very passionate about DE&I – we at Coca-Cola have agreed to start tying executive compensation to our DE&I metrics. That’s a big deal.
These are just a few of the terrific things Lori talked about during the interview. She also announced that she’s writing a book about this work. I can’t wait to read it.
And, as we concluded, she shook my hand and turned to the audience saying, “Read his book!” How cool is that?!
Thank you, Lori George Billingsley, it was an honor and a privilege!
