EXECUTIVE LEVEL EQUAL OPPORTUNITY SEMINARS
What, if anything, is different about training senior level executives? We believe that effective senior leader training focuses on the strategic nature of issues as they affect the organization, rather than on subject matter learning. In line with this thinking, PFA Consulting has developed a comprehensive training program for senior level executives to address the challenges of workplace diversity in the 21st century.

It is widely understood that the workforce is becoming increasingly diverse. The most recent U.S. Census data indicates that the population is moving from nearly three-quarters non-Hispanic White in 1995, to a projected 64 percent in 2020 and 53 percent in 2050. The race/ethnic groups with the highest rates of increase are of Hispanic-origin and the Asian and Pacific Islander populations. Every year from now to 2050, the race/ethnic group adding the largest number of people is the Hispanic population. By the middle of the next century, the Black population is expected to double and by the year 2030, the non-Hispanic White population will be less than half the U.S. population under age 18. Add to this the increasing diversity in religious groups, greater access to employment for those with disabilities and an older workforce.

Senior leaders are concerned about demographic disparities and their impact on competitiveness in the global environment. PFA Consulting has developed a Seminar to facilitate an executive-level discussion of the strategic issues of diversity. Using a three-phased approach of awareness, understanding and commitment, participants review, define and examine current equal employment opportunity (EEO) issues and their impact on their organization. The stated objective is to seize and hold the EEO initiative and earn the trust and support of the marketplace.

The desired Seminar outcomes are fourfold: Participants revisit their awareness of the individual, social and institutional bases of bias and discrimination; participants understand the strategic impact of EEO issues on their organization; participants explore leadership strategies and tools that allow them to seize and hold the initiative in EEO matters and participants demonstrate commitment by preparing a Strategic Equal Opportunity Action Plan to guide their leadership actions.

The Seminar format is a study group charged with preparing an EEO Strategic Action Plan for their CEO. The study group begins with a review of organizational issues and demographics. This is the "Report Card" of status quo and the issues that currently command attention. The study group then has an opportunity to discuss these issues in facilitated small group discussions. These discussions are designed to draw out additional issues as seen from the participants' perspective in the field. The thrust of the discussion is to identify those issues that have a strategic impact on their organization.

Using small group exercises, brief video clips and facilitated discussions, participants are exposed to and reminded of the emotional elements of equal opportunity and discrimination. This awareness phase is important in sensitizing the participants to the experiences of others who may not look like them or enjoy their status in the organization. The participants review the roots of their perception of others, when and how their values were set and how their values affect judgment, decision-making, and behavior. An important discussion point is the impact of stress on individual and organizational values. Participants are reminded of the effect perceptions may have on their ability to lead diverse organizations. The participants discuss how to "break the silence" and address the differences that divide individuals and organizations.

During the second phase of the Seminar, participants develop an understanding of the strategic impact of equal opportunity on their organization. They are presented with leadership strategies and tools that will allow them to seize and hold the initiative in EEO matters. Corporate cross talk and best practices taken from a variety of organizations are presented for discussion. Participants discuss cost considerations, management tools and how to use leading and lagging indicators of EEO performance to lead their organizations. The issues developed by the group are tested against various strategies. Risk management provides a methodology for prioritizing EEO leadership attention. Participants are encouraged to share success stories as well as failures.

In phase three, the participants demonstrate commitment by preparing an EEO action plan to guide their leadership actions and make recommendations for action to their CEO. This plan is developed through small group activity and briefed to a senior management official. The briefing draws together the elements of the small group discussion with a consensus plan for action. A successful plan goes beyond individual action to focus on the strategies required as an organization, to effect the changes needed to maintain global competitiveness in the decades to come.

The result of the Seminar is experiential learning with the goal of understanding the key issues and the specific actions that must be taken to effect change. It is the strategic focus on the organization and the development of issues from multiple perspectives that make the outcome valuable to the participants and the organization.