{"id":86014,"date":"2022-05-06T15:22:38","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T13:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bbs.unibo.it\/?p=86014"},"modified":"2022-05-06T15:22:38","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T13:22:38","slug":"leadership-talks-leading-the-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-challenge-in-the-wine-industry-by-sarah-bettman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bbs.unibo.it\/en\/leadership-talks-leading-the-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-challenge-in-the-wine-industry-by-sarah-bettman\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership Talks | \u201cLeading the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Challenge in the Wine Industry\u201d by Sarah Bettman"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Meredith G. Williford – Global MBA Student and Board Member of the BBS Alumni Association <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Actions related to <\/span>workforce diversity, and cultural inclusion in the workplace <\/b>don\u2019t always have the desired outcomes. On one hand, addressing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) can be powerful tool for socio-economic inclusion, talent attraction and marketing multiplication (see Nike\u2019s 30<\/span>th<\/span> Anniversary <\/span>Just Do It Campaign<\/span><\/i>), while in other instances, it can suffer the rebuke of \u201cdiversity washing\u201d and erode the corporate brand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With these polarized precedents, it\u2019s no surprise to find that many leaders are <\/span>hesitant <\/span><\/i>to act on DEI.\u00a0 The path to action is riddled with <\/span>challenges<\/b>. These challenges are not isolated to any specific sector, and certainly not reserved for the Nike\u2019s of the world. Take, for example, <\/span>the Italian wine sector<\/b>.\u00a0 It leads in strategic importance for the overall Italian agri-food system and its competitive positioning globally. It is overwhelmingly marked by SMEs, with 40 out of 157,000 grape-growers holding approximately half of the sector\u2019s turnover.\u00a0 For these SMEs, the process by which they meet their social responsibility goals is informal, <\/span>not yet <\/span><\/i>governed by the limited CSR regulation; however they are not impervious to the social consciousness of employees and consumers.\u00a0 Knowing this, leaders are joining multinational companies in asking \u201chow is DEI relevant to us?\u201d, \u201cwhat do we need to do?\u201d and \u201chow do we get it right?\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah Bettman, <\/b>Principal of <\/span>Sarah Bettman Consulting<\/b>, addressed this question in her recent talk at Bologna Business School. This is not an easy subject to tackle, but Sarah has committed much of her life to coaching leaders, and guiding companies along the journey of defining their relationships with DEI.\u00a0 Her consulting experience spans the industrial landscape.\u00a0 She crafted the DEI program from scratch for one of the largest producers and importers of alcohol globally,<\/span> Constellation Brands<\/b>, meanwhile addressing organizational culture imperatives of its individual brands. She is uniquely positioned to speak on many of the challenges that are most pertinent to social responsibility in Italy today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah focused the lens on the Italian wine industry by highlighting both transversal and unique DEI challenges.\u00a0 The central challenge for companies is balancing the urge to act, and the need for clear strategy.\u00a0 When companies act without a clear strategy, and attempt act on diversity, inclusion and equity contemporaneously, they are more likely to take a misstep. Instead, companies that are at the outset of the journey with DEI should plan to dedicate 3-5 years to addressing diversity and inclusion and gradually add in equity, because of the deep structural challenges associated with it.\u00a0 With this as a backdrop, Sarah further organized the field into<\/span> five challenges<\/b> and shared insights on how they can be addressed:<\/span><\/p>\n

THE CHALLENGES<\/b><\/p>\n

Challenge One | Managing Talent is More Complex Than Hiring<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

According to a recent study, 62% of European organizations devote their efforts to hiring and retention; however, managing talent and cultivating diversity and inclusion within a company is more complex than this.\u00a0 In the wine sector, the talent pool itself is constricted by transversal barriers to entry, but also unique barriers to entry.\u00a0 For example, there are significant barriers to entry for women and people of colour, a transversal issue for US and European companies.\u00a0 Another complexity is limited mobility from vineyards and retail to other parts of the business.\u00a0 Finally, accessing employment in the wine industry can be very expensive and tied to certifications that are socioeconomically untenable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Companies should consider how they move people who are already committed to our brand into the business and create pathways for people to grow and learn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenge Two | What Does it Even Mean to Have an Inclusive Culture?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In many cases, leaders believe that they and their businesses are inclusive, but the frame of reference is very narrow.\u00a0 So, how do we define inclusive culture?\u00a0 Sarah highlighted that even in the 36% of European organizations devote efforts to creating an inclusive culture, leadership often have a more optimistic perception of the company culture than others within the company.\u00a0 This gap is driven by deeply cultural, power and systemic dynamics, and requires that companies examine the culture in which their\u2019 labor force is situated, the power dynamics, and the dimensions that render our \u201cinclusive\u201d cultures \u201cexclusive\u201d.\u00a0 Given the complexity, Sarah recommends that one way to address this challenge is to ensure that <\/span>change management experts <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>change management tools<\/span><\/i> feature prominently at all levels of DEI development and implementation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenge Three | Lack of Leadership Ability to Lead DEI Initiatives<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t fix what we can\u2019t see\u201d, explained Sarah.\u00a0 Leaders of inclusive organizations must have the curiosity and will to expand their frames of reference so that they can identify and validate the diversity of experience across the workforce. When leaders can see what the majority or privileged groups are, who the minority groups are, and how they maintain they contribute to non-inclusive culture. On the ground, this looks like seeing minority groups and understanding their challenges at the moment, so that they can ask the right questions, and anticipate and respond to needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenge Four | Business Challenges in the Global Marketplace<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

One of the biggest challenges for DEI as a discipline is that there are varying measures for success and no uniformity of practice standards. Likewise, how it interacts with ESG, for which agreed upon and uniform standards are very limited. As a result, companies are left to define success on their own or in partnership with similar organizations (such as consortia, in the case of Italian wine production). With this in mind, Sarah explains that it\u2019s okay for leaders and their companies to have a point of view and ambition for DEI, while they strategically plan for CSR and ESG frameworks to formalize an<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenge 5 | Lack of Corporate Point of View<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Finally, perhaps the most critical of the challenges is the absence of a real corporate point of view on DEI.\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 According to Sarah, the corporate point of view emerges from <\/span>corporate<\/b> values<\/b>. If companies stand on their values, they can respond to external challenges with integrity and authenticity.\u00a0 In short, companies should \u201cstart with where they stand\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVE IN ORGANIZATIONS<\/b><\/p>\n

To activate cultures of inclusion, strong and cohesive leadership is essential.\u00a0 Sarah defined several leadership imperatives for organizations:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Imperative One | Strategy –<\/i><\/b> For successful, sustainable and meaningful action on DEI, organizations should focus their efforts on business strategy, mission and values.\u00a0 <\/b>Leaders must align their values and brand promise to define what \u201cinclusive culture\u201d looks like in their organizations. Once that vision is established, they can chart the strategy required to get there. As Sarah says, \u201cstart with where you stand\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imperative Two | Leadership – Companies must invest resources in the development of leaders.\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>Companies must tangibly prioritize the identification and development of leaders who will role model and promote the behaviors that reflect its values and diffuse the culture of inclusion. Enabling and upskilling current leaders, and promoting, hiring and developing new leaders requires time, investment, and often, changes in the make-up of leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imperative Three | Change Agents – <\/i><\/b>Organizations must carefully select who is responsible and accountable for driving DEI strategy and initiatives.\u00a0 <\/b>This is where we should all take a pause.\u00a0 If an organization in which senior management is made up entirely of the group with the most power (in Italian wine, this is white, Italian men), is it appropriate for an organization to ask someone from the group with the least power to be responsible for <\/span>driving change? <\/span><\/i>Most often the answer is \u201cno\u201d, because generally, those with the least power have the least influence. Instead of asking underrepresented groups to drive strategy, organizations might focus on embedding inclusive leadership and allyship behaviors across its leadership and holding it accountable for listening to and executing the recommendations from minority groups to drive change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imperative Four | Define & Hold Accountable –<\/i><\/b>\u00a0 Define what success looks like and hold ourselves, our teams and our organizations accountable for achieving that success.<\/b>\u00a0 As Sarah said, \u201cthat which we permit, we promote\u201d. To lead DEI, we must define our standards and hold one another accountable. To do this, we can ask ourselves \u201cwhat behaviours would make an incredibly inclusive experience within my team(s)\u201d, and \u201chow do we create ground rules that we follow and to which we can hold one another accountable\u201d. We should answer these questions, operationalize the standards within our teams, and then take the best of those into interactions with other teams.\u00a0 Through this standard-setting and accountability promise, we can diffuse change throughout our organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEADERSHIP, WHERE TO START<\/b><\/p>\n

Sarah\u2019s final contribution was a reflection on our individual responsibility, as leaders, to define our relationship to diversity, equity and inclusion. How do we, individually, develop a mindset and behaviours that amount to unlocking our ability to lead inclusively and create cultures that are inclusive for ourselves? After all, our frame of reference always starts with the self, and that is exactly where we should start.\u00a0 She coached students on how to approach this reflection, and provided some guiding questions for leaders:<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection One | What is my individual context?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

According to a recent McKinsey study cited during the talk, the <\/span>cognitive ability<\/b> to understand one\u2019s own biases, adopt different perspectives, listen actively and ask the right questions are foundational skills for successful participation in the<\/span> future of work<\/b>.\u00a0 Likewise, the <\/span>interpersonal ability<\/b> to foster inclusiveness, role model valued behaviors, and develop relationships based, in part, on humility and empathy are essential.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many ways to arrive at these abilities, and Sarah recommended that leaders start with guiding reflections, such as:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n