Organizational Leadership Flashcards

What is the MOST effective first step when a diversity executive meets strong resistance from middle managers to a new inclusion initiative?

Answer: Find the sources of resistance through dialogue and involve managers in shaping the solution

Understanding concerns and involving people in designing the change reduces resistance and builds ownership.

Which governance structure typically sets enterprise-wide DEI priorities and includes senior leaders from across business functions?

Answer: An executive diversity council

Executive diversity councils bring senior cross-functional leaders together to set strategy and hold the organization accountable.

Transactional leadership relies MOST heavily on which mechanism?

Answer: Contingent rewards and corrective action

Transactional leaders exchange rewards for performance and step in when standards are not met.

A leader regularly asks quieter team members for input, credits ideas to the people who came up with them, and admits their own blind spots. These behaviors BEST show what?

Answer: Inclusive leadership

Inviting input, giving fair credit, and showing humility are hallmarks of inclusive leadership.

Which term describes a leader's tendency to favor people who share their background, interests, or demographics?

Answer: Affinity bias

Affinity bias leads people to prefer others who seem similar to themselves, which can skew promotions and assignments.

When presenting the business case for DEI to a board of directors, which evidence is MOST persuasive?

Answer: Data linking DEI to the organization's own outcomes, such as retention, innovation, and market growth

Boards respond best to organization-specific data that ties DEI to strategic and financial results.

A 'broken rung' in the career pipeline most often refers to which barrier?

Answer: The first promotion from entry level to manager, where women are disproportionately left behind

McKinsey and LeanIn.Org's Women in the Workplace research identifies the first step up to manager as the broken rung.