In The Business of WE (HarperCollins Leadership; January 12, 2021), Laura Kriska presents a practical roadmap for building cohesive, high-performing teams, regardless of members’ differences. Drawing on her decades of international experience as a cross-cultural consultant, Kriska shares her unique mindset and proven method: WE-building. As the author impresses on every business leader, successful WE-building begins by seeing and naming differences in your organization and then acknowledging your own role in Us versus Them dynamics.
“Us” refers to members of what Kriska calls the home team: the homogenous group in power whose norms become the standard by which all people in the organization are measured. Leadership in many organizations is made up of people who belong to the home team and who themselves are the product of a generation taught to be color-blind and culture-silent. The legal landscape is riddled with costly penalties for the smallest mistakes, which leaves many leaders confused about how to navigate this critical issue. Instead of engaging in honest self-assessment, many view diversity as a risk to be avoided with the help of lawyers. In contrast, WE-builders see differences as real, predictable, and an opportunity to learn and expand—and work to close any gap between people who are separated by ethnicity, language, race, religion, or any factor that divides.
“When people work together across differences and take action to close gaps, amazing things can result,” Kriska attests. “But skills among those on the home team to see and to recognize differences elude many people, including leaders. Knowing how to close gaps remains a mystery to many of us.”
Offering more than a fresh perspective, The Business of WE provides a practical three-step process for closing any gap that gets in the way of people’s ability to communicate, collaborate with, and trust one another: #1: Foster Awareness #2: Self-Assess #3. Take Action
While the process is simple, applying it to achieve real and lasting change requires time and effort, commitment and accountability. To light the way, Kriska shares stories of wide-ranging companies that significantly improved innovation and productivity, reduced supplier costs, and increased profits all because leaders and employees from different backgrounds closed Us versus Them gaps. Among many eye-opening insights and effective strategies, readers will learn:
- A quick and effective way for anyone to measure their own level of engagement with any ‘them’ culture.
- How to effectively repair division without spending a dime
- How to recognize warning signs of Us versus Them gaps, from derogatory comments about a specific group to unspoken divisions reflected by where people sit or hang out.
- How to proactively create opportunities for individuals to discover existing common factors and sponsor experiences that become shared factors among diverse employees and create unity within organizations.
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a contentious Presidential election, people across a diversity of geographies, ethnicities, races, genders, generations, faiths, and political views have to work exceptionally well together for the sake of not only economic recovery but America’s future. Inspiring, pragmatic, and packed with helpful examples and tools, The Business of WE is an indispensable guide to start us moving forward.
