Authenticity and Intentionality: Excerpts from Fortune’s Global Forum panel, The Inclusion Imperative

Heidrick & Struggles was a proud partner of the 2020 Fortune Global Forum, which took place virtually from October 26–27, 2020. The annual forum brought together the leaders of the world’s biggest corporations—the Fortune Global 500—with innovators, builders, and other selected experts to explore the key issues shaping global business.

This year, Heidrick & Struggles hosted a panel titled “The Inclusion Imperative.” Lyndon Taylor, managing partner of Heidrick & Struggles’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Practice and a member of the firm’s CEO & Board and Financial Services practices, joined the discussion as a distinguished panelist.

In this excerpt from the panel, Taylor talks about what this moment means for him, what his clients need right now, and about the importance of showing up as his full and authentic self. He explains that after many years, he realized he was “putting aside his blackness,” in his professional life, wearing a mask, but that he would be a more effective and authentic leader if he was able to show up and be very genuine. Organizations across the spectrum, he says, are recognizing a similar thing—that they cannot ask their employees to separate who they are and where they work; that if they want value from their people, they must foster a diverse and inclusive environment, which includes teaching their leaders be inclusive as an important part of leadership development. Taylor discusses how to operationalize self-reflection—that training leaders to lead and helping leaders and organizations be both well-intentioned and intentional requires a framework for the D&I discussion and metrics for measuring where each leaders is and progress as he or she may make it—as well as how creating a road map or strategy around diversity involves linking it to the organization’s overall talent strategy and impact.

Panelists

• Lyndon Taylor (ltaylor@heidrick.com), Managing Partner of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Practice, Heidrick & Struggles
• Ken Barrett, Global Chief Diversity Officer, General Motors
• Vernā Myers, Vice President of Inclusion Strategy, Netflix
• Nzinga Shaw, former Global Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer, Starbucks
• Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri, Partner and Chief Human Resources Officer, TPG

Moderator

Ellen McGirt, Senior Editor, Fortune; Editor, RaceAhead