[The Manage IT Newsletter]

The focus topic in this issue is the effective management of a diverse workforce.

Welcome to this months issue of the "Manage IT Newsletter." This monthly publication is dedicated to helping IT managers enjoy a richer career experience so they can reach their full potential.

The readership of this newsletter continues to grow as a result of reader referrals. Please continue to share this newsletter with your network, friends and colleagues. If you are an HR professional, an IT manager or a senior IT executive, please pass a copy of this newsletter on to your team members and peers. All who register will receive the TIPS FOR DRIVING PEAK PERFORMANCE seven-day email seminar, access to a rich library of IT management articles and reports, a copy of the Manage IT ebook and the Hiring Strategies audio program, plus more. In total this is an offer valued at over $1,000, which they get absolutely free. (This is especially valuable in light of how constrained training budgets are these days). A FREE subscription is available by sending a blank email to:
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With warmest regards, Joe Santana,
Co-author Manage IT
http://www.manageitbook.com

***************************In this Issue ****************************
* Focus Topic - Effective Management In a Diverse Workplace
* IT Management News & Trends
* Free Gift of the Month: Tool for distinguishing requirements, impediments and preferences
* Closing Comments and Announcements
*********************************************************************

--------------------------- Focus Topic -----------------------------
The ability to manage within the framework of a diverse workplace today is rapidly becoming as much of a key success requirement as knowing how to manage projects. Even if your company is not listed among the top forerunners in Diversity Inc. Magazine, the results of an increasingly diverse workplace and marketplace is without question impacting you and your organization. Here are just a few of the factors that are creating change even in the most diversity-passive companies:

* Affirmative Action Policies
* Demographic Shifts
* Marketplace forces
* More cross-functional and global work environments
* The replacement of "melting-pot" acceptance with the desire to be part of a mosaic. While people are still willing to make some concessions and trade offs, they've place a greater limit on how far they are willing to go.

For companies these forces could result in huge losses or great opportunities. In the absence of managers developing effective skills to manage a diverse workforce, the results can be increased disengagement, burnout and turnover. Recruiting dollars spent to attract and bring in employees from under-represented groups may increase as a result of hiring replacements in order to sustain, "the representation numbers." Al Smith, President of AA Smith & Associates, calls this "the Frustrating Cycle" or employee churn. "In the Frustrating Cycle, companies can spend ever-increasing amounts of money and experience diminishing productivity when the focus is only on creating greater representation," states Smith.

"On the other side of the coin companies that successfully leverage the distinct and rich talents, skills and knowledge of all employees will not only avoid these drains on profitability, they will actually attain a number of strategic benefits" says Linda Stokes, PRISM International, Inc. (http://www.prismdiversity.com). By effectively harnessing the different perspectives and talents of a diverse workforce, these skilled managers' help their companies to differentiate and produce results that are superior to any that could come from the collective efforts of a more homogenous group.

In fact, in recognition of the value of effectively harnessing the full capabilities of a diverse workforce by some major Fortune 500 companies in the IT consulting space, they've hired consultants, such as William Arruda (www.reachcc.com), a well known Personal Branding guru, to help their employees to identify what makes them unique or in over words diverse relative to other team members. "Tapping into diversity is ESSENTIAL for success in the technology business," States Arruda. "Diversity breeds creativity and creativity drives innovation. To be successful in the IT business, your people need to be able to innovate so that you can remain differentiated from the competition - otherwise your company becomes a collection of 'commoditized' people that produce 'commoditized' products and services" he adds.

So, how can IT managers become more effective diversity managers?
Where do you begin? Here are six quick steps you can immediately take to become a better diversity manager:

1. Become more open, aware and understanding of the viewpoints of others. Start by acknowledging your own biases (By the way women and people of color also have biases to acknowledge). Develop an open mind to different approaches. There are many roads that lead to the same place. Many times one person will approach their work in a totally different way from what their manager deems right and arrive at the same if not a better result due to their own unique set of talents and experience. Remember that different from you and I is not necessarily a bad thing.

2. Differentiate between work requirements, work impediments and personal preferences that do not impact work. Work requirements are specific behaviors that support the goals of the business and are therefore needed from team members to succeed. Work impediments are behaviors that serve as obstacles to achieving the vision and goals of the team and company. Non-impacting preferences, on the other hand, are behaviors that we may like to see in others and/or that make us feel more comfortable, but do not directly impact the achievement of business vision and goals.

3. Focus behavior standardization efforts on work requirements. Demand adherence to the behaviors that are deemed requirements for success in the workplace.

4. Reject work impediments. Any behavior that interferes with achieving the mission and vision of the company and team must be rejected.

5. Be flexible in the area of non-impacting preferences. If a behavior does not impact the achievement of the business goal in a negative way, be open to accepting it even if it is not a behavior you would personally practice.

6. Seek to obtain the skills and tools you need to be effective in today's diverse workplace. Linda Stokes suggests that you focus on acquiring "skills and tools necessary to coach, interview, address issues when they arise, delegate, communicate, sell, and provide customer service across a large variety of dimensions of diversity so that you can tap into the creativity and innovative ideas needed to solve the complex and unique set of challenges that your business is facing."

In this issue of the Manage IT newsletter, we will focus on how you as an IT manager can improve your ability to manage in a diverse workplace. In the "News and Trends" section of this issue, you will find useful articles on the topic of diversity to help you gain a working knowledge of this important topic. Your free gift of the month will provide you with tool you can use to differentiate between work requirements, impediments and preferences. Finally, in the "Announcement" section, you will find additional resources to support you and some of your key initiatives.

JS

-------------------- IT Management News and Trends -------------------
This month, we have a rich collection of articles that contain various perspectives on diversity.

An article that shows how successful diversity is about all the differences that make us unique in terms of lifestyles and challenges as well as skills and contributions.
http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/story/0,10801,61349,00.html

An article on managing age diversity in the workplace
http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/story/0,10801,57654,00.html

SHRM PDF article on the benefits of Diversity
http://www.shrm.org/diversity/members/0600Diversity.pdf

Articles on why it is important to prevent culture clashes and create an inclusive environment in light of the greater diversity of the workforce today
http://www.itworld.com/Career/3731/CIOidc/page_1.html

The business case for diversity as presented by SHRM
http://www.shrm.org/diversity/businesscase.asp

An article on ways that you can promote inclusively
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/askannie/0,15704,455997,00.html

An article on how to create diversity in the workplace
http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/story/0,10801,70863,00.html

Ten common misconceptions about diversity
http://www.hr.com/hrcom/index.cfm/46/0501C4FB-0C0A-4AFA-80C1C2D7C88D8217

Article urging businesses to seek and support a diverse workforce.
http://news.com.com/2100-1022-999036.html

An article about the current state of diversity in most Fortune 1000 companies
http://www.idg.net/crd_idgsearch_0.html?url=http://www.cio.com/archive/011500/equity.html

How companies can achieve diversity in the workplace.
http://www.itworld.com/Career/3731/CIOidc/page_1.html

------------------- Free Gift of the Month ---------------------------
For your free one-page tip sheet that will provide you with advice and a tool you can use to differentiate requirements, impediments and preferences, visit http://www.joesantana.com/freenewsandtips.htm (Or visit my mirror site http://www.joesantananews.com/freenewsandtips.htm)

----------------- Closing Thoughts and Announcements -----------------
WANT TO HELP YOUR FRIENDS LOOKING FOR ADVICE ON HOW TO FIGHT BURNOUT AND ACHIEVE PEAK PERFORMANCE
Have them visit www.joesantana.com and sign up for the free TIPS DRIVING PEAK PERFORMANCE EMAIL SEMINAR. Delivered over seven days, this program is packed with advice that can immediately be put to use by a rookie or a veteran IT manager. (HR pros will also find it a rich source of ideas they can use to coach IT managers).

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT MANAGEMENT WITH JOE?
Visit www.ULiveandLearn.com and register for the IT Management webinar. This information packed program comes right to your desktop and offers you advice on one of your most important career decisions.

NEED HELP OPTIMIZING YOUR IT PROJECTS?
Visit www.impactinnovations.com and contact Jon Piot COO and author of "The Executive Guide to Information Technology."

NEED HELP QUICKLY BUILDING A PIPELINE OF DIVERSE CANDIDATES.
Contact EmployeeROI www.employeeroi.com/1-888-654-8845

LOOKING FOR A CLEARLY ARTICULATED DIVERSITY VISION AND TRAINING.
Contact PRISM International at 1-888-99PRISM or visit them at the web www.prism-international.com

I hope you enjoyed this issue of the IT Managers Newsletter and as always I look forward to continuing to serve you.