Leadership key in maximizing visible minority talent.

Maximizing the talents of visible minorities requires ongoing leadership commitment in organizations, Canadian executives emphasized at a recent Leaders' Dialogue on Visible Minorities, part of the Conference Board of Canada's Leaders' Summit on Visible Minorities. The discussion brought together 50 senior executives from the public and private sectors, labour and non-governmental organizations.

Senator Donald Oliver, co-chair of the Summit, identified five key messages from the event for leaders to contemplate and act upon in their organizations:

* Leadership matters--If a leader stops caring, the momentum will stop.

* Accountability is key--If it isn't measured, it won't get attention. Diversity objectives must be part of organizational performance management systems.

* Integration is essential--Diversity must be embedded in the cultural DNA of organizations. It must include everyone and can't be delegated to human resources.

* Strategic messages should drive change--Diversity in organizations is not only common sense, it makes business sense in a global economy. Canadian organizations cannot afford to waste talent when they are competing to attract and retain skilled individuals on a global scale.

* Aggressive steps are needed--Success will be measured by results.

Summit participants also discussed why this is an important issue to address. Almost 20% of Canada's labour force will be visible minorities by 2016, so organizations that maximize the talents of these groups will gain a competitive advantage.

For more information on the summit visit www.conferenceboard.ca.

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