Inclusive Leadership

Valerie L. Myers, Ph. D.

Inclusive leaders promote growth at all levels

Professional Services

Executive Education
Organizational Diagnostics
Change Management
Crisis Management
1-on-1 Coaching
Board Development
Keynote Address
Retreats
Strategic Planning

Dr. Valerie Myers developed and teaches Leading Inclusive, High Performing Organizations for the MBA program at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. She's also taught Diversity Management in Healthcare for executives and graduate students.

Myers integrates her diversity scholarship, teaching and practice to help you achieve meaningful change.

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Inclusive leaders pursue personal growth

Your commitment to continuous learning is vital to becoming a more inclusive and effective leader. Using the latest social science research and developmental psychology, we work together to increase your knowledge and skills so that you can better manage your thoughts, feelings and behaviors to create an inclusive work climate. During the process, you will improve self- and situational-awareness, critical thinking, and problem solving so that you can transcend myriad biases that undermine your effectiveness and relationships.

Inclusive leaders cultivate all talent

Inclusive leaders empower everyone to fully contribute, thrive and drive results. That's a win-win! To achieve this, you'll acquire skills to amplify strengths, see the whole person, and correct misperceptions and inequitable processes. These relationship dynamics create the conditions for fruitful collaboration.

Inclusive leaders accelerate positive change!

Equipped with data, strategy, skill, and courage to disrupt the status quo, you'll master techniques to create a more profitable and socially responsible organization that serves the common good.

BEWARE: research shows that DE&I efforts stall due to reliance upon trendy, ineffective methods, too narrow a focus, or insufficient understanding of the mechanisms of behavioral change. Often, well intended leaders feel good because they've taken some action, but those methods don't produce desired results. Consequently, people, organizations, and society continue to suffer; inequality, exclusion, and unethical behavior create instability that threatens growth.

Drawing upon her expertise designing behavioral change interventions, Dr. Myers assists in your application of evidence-based frameworks that yield significant and sustainable change at all levels.

We use social science, not sentiment, to promote inclusive growth.

What clients say...

I enjoyed this class so much. It is so different from other leadership courses that I have taken. This is a path to our soul, learning how to be a better leader to build a better world.

Chi Yuen Chan (Adrian)

Global MBA Candidate - University of Michigan

Topics for customized learning...

Coaching and learning solutions are customized to meet your needs. As we pursue a systems approach, learning will include ALL types of difference (e.g., race, gender, occupation, region etc.) and some combination of organizational, relationship, and individual factors below. From these lists, it becomes clear why addressing individual factors alone does not work.

***Dr. Myers offers inclusive solutions with a traditional business focus or a faith-based approach, depending upon your organizations mission and culture (e.g., Catholic hospitals, religious congregations, colleges etc.).

Equity & Systemic Change

Relationships

Personal Growth

Let's discuss topics that matter most to you

Growing together...

Beyond Unconscious Bias & Cultural Competence Training

If you want to transform yourself, your team, your organization, and/or society, Dr. Valerie Myers provides evidence-based tools to help. Using the latest research, we transcend the limits of unconscious bias & cultural competence training 1, 2, 3 to help you develop skills and drive systemic change. To do that, we explore capitalism, history, psychology, and economics to promote skill-building that influences the continuum of factors that produce a just, inclusive, and high performing team.

History: Although 1619 was a pivotal year in the global saga of oppression, a broader historical perspective of Western business offers powerful lessons for social progress.

Psychology: DE&I requires more than "difficult conversations"; it requires psychological insights and a sociological imagination. We apply psychology research to understand and overcome resistance, sustain desired behaviors, and reform systems.

Skill-Building: Among several skills that inclusive leaders need, Positive Regard4 is the most vital.

What is Positive Regard?4

Positive Regard is more than being respectful or "nice". Research shows that Positive Regard is a robust skill that improves you, your relationships, and outcomes by 27-36% because it:

Increases self-awareness and overcome biases.

Fosters engagement, problem solving, and flourishing in others.

Creates space for social learning so that diversity can add value.

Drives inclusive policies that support systemic change.

Positive Regard: A Catalyst for Inclusive Growth

+27-36%

Skills

Self Awareness

Mental Habits

Emotional Intelligence

Social Learning

Positive Regard

Nurture Others

Leadership

System Change

Goal Directed

Data Driven

Strategic Importance

Organizational Climate

HR Policies

Collaborative Teams

Better

Relationships & Outcomes

Contact Valerie to learn more

References

1. Dobbin & Kalev (2016). Why Diversity Programs Fail. Harvard Business Review, July-August, 52-60.

2.. Lai, Skinner, Cooley et al (2016). Reducing Implicit Racial Preferences: II. Intervention Effectiveness Across Time. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 145(8): 1001–1016.

3. Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas. (2020). Implicit Bias Training Doesn't Work: Instead of changing how employees think, change company policies. January 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-01-04/implicit-bias-training-isn-t-improving-corporate-diversity

4. Bozarth. J.D. & Wilkins, P. (2001). Unconditional Positive Regard: Evolution, Theory & Practice. Volume 3 Unconditional Positive Regard. Rogers' Therapeutic Conditions.

Expertise

Dr. Myers works with leaders and organizations to identify barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion. She uses data and diagnostic to target areas for systemic changes. Collaboratively, leaders and teams develop skills to create an inclusive climate and achieve strategic goals. Dr. Valerie L. Myers' expertise in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is informed by 25 years of academic, business, and consulting experience.

At the University of Michigan, Myers teaches MBA and graduate courses, and has conducted research in the healthcare industry, where DE&I can be a matter of life and death. She's also guest lectured in various executive education programs.

Through her consulting, Myers works with leaders and organizations across industries to identify barriers and enablers to DE&I, increase knowledge, and develop skills to create a positive work climate. Myers has coached executives through diversity crises, educated governing boards, developed strategic plans, advised global firms, developed profitable niche market products, and has managed diverse teams.

Clients benefit from Dr. Myers' continuous monitoring of the latest social science research, which she uses to insure that materials are are rigorous and relevant.