Compiled for the LCLD Board of Directors every Wednesday, this digest is designed to brief you on the latest headlines about LCLD Members and organizations, as well as thought-provoking articles on diversity in the legal profession, talent development, mentoring, and leadership. Past issues of the Digest are also archived on the LCLD web site.

If you have questions about the Digest, articles you'd like to share, of if you would like to subscribe, please email Caitlin Puffenberger at cpuffenberger@lcldnet.com. 

1. How Corporations Can Lead the Push for Gay Rights Abroad

Corporate Counsel, 9/27/16

“A lot of new or potential employees look to how a company treats its LGBT employees to determine how truly welcoming and inclusive the company is,” said 2014 Fellow Wesley Bizzell, Associate General Counsel at Altria, during a panel on LGBT rights in the workplace. Panelists also discussed how international companies can balance their nondiscrimination policies with anti-LGBT laws in other countries and the need for companies to support gender and race alongside sexual orientation and identity. 

2. How Safety Saved Honeywell

Modern Counsel, 9/27/16

Since joining Honeywell International in 2008, LCLD Member Katherine Adams, General Counsel and Senior Vice President, has led the company in many innovations. One of her first projects was revamping the company’s outdated safety regulations; through her leadership, Honeywell’s safety record is now 80 percent better than the industry average. 

3. The Difference Between Good Leaders and Great Ones

Harvard Business Review, 9/22/16

Leadership abilities do not run along a continuum, but are rather a tension between “good” and “great” qualities, where “good” is characterized by a strong sense of direction and “great” is consistent with forcefulness, argues leadership development expert James Bailey. The best leaders have both force and direction; if the balance is thrown off, a leader quickly becomes ineffective. “Great can be vital but destructive; good can be compassionate but impotent. The coexistence between the two is the best hope for leadership,” Bailey concludes.  

4. Op-Ed: Why the African American History Museum Belongs to All of Us

The Washington Post, 9/15/16

On the eve of the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, filmmaker Ken Burns reflects on its importance for all Americans. Touching on slavery, jazz music, and Jackie Robinson, Burns writes: “Even with a century and a half between us and our greatest cataclysm, we have an eerie sense that so much of what seemed safely finished and distant about the [Civil War] now seems uncomfortably present, palpable, the underlying racial causes of the old conflict on nearly daily display… Here is an opportunity to see ourselves and to better understand this road we travel together.”

5. Diverse Teams Feel Less Comfortable – and That’s Why They Perform Better

Harvard Business Review, 9/22/16

Working on a diverse team often feels more difficult than working on a homogenous team, but that’s precisely why they are ultimately more effective. “Confronting opinions you disagree with might not seem like the quickest path to getting things done, but working in groups can be like studying (or exercising): no pain, no gain.” Evidence also shows that rather than downplaying differences, leaders should preface a diverse meeting with a supportive message about inclusion – which can ultimately be a catalyst for creativity and deep thinking.