Increasing diversity in the C-Suite

Without a talent management strategy, diversifying a firm's corporate suite may not necessarily improve market performance, and risks leading to diversity washing. Companies wishing to promote minorities should focus on fostering two major skill sets. 

The first is social skills, broadly defined as understanding how others feel and think and communicating accordingly. An executive officer with strong social skills can communicate effectively with stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, government agencies, regulators, and customers. 

The second is technical skills, which include expertise and business knowledge developed through educational and practical experience. A C-Suite executive with strong technical skills can solve complex problems and makes sound strategic decisions.

Two such CEOs who exhibited strong social and technical skills are General Motors's Mary Barra and Microsoft's Satya Nadella. Their companies noticed them for their skills and promoted them. Barra, who had graduated in mechanical engineering, worked in various roles at GM, starting as a co-op student in the assembly plant, then moving to engineering, communication, HR, and product development roles. Nadella earned degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. Before ascending to his CEO role, he was Senior Vice President and Vice President of R&D and business divisions at Microsoft, respectively.

Nadella and Barra's strong social skills are part of their leadership style. Barra promoted a culture of accountability, reducing bureaucracy and increasing efficiency at GM. As VP of HR, Barra cut down a ten-page dress code policy to two words: "Dress appropriately." During the rollout of the OnStar safety system for vehicles, she communicated directly with engineers to "win the hearts and minds of employees." She referred to her past experiences as a co-op student and engineer at the plant when explaining how she became more engaged when she saw the value of her work. 

Similarly, Nadella promoted workforce accountability by adopting the "learn-it-all" leadership style to empower employees to learn from their mistakes and grow. According to Nadella, his leadership philosophy draws inspiration from his mother's diary. He quoted a Danish philosopher who held that leaders must learn from the past to be inspired by future possibilities.

Barra and Nadella also possess a strong technical background forged through education and experience, which allowed them to develop forward-looking strategies. Under Barra's leadership, GM invested heavily in electric vehicles, becoming the first established automaker with a dedicated EV platform and the first to offer an affordable mass-produced EV in 2016. In 2017, GM began offering its Super Cruise hands-free driving system commercially, ahead of its closest competitor Ford. It has continued to refine this technology since then. 

Similarly, Nadella helped Microsoft's cloud services business to account for nearly 42% of total Microsoft revenues in 2021. This was done in part by providing Microsoft products over the cloud on a subscription basis. Also, under Nadella's leadership, Microsoft embraced the Linux open-source operating system, in a complete reversal from casting it as a "cancer" under the previous CEO.

These successes were also due to GM and Microsoft's talent management strategies. Barra and Nadella were given various opportunities in multiple roles to grow their skill sets before being promoted to the C-Suite. For instance, Barra was an executive assistant to the chair and vice chair before her appointment as CEO and chair. Similarly, Nadella worked in various leadership roles in different enterprise and consumer divisions at Microsoft prior to his CEO appointment.

Exposure to various aspects of their organizations enabled them to become innovative and forward-thinking strategists. They also developed resilience through constant learning, growing, and building strong networks in their various appointments. This allowed them to be agile, flexible, and adaptable to changes in the industry.

Both Barra and Nadella were tapped to companies during times of crisis: GM was dealing with faulty ignition switch lawsuits, and Microsoft was stagnating compared to its arch-rival Apple. They might have been dismissed as glass-cliff appointments when the odds of failure appeared more likely. But they successfully steered their companies through these challenges thanks to the strong social and technical skills they acquired over the course of their career.