Bridgestone Health System (BHS) is a nationally renowned health system,

Bridgestone Health System (BHS) is a nationally renowned health system, operating an integrated delivery model in every region of the country. It is in a growth mode, where despite healthcare reform issues, has been able to grow in four of its five regional markets. This growth can be attributed to the high performing Corporate Leadership Team (CLT). As part of the last strategic planning process, the System CEO, Ralph Stuart, made sure to take the CLT through the stages of group development until he was sure they were performing well. One of the highlights of the past 3 years of sustained growth has been the chief diversity officer’s aggressive marketing campaign targeted at minority populations, highlighting BHS’s culturally relevant services and programs. Upon review of the data, Ralph concluded that it has been the major part of their growth success. In meetings, Ralph often points to the innovative thinking and skills of Roosevelt Ford, the chief diversity officer (CDO), and his ability to identify opportunities to turn problem areas into viable institutional practices that both clinicians and administrators can implement with success. Roosevelt has made an impact in his 20 years in the organization, most notably helping the organization respond to the legal problem it faced when the courts ruled in favor of minority patients that were discriminated against early in the 1990s, and was forced to respond with institutionalized diversity practices. Recently, based on Roosevelt’s 30 years of human resources experience, his track record in the organization, and the value that Ralph wants to place on culturally competent care, he promoted Roosevelt to senior vice president from his role as vice president and CDO. This promotion was not made lightly, but strategically in Ralph’s eyes. The Corporate Diversity Department (CDD) that Roosevelt directs is seen in the organization as merely a compliance stamp. Ralph’s CLT is not that diverse, and many are uneasy with the cultural diversity attention that has come to Roosevelt and his very racially and gender diverse Corporate Diversity Department. He knows that getting the CLT to buy into integrating diversity in each department is going to be an uphill battle but has made it part of his vision. In particular, the other senior vice presidents and vice presidents are not happy that Roosevelt has picked Mikayla Johnson as his successor. In public, questions around her age and experience are mentioned. She is 36 years old and has been in the department for the past 7 years. In private, the CEO has been told she is too ethnic and might not be the right choice, even though the current CDO, Roosevelt, is an African American man in his 60s. Roosevelt has already notified Ralph that he will likely retire in the next 12 months and would like to put in place a departmental succession plan for the same time. He is asking Ralph to support his plan, and seriously consider Mikayla Johnson as the new CDO. Ralph is trying to figure out how to make a good strategic decision but is well aware of the team dynamics and atmosphere. He cannot afford to jeopardize their growth strategy, nor his CLT performance. THE QUIET PLATITUDE OF THE CLT The Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) is Ralph Stuart’s executive team. In his 7-year tenure, he has been able to lead a major growth strategy in an environment that has been tough for many of BHS’s competitors. Before the diversity marketing campaign, the growth rate had been less than 3% in the previous 3 years. It was a major point of contention between the Board and the previous CEO. The Board expected 5-7% growth for the next 3-year strategic plan but did not have the confidence in the previous CEO. Ralph Stuart was brought in after a yearlong national search. He came with over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry and most recently had been a partner in The Howser Group, one of the most prestigious management consulting firms known for stabilizing and turning around large organizations. It was said that his reason for going back into the C-suite was, in part, because both he and his wife’s parents lived in the state and they wanted to be closer to them and other family. It was a great decision on the part of the Board, as Ralph was able to produce a 5% growth rate in his first 3 years. With the second 3-year strategic plan, he was able to reach a 7% growth rate, in large part because of Roosevelt Ford’s aggressive diversity plan. The Board was elated with the CLT performance, and is hoping that the success can continue for the next strategic plan that is currently underway. The major selling point of the current strategic plan, Ralph’s third to get approval from the Board, is its diversity impact initiative. BHS comprises a myriad of integrated services, departments, and facilities. It is a nonprofit health system that operates in every region of the country. It has 34 hospitals, with one in almost every major metro area. There are over 100,000 total workers at BHS. Figure 11-1 provides a breakdown of diversity by profession. In addition, the Board of Directors is one of most diverse of all its competitors. It has nine members: five men, three African Americans, one Latino, and one Asian. One of their key reasons for hiring Ralph was his commitment to diversity. Image transcription text 60 Percent of Workforce 50 Percent Minority 40 30 20 10 O Administration Physicians Nurses Allied Health FIGURE 11-1 BHS Workforce Diversity To make good on his diversity pledge to the Board, Ralph wanted every department to implement aspects of their corporate diversity plan. At the year-end retreat, he described the organization’s past 3-year growth success as stemming from the diversity plan’s ability to draw in new customers through their increased visibility in certain markets and by retooling their service offerings in a way that Roosevelt often described as the “business imperative of diversity and our need show customers we are culturally competent.” He wanted to implement a more robust version that customers would be able to understand as a “brand of service.” Roosevelt provided the details for the initiative and cautioned the team that each of them would be challenged to increase diversity efforts in ways that might make them uncomfortable but that would be necessary for success. On one occasion, in a meeting with two of his senior executives, Ralph brought up the cost for the new diversity strategy that Roosevelt and his department proposed in the previous monthly CLT meeting. Dan Fausty has been with BHS since he interned with the organization 20 years ago. He has worked his way up the ranks and has held all of the senior positions in the finance department. He has been the SVP of Finance for the past 5 years and has been vocal in his opinion that investments in diversity are not a good itemized expense because they cannot be easily associated to outcomes for any one department. Reba Hollaway is the VP of Marketing and Relations and has been with the organization for 5 years. Ralph was her mentor at a previous healthcare organization, and was able to bring her onboard when the previous VP left shortly after Ralph’s arrival. She has been very aware of the lack of gender and racial diversity in the CLT, and has expressed to Ralph that gender balance is more important than racial balance. He considers the two of them straight shooters and often asks their opinions in sociopolitical issues that arise between senior executives. Ralph thought the discussion would go like many had before with two of his most trusted advisors when he asked if they believed the proposed $1 million investment Roosevelt was asking for over the next 3 years would be returned in growth and new business. The two of them cautioned Ralph that the CDD might be using the diversity plan to increase management diversity and are not truly focused on growth. They then bantered on a bit with small talk about forecasting and segmented markets, but then Dan stopped and said his biggest worry was that the investment would be lost if Roosevelt left and they had to count on Mikayla Johnson to continue as the diversity person. Reba chimed in that she is the one that works most closely with the Corporate Diversity Department and, although admittedly said she was a supporter of Mikayla’s efforts, felt the CDD might become too “diverse righteous” if Mikayla gets the helm. Her specific comments were that Mikayla’s style of dress, natural hair, and confrontational personality make her intimidating at times. Dan added that Roosevelt has a presence with his size but did not come off as an angry person in the same manner that Mikayla has at times. THE CORPORATHE DIVERSITY DEPARTMENT The CDD is a model department, and its success comes from understanding how to address the diverse needs of patients with cultural and linguistic differences. It includes: Alice Yen, an Asian American woman directing Linguistic Services; Jorge Gonzalez, a Mexican American man directing Workforce Diversity; Richard Witlock, a mixed race man directing Cultural Competency; and Mikayla Johnson, an African American female as the head of Diversity Strategy and Marketing. Staffed with only six other employees, it is able to carry out a remarkable amount of programming, consulting, and material for the organization. Alice, Jorge, and Richard were all seasoned BHS employees, each with multidepartmental experience and vast networks that have been key to the CDD’s success. Mikayla was a student intern before being hired in the department, and was nearing the completion of a PhD program in organizational psychology when she started. Since starting in the CDD, she has been trained by each of the other Directors, and has earned their respect and loyalty. Roosevelt and his Directors created the position of Diversity Strategy and Marketing, in part because they wanted to keep Mikayla, but also because it was the perfect diversity position that they felt could make the most impact in the organization after Roosevelt retired. In the last performance evaluation meeting, Mikayla mentioned her desire for a more visible role in the organization. She was aware of Roosevelt’s desire to retire and asked if he felt she was ready to compete for his position if he chose to retire. She also mentioned being courted for a CDO position from a competing organization but was not ready to leave BHS and her current life in the city. Roosevelt talked with her about her skills and supported her development and readiness for a senior position. He said that he would be happy to provide more senior level responsibility to help with her executive leadership development, knowing fully that she was their best chance at his replacement in the organization. THE RETIREMENT CONVERSATION In preparation for the retreat presentation, Ralph and Roosevelt met to discuss some of the components of the expanded diversity plan. Toward the end of their conversation, Roosevelt mentioned his desire to retire within the year and felt it would be good to do so right after the new strategic plan was put into place. Ralph was surprised, but was calmed by Roosevelt’s subsequent outlining of a succession plan that included Mikayla. He informed Ralph that she was more than ready and was twice as good as he was at her age when it came to the skill set that made him a successful CDO. He wanted Ralph’s support to begin preparing his exit and Mikayla’s entrance as CDO. Ralph was vocal about the pushback he would receive from the Board and the CLT. His main concerns were her age, her extroverted personality, and the undertone of becoming too diverse too fast that might be conveyed with a new CDO and diversity plan. He asked Roosevelt to provide a formal evaluation of Mikayla that spoke to her skills and qualifications. He wanted information on her track record, especially measures of success for growth and strategy. Roosevelt complied and, before leaving Ralph’s office, reminded him that Mikayla was instrumental in drafting and implementing the previous diversity plan, having performed all of the legwork. He stated that she knew the plan better than anyone in the organization. His sentiment was that it would be a detriment to the organization if they were not able to keep her in the department or organization. Ralph responded that he agreed, but it was going to be hard to move from a “Roosevelt” to a “Mikayla,” apologizing for the racial tone, but being sincere that it would be a real issue to address. 1. What diversity issues are present in the case? 2. How would you define diversity? What makes an organization diverse? 3. How should Ralph open up the diversity conversation to the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) as a whole? 4. What conflict management tools should Ralph use to address the perceived cultural bias issues with the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT)? 5. What effect did promoting Roosevelt to Senior Vice President (SVP) have on the organization? Why? 6. Why did Ralph promote Roosevelt to Senior Vice President (SVP)? What did that signal to the organization and CLT? 7. Which team is more important to have as high performers, the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) or the Corporate Diversity Department (CDD)? Why? 8. What impact will increasing diversity have on team performance? Why? I think it will be positive because 9. What leadership traits will be important for Mikayla to develop for the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) position? Leadership traits, calm demeaner 10. Is the current workforce diverse? In all professions? 11. How much does the composition of the Board of Directors contribute to Ralph’s decision-making?

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