Diversity management must begin with visible leadership. This means that the CEO and executive team must lead by example and be visible supporters of diversity as a business driver while holding their direct reports accountable for results.

DiversityInc’s Diversity Councils networking lunch was facilitated by Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, national managing partner, diversity and corporate responsibility, KPMG (No. 22 in The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the 2011 Top Company for Talent Pipeline). During the lunch, participants were able to discuss how their diversity councils operate and what diversity-management strategies are most effective to generate sustainable results. The lunch took place during a DiversityInc event in Washington, D.C.

In this 1,348-word article, Why Diversity Councils Move the Needle for Business Results, we present the key highlights, including:

• Why accountability to the CEO/senior leaders is essential to diversity-management success
• How to set goals and ensure middle management buys into diversity management
• What the necessary valid metrics are to see diversity goals produce sustainable and measurable results

Diversity leaders and senior executives from ING, TD Bank, American Express (No. 14 and the 2011 Top Company for Employee-Resource Groups), Target (No. 30), jcpenney (No. 35), Kaiser Permanente (No. 3 and the 2011 Top Company for Executive Development) and Aerotek all weighed in during the session.

“From a very strategic level, we have the visibility of the CEO and active engagement. We refer to this as ‘authentic visible leadership,’” said Hannan.

Additionally, Hannan cited the leadership of KPMG’s council’s executive chair, CEO and Chairman John Veihmeyer, who also spoke during the DiversityInc event. Visit www.DiversityInc.com/kpmg-leadership to watch his speech on diversity management and why it is imperative for CEOs to be vigilant and visible supporters of diversity.

Read the full article, Why Diversity Councils Move the Needle for Business Results, at DiversityIncBestPractices.com.

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