Intel’s GROW: Growing Relationships, Opportunities, and Wins

 

Deb Bubb, Vice President of Human Resources and Director of Global Leadership & Learning at Intel, was the keynote presenter at the 2016 Human Capital Leadership Forum in San Francisco, where she talked about how changing business in a changing environment demands that companies change their talent requirements, which includes growing inclusion.

According to Bubb, “four major factors influence your ability to attract, develop, retain, and progress diverse talent:”

* Lack of opportunity to progress
* Profound isolation
* Poor manager quality
* Overall negative environment (a result of the first three factors)

The data are clear about the way to counter these issues. Bubb says, “Teams that are diverse (that is, they include many perspectives) and inclusive (they exhibit behaviors such as listening to each others’ points of view and taking turns when speaking) materially perform better in every way.” She determined that to solve the lack of diversity and inclusion, Intel needed to make this a core business driver, and GROW was launched.

GROW (Growing Relationships, Opportunities, and Wins) is Intel’s new company-wide initiative for employees to create an environment where everyone can do their best work, providing a platform for personal, professional, and cultural growth. It is a neuroscience-based approach to evolving Intel’s culture and aims to grow employees individually, grow together, and grow Intel, so the organization can evolve and drive innovation.

The GROW initiative is backed by science that suggests a correlation between innovation and inclusiveness. In a recent blog post, Deb Bubb mentioned a San Jose Mercury News article in which David Rock, Director of the NeuroLeadership Institute, stated that “diverse [and inclusive] teams perform better than homogeneous ones on a bunch of measures—solving logical and creative problems, as well as finding errors.”

Historically, diversity and inclusion training have had mixed results, with classroom concepts not translating to real-life situations. Intel worked with key partners and experts in neuro-social science research (including the NeuroLeadership Institute, the Center for Workforce Excellence, and the Center for Talent Innovation) to find ways to drive culture change. The approach they are implementing focuses on developing new insights and changing habits, together.

This involves first going from a “fixed” mindset to a “growth” mindset, which helps individuals and teams see change as a challenge rather than a threat. To help Intel shift to a growth mindset, GROW is built around simple habits and tools that encourage doing less of some things and more of others, such as:

* Instead of focusing just on your own perspective, ask yourself how others might think about it or take a different approach.
* Instead of being content with what you already know, find ways to develop and expand your skills, your networks, and your knowledge.
* Instead of focusing only on the output of your team, pay attention to your team’s progress. Watch how your team interacts and collaborates, and look for ways to ensure every voice is heard and everyone contributes to their full potential.

Bubb hopes that GROW will help Intel continue to innovate and evolve, developing new skills and making Intel a place where all are welcome and challenged to contribute their best.

For more information on the GROW initiative at Intel, visit their Web site.

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