Helen Dimsdale

Diversity Week - Debrief

Helen Dimsdale — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 11:35:44 GMT

In between packing my office for NCTA's upcoming move, I've had a chance to digest the many great meetings and events during Diversity Week. I have also talked with a handful of colleagues from various parts of the cable industry. I hear two different themes associated with the post buzz discussion. The first camp feels that the diversity gap still exists in the executive boards including a gender gap in the technology sector. The other camp sees the progress of the last ten years and recognizes there is much to do. I think it comes down to whether you view the glass as half-empty or half-full.

One of the great benefits to tenure is an ability to have some perspective outside of the day-to-day routine. To take a look from a more strategic perspective. Track and follow colleagues as they advance. Over the past 11 years I have seen individuals climb, others reinvent themselves and those that have faded away. We've heard it a million times, "The only thing constant is change". The cable industry has not been immune to change. There are industries, companies and individual players that I would have never imagined as part of our policy agenda. Sure we have very few minorities and women in the executive boards but we do have many waiting in the wings. I have had the opportunity to mentor and advise a dozen women during the last two years. Of the twelve women, two have left our industry. The remaining ten have all been promoted to greater responsibilities and financial compensation packages over a span of two years. I too, am a recipient of the latter scenario. Call me an eternal optimist but I do believe that the diverse talent pool has been created. Now, begins the dance! Staying relevant, keeping up on the core business and being able to sift for opportunitites in those gray areas. My words of encouragement to all, be patient and keep your eyes open. Listen and keep learning.

Walter Kaitz Foundation - 23rd annual fundraiser dinner

Helen Dimsdale — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 22:31:49 GMT

WOW

This year's Kaitz Foundation co-Chairs, Patrick Esser, President - Cox Communications, Inc. and Johnathan Rodgers, President & CEO - TV ONE were proud to report $1.5 Million was raised at this year's dinner. The industry awarded U.S. Representative Hilda Solis with the Kaitz "Diversity Advocate" award. Representative Solis' tireless efforts to fight for access to new technologies for her Latino and Asian constituents and be out front on raising awareness of violence against women as a partner with Lifetime TV is a true tribute to her, the daughter of immigrant parents that toiled in the fields in CA. MTV Networks accepted the Kaitz "Diversity Champion" award for their diverse workforce and programming which accurately reflects the many cultures and ethnicities they serve world-wide. MTV's tagline is "Where Diversity Rules".

The new Walter Kaitz Executive Director, David M. Porter, Jr., Ph.D. made his first public address at the dinner. He expressed his gratitude and acknowledged the continued work ahead for the foundation and the industry. In my opinion, the gentleman who stole the show was a recent Emma L. Bowen student, Alfonso Rosales, Production Coordinator - Travel Channel. With much eloquence and sincere appreciation, he acknowledged the hand extended to him by Phyllis Eagle-Olsen, Executive Director - Emma Bowen and Discovery Communications, Inc. in shaping the opportunities provided to him while attending NYU.

I had the opportunity to sit with Sue Panzer, Lifetime TV and a WICT National Board member, for the dinner. I'm always amazed at the women and men who are the faces of the cable industry. Sue's story is incredible and her commitment to helping women is unwavering.

Now that diversity week is winding down. I will spend a few days reviewing my experience and drawing some comparisons between the '06 and '02 diversity events. More to follow...

WICT - NY Chapter luncheon

Helen Dimsdale — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:24:46 GMT

Great panel discussion today. Title: "Cable and the Crossroads: The Future is Today"

Moderator: NCTA's very own: Rob Stoddard, SVP - Communications & Public Affairs

Panelists: Nomi M. Bergman, EVP, Strategy and Development - Advance/Newhouse Communications

Deborah Blackwell, EVP and GM - SOAPnet

Italia Commisso Weinand, SVP, Programming and HR - Mediacom Communications

Lauren Zalaznick, President - BRAVO - NBC/Universal Cable

The NY Chapter 's Executive Women's Luncheon is an annual signature event that really encapsulates the very core of WICT's mission. Kudos go out to Marie Svet, President of the Chapter and her great leadership over the last three years.

Rob took sometime to address the title of today's session. The spirited discussion examined diversity in the panelists companies today. Technology and the lack of women in this, a dynamic area of our business is perplexing to say the least. Lauren has had no problem with creating a senior team of women that cover BRAVO's new media (broadband and interactive). It's a call to women to put aside any apprehension or preconceived opinions and move into the field. Don't waste time as an assistant to a Silicon Valley Executive. But instead, if you have a technology idea, create your own company and bring it to market. If not, you're stepping back and it will take you 20 years to catch-up.

As with any discussion on the topic of women in the boardrooms, we need to continue to have that conversation at the top. A reminder was made that NCTA's Board of Directors is home to the industry's CEOs. Perhaps this discussion needs to continue at this level. I know that Kyle hosted a joint board of directors meeting today between NCTA and NAMIC's Board of Directors.

Another provocative point . Given Cable's stage of growth as a mature industry, perhaps we should really start thinking about the grooming of CEO replacements so that in the event of some wide spread retirement of our current leaders, we have competent, hopefully some women, able to lead our companies. You never know, you may not live forever!!!

Kyle McSlarrow's opening remarks

Helen Dimsdale — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:11:33 GMT

Kyle acknowledged the recent NAMIC study release on the diversity among cable industry. Yes, there is still room for improvement, but the good news is that, as an industry, we continue to acknowledge and work toward a more multi-faceted workforce. As Kyle acknowledges, we are not working with our head in the sand, but instead willing to self-assess and strive to improve.

Kyle sent out a call-to-action to the membership to make your presence known in Washington, D.C. among legislators and regulators. We need to continue to put a face to our industry efforts across the country. You need to come to our Nation's Capitol and tell your story. This is a very dynamic, well-positioned industry and we need to hear from you. NCTA staff is ready and able to provide the necessary background to prepare for such visits on the Hill and at the Commission.

Personally, I will be reaching out to our cable program networks and local systems in D.C. to bring their programming, initiatives and technology demos to NCTA's new "Cable Media Center". Scheduled to open October 2, 2006, the center will include a small scaled down "Broadband Home", a Theater (105 seats), Boardroom and other conference room space with capabilities including, a small editing suite, HD programming, video conferencing, webcasting and downlinking capabilities.

New Capitol Hill address (effective October 1):

25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW - Suite 100
Washington, DC 20001

Dance of Leadership specifics....

Helen Dimsdale — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:02:29 GMT

As promised, I have some additional details to share about the above break-out session on Day 1 of the NAMIC Diversity Conference.

The instructor, Dr. Robin Denise Johnson presents the "Dance of Leadership" which identifies five leadership styles and their metaphorical expression through Dance. The "Flowing" and "Staccato" are two styles that are more familiar and considered extraverted in nature. "Chaos", "Lyrical", and "Stillness" are three styles that are less familiar and considered intraverted. Dr. Johnson suggests that leadership occurs within the rank and file of an organization. Middle managers and front line supervisors display one or more of the various leadership styles. After participating in this session I walked away with a clearer understanding of my own leadership style. Of course, I couldn't possible fit nice and neatly into one style but instead two, "Flowing" and "Stillness". Flowing is defined as taking one step at a time, grounded and able to channel energy in a very methodical manner. Famous leaders that exhibit Flowing style include Mother Teresa, Cleopatra, Michael Jordan and Dona Fela. My second style is Stillness. This style is characterized as living and walking the talk. They are the change agents by their mere prescense. Popular leaders of our time include Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Dalai Lama, Cesar Chavez, Thich Nhat Hahn and Aung San Suu Kyi. This is the hardest leadership style to quantify. As you can imagine, this affects ones ability to justify promotion and salary increases. Not to worry, there are ways to measure the contributions of a Stillness leader. Dr. Johnson coaches middle managers as well.

Dr. Johnson teaches at UCLA and shares her Dance of Leadership to NAMIC's ELDP students. For more information, check-out her book, "Dance of Leadership" - first edition.

The Leadership Dance

Helen Dimsdale — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:12:17 GMT

Breakout Session I: This session paid for the NAMIC registration fee in my book. The instructor has incorporated dance movement into identifying the various styles of leaders. She also spends the bulk of her instruction targeting those folks in the trenches that are leading others around them. You know those folks that have the bosses backside in dealing with the company's customers. The instructor's work suggests that leaders are not necessarily those at the top of the organization chart. And though they may warrant the title of leader their are many in middle management that are leading on a daily basis. Getting the job done. Trusting your employees is a two-way proposition. They entrust you and buy-into your leading them but you as a leader need to trust them. Leadership is a reciprocal proposition. I'll share the four types of leaders tomorrow. Left my materials in a colleague's guest room.

Added benefits...

Helen Dimsdale — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:06:18 GMT

This morning's town hall meeting had an impressive speaker's list of cable veterans. Insight's CEO really felt they hadn't addressed the issue of diversity in the workplace. Sapan agreed, but acknowledged that the gender diversity was well covered and less of an effort to create in the Rainbow Media culture. The President of Diversity, Inc. magazine was direct and provided great soundbites. When you boil down the jargon the bottom line was, "follow the money". A few other interesting points by the panelists included making diversity central to the company's mission, not a pet project by the current CEO. As we all know, the lifespan of a CEO is about 5 years and you really don't want diversity to fall by the wayside based on an executive's departure. Henry Schlieff is always good for bringing humor to any conversation. His comments around utilizing the Court TV summer intern program as away to employ his relatives was priceless. No worries, Jennifer Randolph of Court TV enlightened Henry to his ways and move to bring in a more diverse pool of interns. The interactive remotes were a great way to engage the audience in the town hall discussion. Surprised to learn that just under half of the audience indicated that they could not go to their boss on matters around diversity.

Heading North

Helen Dimsdale — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 23:55:23 GMT

As I made my annual journey North for my 4th cable industry Diversity week, I thought back to 2002 trying to recall the overall message and take away from Diversity week. I'd like to use this trip to compare and contrast 2002 to 2006 as an industry.

Day 1: How could I begin without simply acknowledging the additional activities underway around the five year 9/11 anniversary. NAMIC did a great job with allowing all to revisit the devastation of five years ago with today's luncheon. Great job to NAMIC for providing just enough time and space for all to reflect but without allowing it to consume the entire day.