Presenter: Andrés Tapia, Korn Ferry

Corporate America says it wants more Latinos in manager and leadership roles. Latino professionals in growing numbers aspire to achieve these leadership positions. Yet what should be mutually reinforcing trends to speed up advancement are instead two forces increasingly in conflict due to deep differences between corporate culture and Latino culture. If corporations really want to create more Latino leaders, they must go beyond the necessary public declarations in support of diversity and take a zero-tolerance stance toward overt bias. This requires facing up to unconscious cultural biases that can negatively affect the evaluation of both the performance and the potential of Latino talent and generate work environments that are unattractive to many Latinos. In this session, Latino talent expert Andrés Tapia will highlight key findings based on their newly published book, “Auténtico: The Definitive Guide to Latino Career Success.” Specifically, the session will demonstrate why corporate America is totally unprepared for the future workforce that will have an increasingly Latino identity. Numerous examples will be provided on how corporate cultural norms are often at odds with common aspects of Latino heritage and behavioral tendencies. Finally, solutions will be shared on how to create corporate cultures that are more inclusive towards Latinos and which help to create the conditions that will nurture Latino career advancement.

Learning Outcomes

• Recognize the importance of Hispanic heritage and Latino Culture in shaping the workplace behavior of Latino professionals
• Compare Latino Culture against Corporate America Culture across 6 key cultural dimensions
• Develop solutions to the Latino and Corporate Culture Clash.