Innovation in a Reinvented World: 10 Essential Elements to Succeed in the New World of Business

SAP: Phyllis Stewart Pires, VP of Human Resources, Global Diversity Leader, Gender Diversity Expert

Phyllis Stewart Pires could best be described as a business architect of sustainable programs that change workplace cultures to be more inclusive, collaborative, and family friendly.

She helps global business leaders and managers create a new dialogue—teaching them how to listen and understand one another—a process that builds bridges and develops self-sufficient programs that embed themselves into other parts of the organization's culture.

Welcome to a leadership model for the new world of business.

As the U.S. economy edges out of the Great Recession and as baby boomers edge out of the workplace, the competition for professional talent will heat up, something we're already seeing as big business looks to create new ways to connect with employees, from social media to offering new tools, resources, and training to reconnecting with former employees—anything to give them a competitive edge in the marketplace.

But is all this extra energy and spinning of the wheels really necessary?

“Leadership is actually about getting people to follow you. If you're leading and no one is following you, it's because you forgot to look over your shoulder to see what's happening. People can become very cynical, very easily,” Stewart Pires says.

She has noticed how more people in the workplace have become cynical—at least in the United States—and wonders if it's the 9/11 effect, the Internet and the ...