S4:E7🎙️Leadership & Success Podcast LIVE: Embracing Diversity & Inclusion

Hi, I'm John Maxwell. When the top companies in the world are looking for trainers, speakers, and coaches, there's one name that stands above the rest, and that's Maxwell Leadership. Our certified team members have gotten proven results for companies all over the globe, and our reputation, I'm proud to say, is second to none. Some of our members have risen to the top of their profession, including the one you're going to meet today. I proudly introduce you to my friend, Bob Fabien Zinga.

Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If you need to develop into a better leader, this podcast is for you. If you want to achieve a greater level of success, this podcast is for you. His mentor, Dr. John C. Maxwell, said it best: everything rises and falls on leadership. We hope to inspire you today and provide you with an insight that has the potential to positively impact the trajectory of your life. Welcome to the Leadership and Success Podcast.

Hello everyone, this is Coach Bizzy. Good morning to everybody. We're going to be starting our devotion for today, Tuesday, June 17th, and today's devotion is going to be based on an article I wrote a while ago, actually the very first article for the Young Leadership Excellence and Accountability Devotion Lead: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion: A Cybersecurity Leader's Journey. And like I've said before, I'm going to be having a couple of AI agents help me out this season. So I will have Joe and Mary AI take it from here and I will be back after they are done. All right, Joe and Mary, you guys are next.

Welcome to the Deep Dive.

Great to be here.

Today we are taking a deep dive into a topic that's really foundational, I think, for building strong, effective teams. Especially in demanding fields like cybersecurity. We're talking about diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and accessibility. DEIBA, you often hear it called.

Yeah, that acronym.

And we're looking at it specifically through the lens of leadership in the cyber world.

And for this deep dive, our main source, it's a really compelling article by Bob Fabien BZ Zinga.

Ah, BZ Zinga.

He's a well-respected cybersecurity executive, got deep roots. US Navy veteran, information warfare commander too. His article's called "LED: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion: A Cybersecurity Leader's Journey." And it's powerful because, well, he's writing from his own experience, but he also brings in research, other perspectives. It's quite layered.

So our mission today really is to unpack the core ideas he's putting forward. We want to dig into the practical tips, explore the viewpoints he brings, The goal isn't just to define what D.I.E.S. is in, you know, cyber leadership, right? But really why it's so essential. And then crucially, how leaders can actually champion these ideas in their work day to day.

And the article is fascinating because it doesn't just like skim the surface. It blends his personal story, his military background.

Yeah.

With insights from other leaders. He mentions Pete Buttigieg, Bruce Leslie, and then he even goes deeper, exploring sort of underlying principles by looking at parallels in some pretty significant ethical texts. So it gives us a really rich foundation.

Absolutely. And right from the start, the source makes this really powerful case that embracing diversity isn't just ticking boxes or being socially aware.

No, not at all.

It's framed as a powerful strategic advantage. It's presented as something that fundamentally makes organizations stronger, more innovative, resilient, and ultimately just better performing when facing complex challenges.

Which in cyber means constantly evolving threats, right?

Exactly. So let's really dig into that core idea first, the strategic advantage piece.

Yeah, that's definitely the place to start because the author, Bob Fabien Zinga, he opens with this very direct statement that really sets the tone. It's worth quoting him here.

Okay.

He says, diversity and inclusion isn't just the right thing to do. It is a strategic advantage. It makes an organization stronger, innovative, resilient, and ultimately better performing.

Wow.

That's a strong statement. Almost provocative, isn't it?

It is.

It immediately shifts DEIBO away from just being about compliance or corporate responsibility and puts it right into the heart of mission effectiveness, performance.

He's saying this isn't some side project. This is central to actually succeeding.

And it's not just his opinion, is it? The source backs this up.

Exactly. It doesn't just state it. It points to research supporting the idea, specifically mentioning findings by Dr. Alicia Norchi. And this research apparently shows that organizations that that really embrace DEI, they see measurable boosts in things like creativity, innovation, overall team performance.

Okay, let's go ahead and unpack why that might be happening, especially in a field like cybersecurity.

Well, think about it. If you have a team where everyone comes from a similar background, same training, same kind of life experiences, maybe even similar ways of thinking.

Yeah, uniformity.

Right, uniformity. You're essentially creating blind spots. You're all looking at the problem set from roughly the same angle.

But in cybersecurity, the threats aren't like that. They're constantly changing. Adversaries are creative. They look for weird angles, unexpected vulnerabilities.

Precisely. So if your team is uniform, you might miss those things. But a diverse team, people with different backgrounds, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, education, maybe military versus civilian, different cognitive styles even.

They bring different ways of seeing the world, different —exactly.

And that means they're more likely to challenge assumptions. Someone might spot a potential flaw in a system or a social engineering trick that the rest of the team, sharing a similar cultural context, just wouldn't see. Their unique perspective gives them an edge. That's where the innovation and resilience piece comes in. Creativity isn't just about building new stuff; it's also creative problem-solving when things go wrong. Under pressure. Right. A diverse team is better equipped to brainstorm a wider range of solutions or to anticipate attacks before they happen. They've just got a broader pool of knowledge and intuition to draw from.

It's like having a toolkit with only hammers versus one with hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, everything. You need the right tool for the job, and sometimes it's an unexpected one.

That's a great analogy. And the source helps clarify these concepts by bringing in other voices on what DEIBA actually means.

Pete Buttigieg is quoted. Right. He uses contrast, which is quite effective. Yeah.

He says, "The opposite of diversity is uniformity. The opposite of equity is inequity. The opposite of inclusion is exclusion." Simple, but clear. The idea is to make sure everyone gets a seat at the table and things are fair.

Those antonyms, uniformity, inequity, exclusion, really highlight what DEI is pushing back against.

And Bruce Leslie is quoted taking it even further, listing starker antonyms. Things like segregation, conformity, inequity, injustice, bias, discrimination, exclusion, and omission.

Wow, that's a powerful list.

It really is, because it names real harmful things that happen in organizations and society. So when we talk about championing DEI, we're not just talking abstract ideas.

No, we're talking about actively fighting against segregation, injustice, discrimination, making sure people aren't omitted or excluded.

It makes the stakes really clear.

The strategic advantage isn't just better results. It's building an organization that actively pushes against those negative forces.

And that kind of environment, the fair, inclusive one, is where the resilience and innovation can actually happen.

And for Bob Fabien Zinga, this isn't just theory. The article really grounds this strategic advantage in his own life, his career, his background as a cyber exec and, uh, Information warfare commander in the Navy.

That's pretty unique. Absolutely.

And in both roles, mission success, adapting under pressure, those are everything.

And he says his experience taught him the value of diverse teams directly.

He calls it a mission multiplier.

A mission multiplier. I like that. It's impactful, isn't it?

It suggests diversity doesn't just add a bit more capacity. It amplifies the team's effectiveness. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Does he give examples? He does.

He talks about how inclusive leadership, really valuing every voice, every experience, whether it was a junior analyst or a seasoned pro, someone with a non-traditional background, how that created an environment where people felt safe to share those diverse perspectives. And that allowed them to tackle, in his words, complex cyber threats and mission challenges that we couldn't have solved alone.

You can picture that in a cyber incident, right? Yeah. Analyzing some new malware or a complex phishing attack. Yeah. A uniform team might have a standard playbook, But the diverse team, if they feel included, someone might spot a lateral movement technique that plays on a cultural norm the others missed.

Or propose a defense based on understanding human behavior from a completely different field or experience.

It really hammers home that this isn't about optics, it's operational effectiveness.

Especially in cyber, where the adversary is always innovating, exploiting human weaknesses as much as technical ones. Yeah. Having a team that sees the field from all angles isn't just nice, it's becoming necessary for mission success, national security, everything. Okay, so we've got the strategic why grounded in experience.

The article then shifts, right, to more practical implementation.

Yes, it shows how BZ Zinga puts these principles into action through his work with specific nonprofits, gives us tangible examples. Like which ones? Well, one key one is the United Cybersecurity Alliance. He's an executive board advisor there. Okay. And their mission is very focused. Empowering women and minorities in cyber. The article explicitly states their goal is to increase the number of women and minorities for much-needed diversity in cybersecurity jobs.

That's critical because the need for diverse talent is there strategically, but the pipeline often doesn't match up.

Exactly. So organizations like this are working on the supply side. How do they do it? The article mentions concrete things, global events, mentoring programs, specific forums like the Cybersecurity Woman of the Year Awards, DEI summits.

So visibility, networking, mentorship, community building.

All of it. And as the article points out, this isn't just about filling jobs. It reinforces the message that diverse talent is central to resilience and mission success in cybersecurity.

It's core strategy, not an add-on. Precisely.

And another group mentioned is the AZ Cyber Initiative. He's a board director there. AZ, so Arizona-focused. Yeah. And their focus is a bit different, but just as vital. They're dedicated to unlocking opportunities for young people who are interested in cyber, getting them early.

So building that pipeline from the ground up.

Right. They work with schools, industry partners, run boot camps, STEM programs, all designed to get young people into cyber.

And the article provides some stats here, doesn't it? To show the need. It does.

And they're pretty stark, like nearly one-third of US workers lack foundational digital skills.

That's huge. Wow. A third. That's a massive disadvantage right there in today's world.

And then you look specifically at tech, the numbers on representation. Women are about half the population, but only around 25% of the tech workforce.

Still that low?

According to the source, yes. And for Black and Latinx adults, roughly 30% of the population combined, but only about 15% of tech workers.

That's a huge gap, a massive underutilization of talent. It really is.

So groups like AZ Cyber Initiative, they're tackling this head-on, actively recruiting and training girls, minority youth, not just teaching code, but building that future workforce.

And the article frames this not just as social good, but directly linked to economic security and national safety.

Yes, closing that skills gap with diverse talent means more innovation, a stronger defense for our digital infrastructure, and spreading the economic benefits more widely. It ties right back to DEIB as a strategic imperative.

Okay, so we've got the why, the examples of action. What about individual leaders? What can they do?

Right, the article pivots to that. It offers specific, actionable tips for leaders who want to embrace DEIB in their own work, whether they lead a small team or a whole company. Practical stuff.

Good. Let's hear them. What's the first one?

Tip number 1 is deepen self-awareness.

Self-awareness. Okay. What does that mean in this context?

It means really making a conscious effort to reflect on your own biases, the ones you know about and the ones you don't, the unconscious ones, and reflecting on your own privileges, the power you hold because of your position.

That feels like the essential starting point. Right. You can't fix biases you don't even know you have.

Exactly. And the source suggests practical ways is to actively ask for feedback from your team, be willing to admit mistakes, especially if they had an exclusive impact you didn't intend.

That takes vulnerability. It does.

And taking time to really think about how your own background, your experiences shape how you see things, how you make decisions about other people.

So it's not just navel-gazing. It's about gaining insight to act differently.

Right. The source says this self-reflection builds the confidence and insight needed for more inclusive actions. If you understand your blind spots, you can actively compensate.

Like maybe you realize you tend to interrupt certain people more often.

Or assign the good projects to people who remind you of yourself.

Yeah, becoming aware isn't about guilt. It's about gaining the power to change that behavior, make things fairer.

Okay, so self-awareness is first.

What's next? Tip 2: Listen to understand.

Ah, active listening. But maybe more than that.

Yes, it's framed as active empathetic listening. The goal is genuinely grasping the other person's perspective, their experience, their needs, not just hearing words.

What are the benefits of doing that, according to the source?

Huge benefits. Building trust, for one. Okay. And uncovering hidden challenges or maybe brilliant ideas that wouldn't surface if people feel they won't be truly heard.

You can see that in cyber. A junior analyst spots something weird but stays quiet if they think no one values their input.

Or someone from a different culture has insight into a social engineering tactic but only shares if they feel included and listened to.

Right. Effective listening gets that crucial diverse information onto the table.

The source also notes it's essential for resolving conflict constructively and making sure all voices, especially the quieter ones, are actually included and considered in decisions.

OK, self-awareness, listen to understand. What's the third tip?

Tip 3 is forge inclusive connections.

Forge them. So be intentional about it.

Exactly. Actively, intentionally build bridges between colleagues across different roles, different teams, different cultural backgrounds, different experiences within the organization.

How do you do that practically?

The article suggests things like setting up cross-team mentoring programs or deliberately creating networking opportunities that mix people who wouldn't normally interact.

Breaking Breaking down those silos. Yes, and ensuring information flows.

When you bring diverse viewpoints together intentionally, you get information from different places, different departments, levels, experiences. And the source says this significantly expands your organization's capacity to innovate.

Innovation often happens at those intersections, doesn't it?

Where different ideas collide. Absolutely.

Plus, these connections, especially mentorship and sponsorship, are vital for career development.

Ah, good point. Especially for people from underrepresented groups who might lack access to those informal networks. Right.

A leader actively forging those connections can make a huge difference in their advancement and feeling like they belong.

So those 3 tips—self-awareness, listening, connecting—that's a pretty clear framework for leaders.

It is. And building on that, the article includes a section called "Questions to Ponder." Ah, homework for the listener.

Kind of. They're prompts designed for you listening now to pause and connect these ideas to your own professional life. Make it personal. Okay, let's hear a couple. All right. The first one asks, how has diverse talent challenged your assumptions and made your team stronger? Think about a time when an unexpected perspective led to a breakthrough.

Hmm. That requires some real reflection. Yeah. Take a moment.

Can you recall a specific time someone different from you saw something you missed? A technical issue, a user misunderstanding, a creative process fix. What happened?

It forces you to move beyond just agreeing diversity is good to finding concrete examples in your own experience.

Grounds it. Makes the strategic advantage real for you. Okay, second question. It links back to that Buddy Geek quote.

The seat at the table one? That's the one.

In the spirit of Pete Buddy Geek's insight, everyone gets a seat at the table. What steps are you taking to ensure no one on your team is excluded or overlooked?

Ooh, that's direct. Puts the onus on your actions now.

Yeah. How do you run meetings? Who gets opportunities? Are some people consistently left out? It asks you to really look at your own leadership behaviors.

Through that inclusion lens. Exactly.

And a third one: Can you recall when inclusive leadership led to better innovation or mission success in your work?

Again, asking for a specific example. Connecting the how of leadership inclusive or not to the actual results.

Right.

It reinforces that this isn't just about feelings; it's tied to achieving better outcomes.

These questions really shift it from passive learning to active reflection, don't they?

They do. They turn the concepts into a call for personal examination.

Now, there's a section in the article that's quite distinctive, where the author explores DEIBA through, um, a different lens, using several historical, ethical, and philosophical texts.

Right. And it's important how we frame this. The author uses these sources to pull out what he sees as universal principles of ethical leadership that align with DIABO goals.

Exactly. Our focus here is strictly on those leadership insights as presented in the source. We're reporting on the author's framework, exploring the leadership principles he extracts, not endorsing the source texts themselves. Correct.

It's about examining the principles the author connects to leading diverse and inclusive teams today. Offering another angle on the ethical foundation. Let's look at the examples he uses. Okay.

First, he references Galatians 3:28. It talks about transcending labels—Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female—being all one.

And the leadership insight drawn from that?

It's pretty powerful. True leadership transcends labels. All people carry equal value and dignity. Effective leaders do not allow race, gender, background, or status to dictate inclusion or opportunity. They build teams where unity is rooted in shared purpose, not uniformity, fosters belonging, and unlocks full potential.

So the core principle: equal value, equal dignity, regardless of background. Leadership that ignores those arbitrary labels and focuses on mission, not conformity.

Right. It connects directly to that strategic advantage of diverse perspectives we talked about.

And the coaching prompts that go with it.

They ask things like, who in your organization may feel unseen or undervalued? What systems unintentionally reinforce exclusion? How are you actively creating an environment where all team members know they matter and belong? Pushes leaders to look critically at their own context.

Okay, what's the next reference? Revelation 7:9.

It describes this vision of a great multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.

A very diverse image. Exactly.

And the leadership insight drawn is "The vision" reflects the beauty and strength of multicultural unity. Diversity isn't a challenge to be managed; it's a vision to be pursued.

Shifts it from problem to positive goal.

Just as every tribe and tongue stands in unity, a great leader brings together people of all backgrounds to serve a common mission with honor and equity.

So, framing diversity not as something difficult but as an ideal strength to strive for. Unity through bringing together differences.

With honor and equity.

And the coaching prompts challenge leaders on pursuing that. Does your team reflect the world's diversity? If not, why? What steps are you taking to recruit, retain, and promote underrepresented groups? How can you build a culture that celebrates, not merely tolerates, differences?

Very practical questions. Turning vision into action.

Got it. Next. Acts 10:34-35. Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality. In every nation, anyone who does what is right is acceptable.

Impartiality.

That's the key, the leadership insight. God's impartiality sets the gold standard for leadership. Fairness and equity are non-negotiables. Great leaders make space for all voices, judge by character and contribution, not by culture or conformity, and ensure opportunities are accessible to all who are capable and committed. So thriving organizations need fairness, making space for all voices, judging on merit and contribution, not on fitting in.

Access based on capability.

And the prompts link that principle to practice are voices consistently unheard or undervalued. In hiring or promotions, how do you ensure fair measurement without bias? Have you confronted a hidden partiality within yourself? Connects impartiality to meetings, evaluations, self-assessment. Okay. What else?

James 2.1, show no partiality. Reinforcing that theme. The leadership insight. Favoritism erodes trust and unity. Leaders must consciously commit to equitable treatment. DEI-minded leadership sees value in each person and ensures no one is left behind due to societal norms or legacy systems.

So impartiality again, but specifically calling out favoritism's damage and connecting it to modern concepts like implicit bias and systemic issues. Conscious effort needed.

And the prompts probe that. Who receives most of your mentorship and why? Are decisions based on personal comfort or principled leadership? How can you become more self-aware of unconscious bias? Examining relationships, decision-making, bias awareness. Makes sense.

Another one? 1 Corinthians 12:12-14. The analogy of the body having many different parts, all valuable.

Ah, the body metaphor. Very common for teams. Yes.

For just as the body is one and has many members, so it is. The body does not consist of one member, but of many. The Leadership Insight: A high-functioning team is like a healthy body—diverse in roles, equal in value. Recognize the unique strengths each member brings and avoid building teams of clones. Inclusion means celebrating differences and aligning them toward mission success. A powerful metaphor.

A body needs different parts. Hands, feet, eyes—all essential, equally valuable. So, leaders shouldn't build teams of clones. Celebrate differences. Recognize unique strengths. Align them to the mission.

And the prompts focus on leveraging those strengths. Do you know the hidden strengths of each member? How do you invite diverse viewpoints into decisions? What can you do to highlight the unique gifts of someone often unnoticed? Getting practical about using everyone's talent. Okay, is there one more? Last one mentioned is Micah 6:8. What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly?

Justice, kindness, humility—core virtues.

Exactly. The leadership insight: At the heart of inclusive leadership lies a call to justice, kindness, and humility. Leaders must advocate for fairness, extend compassion to the marginalized, and lead with a posture of humility that listens, learns, and lifts others.

So positioning these virtues as foundational for inclusive leadership—active advocacy, compassion, humility that listens and empowers.

And the final prompts are maybe the most challenging. Are you advocating for the underrepresented when no one else is watching? How are you using your influence to correct injustice? In what ways can you model humility and vulnerability to create psychological safety?

Wow, those really push leaders to think about quiet advocacy, direct action against injustice, and creating that safe environment.

Yeah, so throughout this whole section, the author isn't preaching theology. He's using these widely recognized ethical principles valuing people, Unity in diversity, impartiality, avoiding favoritism, recognizing different contributions, leading with justice, kindness, humility.

And applying them directly to the practicalities of leading diverse, inclusive teams today, especially in demanding fields like cyber. It provides a different kind of foundation for why this matters. Precisely. The article also mentions a resources and references section, right?

Listing other magazines, podcasts, articles. It does.

It just serves as a reminder that Bisi Zinga's piece, well, it's part of a much larger ongoing conversation.

Right. He's drawing from others and contributing his perspective back into that discussion.

It underlines that DEIBA in leadership isn't static. It's constantly being explored, debated, refined across the professional world.

And ultimately, the article seems to circle back to where we started.

Yeah, that central theme: DEIBA isn't just about checking boxes or surface appearances. As the author concludes, these principles, these practices, they are fundamental to actually building better teams, fostering resilience, sparking innovation and achieving stronger mission impact, whether that mission is defending networks, developing software, or leading any group towards a goal.

So understanding and actively implementing DEI, as we've talked about today, really seems crucial for anyone in a team or leadership role.

Now it's about unlocking everyone's potential, which ultimately builds the strongest possible team.

Well, that brings us towards the end of our deep dive into Bob Fabien Zinga's article. Led: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion: A Cybersecurity Leader's Journey.

We've really unpacked a lot.

We have. Why DEIB is presented as a strategic advantage, especially in cyber. Seen how it plays out in real experience and nonprofit work. Explored those actionable tips, self-awareness, listening, connecting, and engaged with those reflective questions.

And looked at how the author uses those broader ethical principles as a foundation for inclusive leadership.

The article definitely makes a compelling case that intentional leadership around DIB is fundamental to building those resilient, innovative, high-performing teams we need.

Couldn't agree more.

Thank you for joining us on this deep dive.

My pleasure. As a final thought, maybe something to take away, the article really stressed looking beyond labels and challenging our own partiality. Mm-hmm. So maybe this week, try actively seeking out a perspective at work or even outside work that's different from your own, someone from another team, different experience level, different way of thinking. Yeah. And make a real conscious effort to just listen, to understand their viewpoint. Don't argue, don't judge, just listen. What assumptions might get challenged? What new insight might you gain? You might find it leads to a breakthrough you never would have reached on your own.

All right, you've got it, folks. This is Coach Bizzy back, and I'm going to check really quickly on LinkedIn and YouTube. To see if there are any questions for me. There doesn't seem to be. So when you watch the, uh, replay, and for those of you watching right now, please let me know where you are watching from, what city, region, state, or country. I appreciate that. And if you have any question for me, still go ahead and post the question here, and I will get to it tomorrow when we meet again at 6:30 AM Pacific Time, 9:30 AM Eastern Time. So the last thing I'm going to say about diversity and inclusion, those are values that are fundamental to me and I think to our country as well, right? They are core values, and being core values, that means they are who I am. So they don't change based on what's going on in society, what is trendy and what is not, right? It is who I am. That's what I stand for. I don't go to and fro. I stand on the foundation of my belief, my conviction, and who I am. And definitely diversity and inclusions One of those two core values I live by no matter what, and they cannot be illegal. Even going back to the motto of our country, E pluribus unum, out of many, one. I think diversity is definitely our strength in our armed forces, in our country, and in everything we do, research and science, technology. We need different perspective, different background, and different people who think differently so that we can lead innovation like we do here in California. And in Silicon Valley. So I'm gonna end with that. And until next time, see you tomorrow. And this is Coach BZ. Thank you so much for watching me live right here on LinkedIn.

Thank you for listening to the Leadership and Success Podcast with your host, Coach BZ. If you like what you heard, please subscribe to our channels and come back for more wisdom nuggets on how you may develop into a better leader and achieve greater levels of success. Leadership is the most critical skill. The world will always need leaders to lead others, deploy the next disruptive technology, or execute a business strategy. You may as well decide on counting yourself among the 21st century leaders. See you right here next time on the Leadership and Success Podcast with Coach BZ.