Nancie C. Zane, PhD, is a social psychologist and a principal with Praxis Consulting Group. For over twenty years, Nancie has worked with non-profits, for-profits and public sector organizations to build diverse staff and board leadership teams, strengthen staff relationships, and develop effective communication strategies—all in the service of helping organizations achieve their goals. Nancie also works to help organizations re-align their organizational mission, culture, and structure through innovative visioning and strategic planning processes. In addition, Nancie heads the coaching practice within Praxis that serves mid-level managers and senior leaders. She has coached and taught in the Wharton Advanced Management and the Executive Education Program and is certified in Clark Wilson, Hogan Surveys, the ESCI (emotional Intelligence), and SAVI communications.
Nancie has taught courses at the University of Pennsylvania for over 15 years focused on organizational diagnosis, group and team dynamics, and strategic thinking and planning. In addition, Nancie has designed and delivered courses on women and leadership and intergroup relations and was a visiting lecturer at the University of Haifa and the Golda Meir Center in Haifa, Israel. Her co-authored publication with Kenwyn Smith, PhD, Organizational Reflections: Parallel Processes at Work in a Dual Consultation won a Macgregor Award from the Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences. Her other publications focus on the creation of corporate commitment to organizational diversity as well as re-thinking student discipline in the context of school restructuring.
Nancie recently stepped down from the national board of the Alliance for Non-profit Management; she was co-president of the Philadelphia Center for Organizational Dynamics for 3 years; a member for 10.
Nancie received a BS from Cornell University in criminal justice and community psychology and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in social psychology. She was awarded the Tompkins County Human Rights Award for her work in the criminal justice system and the development of the Tompkins County Sexual Abuse Task Force, a multi-disciplinary approach to providing treatment to offenders and survivors while focusing on prevention.
This article analyzes layers of meaning that are embedded in the concept of diversity in a financial institution. It examines the discourses about diversity that emerged over 2½ years, during which a CEO was intentionally trying to change his organization’s cultural norms and to become more sensitive to “valuing people.”
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