by Matthew Jones

It has often been said that, in business, if you’re a person of color, you have to work twice as hard, and be twice as smart and effective to get half the recognition.  In many cases, the saying is true; however, every once in a while, you encounter someone so driven, so intelligent, and so acutely independent that the saying is rendered meaningless.  Such persons possess a presence, power, and desire to succeed that are so great they are able to transcend the limitations imposed by others.  Lisa Ross, senior vice president, public affairs practice, at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, is one of those people.

It takes less than five minutes for Ross to reveal herself as a woman of intense and varied passion – she is a powerful advocate, role model and mentor for women in the marketing industry; she has spent a great amount of time and money to help less fortunate women in her community; and she is committed to increasing diversity wherever she does business.  She is, however, first and foremost, a business woman.

“(Embracing diversity) is, obviously, the right thing to do from a social standpoint, but that’s not (why it’s happening today), said Ross.  “It creates a clear competitive advantage from the business perspective.”

“We have to get beyond defining diversity as just Black and White,” continued Ross.  “We need to incorporate diversity of thought, geography, socio-economically, politically… When you come up with an idea to bring all of these (factors) together, you have a winner.”

Ross has been successful in helping to create a diverse workplace at Ogilvy PR, where diversity extends to the top levels - levels that have long been elusive for minorities.  Ogilvy PR has two African-American vice presidents and one Latino vice president, one of which reports directly to Ross.  “We have made a concerted effort (to have minorities in positions of power on the team), but I will not exclude anyone (on the basis of their not being a minority).”

It helps that the top management at Ogilvy PR, one of the world’s leading public relations agencies, is supportive of Ross’ efforts.  Diversity remains a sensitive and sometimes complicated issue in the workplace, and the level of senior management involvement usually sets the stage as to whether or not efforts succeed or fail.  At Ogilvy PR, the efforts are succeeding.

“(Top management) gets it, regarding diversity,” explains Ross.  “They realize that you have to have different perspectives.  That’s what (clients) pay us for.”

Learning to Create Diversity

A large part of Ross’ effectiveness in growing a diverse work force can be traced back to her political days at our nation’s capitol.  Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, Ross was the deputy director of the White House Women’s Office and the Glass Ceiling Commission for the Clinton administration.  As part of a bi-partisan effort, it was her job to look at the national business landscape and help outline a plan to create more equitable opportunities for women in the workplace.  “It was very necessary work.  It was an honor,” said Ross of her days at the White House.

However, even at the White House level, there was a lot of educating that Ross had to do, including educating the White House on the need to include women of color in the overall women’s effort.  Ross would attend meetings with some of the most powerful women’s groups in the country, only to look around to find that she was still the only African-American in the room.

“I had to change that really quickly,” noted Ross, adding that soon after she came on board, more and more groups representing women of color gained access to the White House.  “And not just the major groups, but the smaller ones, too – the young minority women who were thinking outside the box.”  Some people close to Ross describe her as the one who introduced women of color to the White House.

Ross brought key learning from her White House experience back to the agency level, where she has instrumental in helping to change the face of Ogilvy PR to better match the world around it.

To achieve and maintain success with diversity, Ross points to one ingredient as being essential.   “You have to have a pipeline,” said Ross.  She believes ethnic employees must continue to open doors for others.  “When people (of color) move on, there needs to be others behind them – even smarter, sharper and more prepared than the people they are replacing.”

However, far too often, that is not happening in today’s marketplace, where, at most organizations, the number of ethnic people of power can be counted on one hand, and sometimes, one finger.

“’The One’ phenomenon does not work,” Ross explained.  “Far too often, we walk into a room and we’re the only (minorities) there.  Sometimes, we even act proud about it.  It’s not a good thing.  Don’t be proud of that.  It’s a numbers game,” she continued.  “The more they see (minorities in the workplace), the more the ‘newness’ falls away.  The ‘newness’ doesn’t help us.”

According to Ross, ‘newness’ manifests itself in ways that are usually negative.  “There’s this interesting phenomenon that sometimes happens when I walk into the room with a White colleague – particularly a male,” Ross began.  “There is this assumption that whatever (the White, male colleague) says is right.  He’s always correct.  When I participate, and I’m right, or I make an intelligent point, it’s a pleasant surprise.”

Many minorities have had similar experiences in the workplace, where they are often regarded as some kind of anomaly because they use complete sentences and actually contribute to the business task at hand.  From Ross’ perspective, the more often we walk into these rooms and demonstrate effectiveness, hopefully, the less ‘surprised’ people will be.  “It’s too common that we’re the only people of color in the room.  We need that pipeline,” Ross concluded.

In addition to the importance of a pipeline of ethnic talent, Ross stressed that ethnic marketing, which is a new business function in many agencies, represents an ideal opportunity to expand agency diversity.  More and more, clients are demanding diversity within their agency teams.  This holds particularly true for large government accounts, where federal regulations stipulate that certain percentages of the budget must be allocated to smaller, minority owned businesses.

“(Clients) are starting to get it,” explains Ross.  “If you’re trying to market to a diverse target, you have to have the perspective there in the room.”

An Agent for Community and Corporate Change

In addition to being an advocate for change in the corporate world, Ross has also been an agent for change in the community.  Born and raised in Washington D.C., she grew up in a predominately Black neighborhood.  “You would walk down the street and see the ‘have’s’ and the ‘have-not’s.’  Sometimes, they would live right next to each other.  I found that just offensive.  I wanted to change that – there had to be a way to bridge some of those gaps.”

About seven years ago, Ross pulled together other leading women and professionals from around the D.C. area to create the Washington Area Women’s Foundation (WAWF) – a philanthropic organization dedicated to helping create a basis of self-sufficiency for the area’s underprivileged young women and girls.  Most of the organizations supported by WAWF are smaller, grassroots organizations that tend to fly under the corporate philanthropy radar.

“We’ve come a long way in a short time,” said Ross of WAWF’s grassroots efforts.  “When we had our first awards program six years ago, I was our keynote speaker.  Last year, the keynote speaker was (former First Lady) Hillary Clinton.  Next year, it will be (entertainment juggernaut) Oprah Winfrey.”

Ross takes a very pragmatic approach to her community activity.  For her, the needs of the community are quite clear, and getting involved boils down to a personal assessment of what is important.  As a mother of two pre-teens, a wife and a top executive of one of the most influential public relations agencies in the world, Ross has decided that being involved in the community is important and well worth her time.

“Everybody can give – whether you make $30,000 a year or $300,000,” she said.  “It’s a very powerful, liberating feeling.  It’s just a matter of parting with your time, or your money.  The more you give – give of yourself, spiritually, and with human decency, the more you get back.”

Just as the colors of America and the corporate world continue to change, so too are the faces of philanthropy.  “Women represent the new face of philanthropy – particularly women of color. The trend is amazing.”

Ross has demonstrated her ability to be effective, intelligent, aggressive and caring.  When Ross worked at the White House, she created and directed the Office of Public Liaison at the U.S. Department of Labor.  Since leaving the public sector, she has created and expanded community organizations that help open doors for other women.  She has been named Washington D.C.’s PR Woman of the Year; and Washington Life Magazine recently selected Ross as their 2004 Woman of Style and Substance.

One can only wonder what might be next for a woman of Ross’ caliber.

The age-old notion of being twice as good to get half the credit is still alive and well in the business arena for many people of color.  But for a woman like Lisa Ross, it doesn’t make a difference.  She was going to excel regardless of the expectations and predispositions of others.  She set out to do it her way from the start, and that has suited her just fine.

“I don’t have to work that hard to prove (my talent) – I just do my thing,” said Ross.  “It’s very liberating.  When I choose to be funny, casual, or irreverent, I am.  Yes, on occasion, I can ‘act out.’  But I also realize that I have to be effective. (It’s what affords me the freedom) … to be me.”

The End