Learning to manage with a disability

[Guest guest]

Learning to manage with a disability

A UCLA workshop brings executives from several firms together to

help them sharpen their leadership skills.

By Molly Selvin, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disable16nov16,1,3005470.story

UCLA's management school has for years hosted executive training

sessions for African Americans, women, Latinos, lesbians, bisexuals,

gays and transgender people. This week, the school convened its

first-ever workshop for disabled executives, filling what experts

say is a void.

The five-day event closing today at the UCLA School of

Management brought together disabled supervisors from a number of

companies to hone their leadership skills, plot career goals and

build support networks.

" This is kind of new territory, " said Blanck, chairman of the

Burton Blatt Institute, a disability research center at Syracuse

University. " Most people with a disability have been historically

out of sight and out of mind. "

Although many companies have made concerted efforts to recruit

disabled workers in recent years, those employees often face a glass

ceiling when it comes to advancement. Yet when people with a

significant impairment are in positions of leadership, Blanck said,

their presence makes the organization's culture more tolerant.

The 25 workshop participants, all seasoned managers, came from

companies that helped sponsor the workshop, including AT & T Inc.,

Merck & Co., Google Inc., PepsiCo Inc. and Motorola Inc.

The participants each had different kinds of disabilities but the

leadership skills they were learning could be used almost anywhere,

said Patty O'Sullivan, a human resource manager at Agilent

Technologies Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., and one of the

participants.

O'Sullivan attended an School seminar for female executives

six years ago but believed that she didn't bond with the other

women. The goal was " to teach women to speak powerfully, " she

said, " but as a deaf person, it didn't fit me. "

Her feedback led 's administrators to organize the program

for disabled executives.

" This week the void will be filled, " O'Sullivan said.

Role models and mentors are important for every manager, said Laurie

Dowling, who directs 's executive education programs. But

disabled employees, like those in other underrepresented groups, may

not have bosses or sponsors who can sing their praises and help them

take advantage of opportunities often filled through word of mouth,

she said.

" The people who've gone before us can often give us important advice

about how to handle challenges, and they are the people who can help

teach us how to blow our horns, " Dowling said.

Hall, who gave the workshop's keynote address Tuesday

night, has used his celebrity status as a regular on CBS' hit TV

show " CSI: Crime Scene Investigation " to make that point. Hall, who

plays coroner Dr. Albert Robbins on the show, lost both legs in 1978

when he was hit by a drunk driver.

" I passionately believe that people with disabilities are

undervalued and underutilized, " he told the group.

Dr. Robbins rarely mentions his disability, Hall said. " The

significance of my character is that he's very good at his job. "

" Images have enormous power, " he said. " If we see people with

disabilities portraying strong characters on TV and in the movies,

there will be a positive result. "

expects to use the skills he learned this week to help

other disabled employees at Northrop Grumman Corp. as well as to

advance his 17-year career with the aerospace company. The 44-year-

old engineering manager, who supervises 70 employees at Northrop's

electronics facility in land, has multiple sclerosis that

requires him to use crutches.

So far, said, his disease has caused only limited

difficulties for him at work. But he believes that the sessions on

personal development, productivity skills and dealing with

stereotypes are teaching him tools that will help maintain his

performance should his health decline.