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Five years ago, just as the end of the recession was in sight, NiSource executives foresaw that the energy sector was in the midst of a major, fast-moving shift. To be future ready, they knew NiSource needed to invest in its people, with the end goal of improving the diversity of qualified talent in the leadership pipeline. NiSource’s two top-female executives – Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Carrie Hightman and Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Violet Sistovaris – asked each other, “Where is the next generation of women at NiSource, and what can we do to support them?”
Beginning in 2015, Tiara International has provided a program across industries for professional women to develop their leadership competencies and expand their influence. The curriculum is based on the Tiara Model for True Leadership (SM) and combines in-person group development sessions, one-on-one leadership coaching, and virtual community support.
The leaders at the Motley Fool wanted to know if they should invest specifically in women's leadership development. Some of the female employees were beginning to ask for specific programming, particularly around the time that the book "Lean In" was published. However, the Fool wanted to be intentional and strategic about how they responded to the question, instead of simply following the trend.
The Head of Global Compensation, Kathy Van Neck, was brought into the company from the outside. She inherited a team of skilled specialists at a time when the company was planning on implementing several key compensation initiatives impacting both short term and long term incentives for thousands of employees around the world.
NiSource is committed to inclusion and diversity company-wide, and through its various Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Mentorship Programs they intend to have a workforce and leadership population that reflects the communities they serve. The GOLD (Generating Opportunities for Latinos & Diversity) ERG has had amazing success by launching the Own Your Career program in partnership with Tiara International.