Alan Richter is one such individual who has been able to think clearly on matters of leadership, culture and ethics in the fast moving world of work today. Having South African roots, a doctorate in philosophy, London, and decades of experience in global consulting, Richter can offer a refreshing perspective on the issues of how organisations lead, how difference is handled, and how values are important. His activities cut across corporations, global organisations and academic institutions. This publication gives one an easy read of his life, his most important works, the theories that he employs and the importance of his thought to any person interested in leadership, ethics and inclusion in the current times.
Who is Alan Richter?
Early life and education
Alan Richter was born in South Africa and had a personal experience of the society oriented towards racial segregation and huge cultural differences. In his youth, he left South Africa to get higher education in the United Kingdom and finally moved to the United States. He holds:
B.A. /B.Sc. and M.A. University of Cape Town. Ph.D. Philosophy, Birkbeck College, London University.
His philosophical education and experience formed a basis of his consulting focus on culture, ethics and inclusion.
Professional journey
Richter is the founder and President of QED Consulting, a New York-based consulting firm that focuses on leadership, values, culture, change, inclusion and ethics. He has spent most of his career over the years operating in industries such as international companies as well as international bodies including the United Nations and also spanning continents (Africa, Asia, or Europe, Americas).
Alan Richter Biography
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Alan Richter, Ph.D. |
| Date of Birth | Not publicly specified |
| Place of Birth | Not publicly specified |
| Nationality | Presumed British-based/Global (resident in New York, USA) |
| Occupation(s) | Consultant, Author, Educator, Specialist in Diversity & Inclusion / Ethics / Leadership |
| Known For | Founder & President of QED Consulting; developer of the Global Diversity Game and other tools for D&I and ethics. |
| Education | B.A./B.Sc. from University of Cape Town; M.A. from University of Cape Town; Ph.D. in Philosophy from Birkbeck College, London University. |
| Years Active / Career | Over 30 years of consulting globally in leadership, diversity, culture and change. |
| Major Contributions | • Created the Global Diversity Game ® and Global Gender Intelligence Assessment. • Co-author of the Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks and Global Ethics & Integrity Benchmarks. |
| Affiliations / Clients | Worked with many organisations, including the UN and major global firms across multiple continents. |
| Residence | Based in New York City, USA. |
| Net Worth (Estimated) | Not publicly disclosed |
| Notable Facts | Recognised as a pioneer in diversity & inclusion; listed in Global Diversity List (2015) for top D&I professionals. |
Significant works of Alan Richter.
Education tools and evaluation tools.
Among other contributions, one of the main ones that Richter has made is the development and co-development of tools that assist organisations in evaluating, training and mobilizing practices in inclusion, leadership and ethics. Some of the tools include:
The Global Diversity Game- a winning training simulation.
These tools are the indication of his belief that the measurement, reflection and organised training are the way to make organisations change their culture.
Consulting leadership and world consulting assignments.
Richter has been a consultant to large-scale organisations:
The international organizations such as the agencies of the United Nations (UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, etc.), and others.
Companies such as GE, KPMG, Sony, UBS, Nokia among others.
International academic affiliations and lectures.
His consulting normally incorporates leadership building, culture change, ethics seminars, and simulations. To illustrate, in an interview he discussed his assignment with the UN agency ICAO on diversity training of all employees, which would be followed by team-building and ethics.
Frameworks and models
Richter has formulated or worked on a number of paradigms on how to think about leadership, diversity and ethics. One example: the head-heart-hand model of Global Diversity Survey tool:
Head = consciousness, lack of bias, appreciation of difference.
Heart = reprehensiveness, openness, fairness, sensitivity.
Hand = involvement, interaction, joint problem solution.
The other one is the four dimensions of his leadership survey namely values (conscience), action (courage), ideas (creativity) and people (relationships) in the global contexts.
The implications of the work by Alan Richter to organisations today.
The topic of leadership in the globalising world.
During a remote working period, with multiculturalism and dynamism, organisations require leaders who are able to deal with difference, encourage inclusion and support moral standards. The tools and consulting are assistive to the leaders of Richter:
Be aware of cultural presumptions and prejudice.
Develop unbiased practices at geographical and team levels.
Incorporate ethics and integrity in organisational culture.
Structural concerns, inclusion and ethics.
As stressed by Richter, inclusion is not only a nice thing to have but also key to organisational health, particularly in global systems that have structural inequalities. His training instruments aid organisations to gauge their location about inclusion and ethics and subsequently strategize on action. This is indicated in a short table:
Virtual teams and change: a practical example.
Richter has been involved in the development of such tools as the simulation of global virtual teams (Lost in Cyberspace) which highlight the extra difficulties of having teams distributed across cultures, time zones and languages. His insights are still relevant to those organisations becoming more and more dependent on virtual and hybrid models.
Key themes in Richter’s work
Leadership and inclusion: Leaders should be inclusive and not dictatorial.
Ethics and values: It is the structures and culture that shape ethical behaviour not just laws.
Global/cultural competence: Organisations cannot afford to ignore culture as a factor but take it into consideration.
Measurement & tools Reflection and data (surveys, benchmarks) facilitate change.
learning through doing: Simulations, games and interactive tools assist in entrenching learning.
Lessons learned by Alan Richter on individuals and teams.
For individual leaders
Self awareness is important: It is important to be aware of the cultural lens that we have, our values and assumptions.
Ongoing learning: Be it with tools such as tests, you can always learn what to improve and on.
Be an ethical leader: Leadership to set the ethics of the team.
For teams and organisations
Structure inclusion: Include as a strategy element, and not as a training day.
Measure and reflect: Survey and benchmark culture and progress.
Cultivate psychological safety: Teams need to feel safe enough to express themselves, provide feedback and fail safely which is one of the aspects emphasized by Richter.
Practical steps
A baseline evaluation of leadership style, inclusion and ethics (based on Richter-inspired instruments).
Create a simulation or workshop (e.g., The Global Diversity Game) that will bring issues out of the safety-net.
Establish leadership change and team norms plan based on values and measurement.
Conduct periodic reviews, benchmarked ( Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks / Global Ethics and Integrity Benchmarks).
Modify culture systems (recruitment, promotion, recognition) to portray the preferred values and inclusive practices.
Critiques and limitations to take into consideration.
Although the frameworks by Richter are rather respected, it is important to mention that there are some caveats:
Assessments cannot necessarily result in real change without changing and devoting the leadership and structures.
The global models can simplify culture: though frameworks can become universal, the local context is always important.
Measurement fatigue: Organisational fatigue may be overrun with questionnaires and lose sight of the doing aspect of change.
Even Richter himself stresses that the tools are merely the starting points of action and not the final ones.
The continued relevance of Alan Richter.
The work of Alan Richter is timely as organisations continue to grapple with the challenges and have a hybrid workforce, remote work teams, global supply chains, ethical risks and social expectations. His attention to ethics, inclusivity and leadership in the global context places him in a good position to be a voice that many organisations still consult. His further speaking engagements and publications indicate that his work is still developing and reacting to new realities.
Summary
We have discussed in this paper the life, work and impact of Alan Richter -philosopher-turned-consultant whose career cuts across continents, sectors and decades. We have examined his background, the consulting firm that he started (QED Consulting), the tools and frameworks he came up with (Global Diversity Game, Global Diversity Survey, Global Leadership Survey, Global Ethics and Integrity Benchmarks) and the practical implications of his work to leaders, teams and organisations. His focus on values, cultural competence and measurement makes rigour in his presentation of what is at times abstract such as inclusion and ethics. To any organisation that operates in a complex global or a culturally diverse surrounding, the frameworks of Richter provide tangible ways of improvement. The takeaway? Although inclusion, ethical leadership and culture may not be additional or optional, they are part and parcel of sustainable organisational success. His point: consciousness, consideration and various forms of change are important.
FAQs
Specialisation Alan Richter is a specialist at what?
Alan Richter is a leadership, values, culture, ethics, inclusion and change expert in global organisations.
What is the Global Diversity Survey designed by Alan Richter?
Global Diversity Survey is an assessment instrument co-developed by Richter and measures how individuals and organisations respond to the difference in three domains, which are self, others and world, and on three levels, which are head (cognitive), heart (emotional) and hand (behavioural).
What can the tools created by Alan Richter help organisations to do?
His tools could help organisations to evaluate existing culture and leadership practices, conduct training and simulations, establish benchmarks and monitor inclusion and ethical performance progress.
Where then has Alan Richter consulted?
He has engaged in extensive consultations with the UN-based agencies (UNICEF, UNDP, WHO), with global corporations (GE, KPMG, Sony, UBS), as well as with organisations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
What is the big deal with ethics and inclusion that Alan Richter is so preoccupied with?
The background (philosophy, South Africa under apartheid) provided Richter with a good grounding on values, fairness and cultural difference. He sees ethics and inclusion as organisational structures and not luxuries, and looks to impose rigour, measurement and leadership there.