Rebooting Tech Culture: How to Ignite Innovation and Build Organizations Where Everyone Can Thrive

Build a more innovative, inclusive culture that welcomes all talent.

Many technology leaders believe in having more women and people of color in technical and leadership positions in their organizations while still exhibiting reverence for the lone genius, almost always male, that they believe is imperative to their innovative future. They hold these two ideals as separate.

Why? According to Telle Whitney, cofounder of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, tech leaders want to talk about inclusivity, but few fundamentally change their culture to dismantle the unwelcoming environment, fearful that doing so will compromise innovation. Women and people of color pay the price, facing exclusive and even hostile workplaces. They're held back from professional growth and in many cases, choose to leave the industry altogether.

But there is a solution. In Rebooting Tech Culture, Whitney explains that the same values at the heart of a culture of innovation--creativity, courage, confidence, curiosity, communication, and community--can also foster a culture that is welcoming to all employees. Drawing on more than 50 interviews with tech executives and a survey of 1,000 people in tech, she shows how these "six Cs" can power real change in technology organizations, creating workplaces where anyone can be successful and where innovation thrives.

Today, every company is a tech company. By understanding how to apply these values and reinvigorate their cultures, leaders will learn how to eliminate the behaviors holding their teams back from true belonging, creative growth, and true innovation.

Telle Whitney is a consultant, senior executive leader, and recognized expert and advocate for diversity and women in technology. Telle has been called "a pioneer for the promotion of women technologists" and was named one of Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Technology. Telle served as CEO of the Anita Borg Institute from 2002 to 2017 and cofounded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference. Prior to joining the Anita Borg Institute, she was vice president of engineering for Malleable Technologies. She holds a PhD in computer science and is now a speaker and consultant helping executives and their companies create cultures where diverse teams thrive.