Stephen Frost

Global Inclusion & Leadership Expert

Stephen Frost

Global Inclusion & Leadership Expert

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Biography

Globally recognized, diversity and inclusion expert Stephen Frost helps organizations understand, lead and deliver inclusion systemically, adding measurable value to their bottom line.

Stephen is the Principal of Frost Included, and has worked with hundreds of clients to embed inclusive leadership into their decision-making. In his keynote talks and workshops, Stephen delivers and facilitates honest and fresh conversations to build an essential foundation for the important work of diversity and inclusion to occur. He helps attendees to understand diversity and inclusion, and provides solutions for organizations to lead inclusively.

From 2007-2012 Stephen designed, led and implemented the inclusion programs for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games as Head of Diversity and Inclusion for the London Organizing Committee (LOCOG). In this role, he was responsible for 22 programs across a 200,000 person workforce, £1.1 billion procurement spend, and 57 delivery functions. These ranged from inclusivity in an 11 million ticket program, to accessibility at 134 separate venues. His team managed a series of recruitment outreach action plans that achieved unprecedented workforce inclusion. The LOCOG Business Charter set new standards in supplier diversity and LOCOG became the first organization in the UK to achieve the Diversity Works for London Gold Standard and Advanced Level of the Equality Standard for Sport.

From 2004-2007 Stephen established and led the workplace team at Stonewall, Europe's largest LGBT equality organization; establishing and growing the Diversity Champions program to over 300 members, launching the UK's first lesbian and gay recruitment guide, establishing the LGBT Leadership Program and developing the Workplace Equality Index, which has become a standard across many leading UK and global employers.

Stephen started his career in advertising, where he worked on disability and age awareness campaigns, and has worked in consultancy and communications in the USA, Greece, Tanzania, China and Brazil.

He was a Hertford College Scholar at Oxford and a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard. He was elected recipient of the 2010 Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions and in 2014 he was named one of the top 100 influential LGBT people in the UK. And, is a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

He teaches Inclusive Leadership at Harvard University Business School in the US, Singapore Management University, and Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) in France. Stephen has served as an expert advisor to the British Government, The White House, and KPMG's Diversity and Inclusion Program.

Stephen is the author of The Inclusion Imperative: How Real Inclusion Creates Better Business and Builds Better Societies (Kogan Page, 2014), Inclusive Talent Management: How Business Can Thrive in an Age of Diversity (Kogan Page, 2016), and Building an Inclusive Organization: Leveraging the Power of Your Diverse Workforce (Kogan Page, forthcoming, 2019).

Speaker Videos

Managing Diversity

Multicultural Forum

Speech Topics

How to Develop an Inclusive Mindset & Behavior for Business & Personal Success

There’s a simple contradiction in the way leaders manage their people and run their organizations that is too often overlooked; they are addicted to sameness in an age of diversity. That is fundamentally an unsustainable position to be in. Understanding and being adept at inclusive leadership will help leaders thrive in their increasingly diverse environment.

Inclusion is not just about accepting people’s differences – it’s about leveraging colleagues’ and employees’ unique experiences and backgrounds, as well as understanding your customers’ needs, to drive innovation and results.

Stephen reframes the business case for diversity and then shows how it is in all leaders interests (whomever we may be) to embrace difference. With reference to in-groups and out-groups in addition to self and role, audience members are guaranteed to have an a-ha moment in terms of why they should lead inclusively. They’ll leave this session equipped to take business goals, customer loyalty, and their career to the next level.

Reframing an Old Debate for a Future of Real Inclusion

Many organizations have talented Diversity Officers and operate Diversity 101 programs; however, they may find to get the most out of their program they need to upgrade to inclusion 3.0. Diversity is great, but so is bringing differences together in one team, and often this second imperative is forgotten in the pursuit of the former.

Without inclusion, diversity can fail. Stephen offers a powerful, humorous and compelling argument for inclusion, based on empirical evidence from around the world combined with the latest Harvard research. It is a thought provoking, challenging and informative opportunity to refresh the believers and convert the currently unconvinced to Real Inclusion!

By attending this session, you will learn how to:

Differentiate between diversity and inclusion;
Lead on diversity & inclusion issues as well as empower others to lead the charge too;
Convey fresh insights to currently disengaged colleagues on the exciting potential of inclusion to create engagement;
Deliver a compelling business case, using case studies and best practices shared, to move your organization to Real Inclusion.

The Importance of Being You

As any gay person knows, coming out is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do in life. Coming out is not a one-off event, it is a constant process. It is a situation LGBT people face with every new job, every new boss and every new client.

Often, this places LGBT people at a disadvantage in the professional environment. How do you navigate a diversity of reactions, including negative reactions from clients? Questions straight people take for granted can cause additional stress, anxiety and effort for LGBT people, and divert effort away from the day job.

However, not only can this potential disadvantage be neutralized; it can actually be turned into a net benefit for the individual and for the organization as a whole. Using powerful theory and compelling case studies, Stephen can support, inform and inspire your LGBT staff to step up, lead and make an enhanced contribution to their careers and your organization.

Testimonials

"I invited Steve to give a guest lecture at Harvard Business School on diversity in the workplace. He was fantastic. He was able to successfully engage the students on a sensitive topic without offending anyone. Many, myself included, came away thinking differently about the value of diversity in the workplace. His presentation was so much more than the platitudes that many of us have come to expect from a diversity talk. Of particular value was a discussion of concrete strategies to successfully create an inclusive environment beyond just setting quotas. I can highly recommend Steve."

- Harvard University

"I had the opportunity to hear Stephen speak at a Toronto conference in March, during the middle of his preparation for the upcoming London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He described succinctly how to create policy and process that embraces diversity and inclusion using the example of his work at LOCOG. The speech was brilliant. The candor of his comments was refreshing."

- Diversity Business Network (DBN)

"Steve Frost spoke as a keynote at the March 2012 Multicultural Forum on Workplace Diversity in Minneapolis, talking about the creation of a diverse and inclusive 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. In about 40 minutes he held the 600 diversity professionals in attendance spellbound as he recounted the opportunities and challenges of the first truly inclusive Olympics. He also challenged them to do the same within their own organizations and left them inspired to rise to Olympic heights. I have a received kudos and high praise for inviting him to speak, but the kudos and praise belong to Steve Frost!"

- University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business

"Stephen is highly committed, loyal and diligent. He is a good and inclusive team leader and an effective communicator. Stephen relates confidently and well to people at all levels and is an excellent ambassador for his organization. He is good at developing a clear strategic vision and then implementing it tenaciously and practically in a way that adapts to changing circumstances."

- Henley Business School

"Stephen was amazing to work with. He could be trusted to deliver on his word. We worked together on a new creative concept of funding research reports that could be developed and used by all companies."

- Aviva

"Stephen Frost is a courageous, principled and extremely competent manager who understands people and can skillfully undertake challenging initiatives and difficult assignments with a unusual combination of determined commitment and clear headedness."

- Cambridge Leadership Associates