Changemaker: Zsuzsanna Tungli

“I consider myself extremely lucky, as I’m living my dream,” says Zsuzsanna Tungli, who is the founder and managing partner of Developing Global Leaders Asia (DGLA), an organisation set up in 2011 that helps organisations, teams and individuals develop their global leadership competencies to become more effective leaders in today’s global economy.

That dream has seen Zsuzsanna travel the world, work in rewarding environments and publish a book The Culture Key Between Asia and the West: Essentials for Global Business Success, born of years of running workshops in different countries. But part of Zsuzsanna’s role that brings her the deepest reward is “optimising cultural, gender and generational diversity” – seen in her work at DGLA. “My core values have always been fairness and equality, so I’m thrilled to have a role where I can support people and organisations in becoming more inclusive.” It was her early interest in cross-cultural differences that led her down this route. Gender equality quickly became another focus, and it was a natural progression to expand into other diversity areas. She has now been in this field for more than 30 years.

Born in Hungary in the 1960s, Zsuzsanna is passionate about providing equitable support to underrepresented or underprivileged groups to create equal opportunities. “I’m happy that creating equal opportunities is not just a UN goal, but is also a purpose for many leaders.”

These days, Zsuzsanna does most of her diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work within her company, where the focus is on global, inclusive, female and cross-cultural leadership. This commitment to DEI has led to a position as Academic Director for LBS’ online programme, Building Diverse and Inclusive Teams: DEI strategies for Leaders, which she hopes will “reach and support even more leaders and global organisations on their DEI journeys”.

Why is diversity and inclusivity so important today, is a question she’s often asked. There has been significant research showing that diversity brings better access to different markets, wider talent pools, more creative problem-solving, and innovative products and services, she explains. “We also know, however, that diversity can only thrive in inclusive organisational cultures, and as such, diversity and inclusion must always go hand in hand.”

“The moral, legal, and business cases are clear, and many purpose-driven visionary leaders recognise this,” she explains. However, even these leaders sometimes do not know the best way forward. “This is why we started the annual not-for-profit Inclusive Leadership Forums – to share best practices and practical steps for becoming more inclusive in everyday business behaviours.”

What’s surprising, given all the data and strong arguments, is that there’s still pushback against DEI. Typical concerns include whether supporting underprivileged or underrepresented groups compromises merit-based recruitment and promotion. “Being inclusive does not mean that we recruit or promote someone who’s not capable,” Zsuzsanna says. It’s about creating a level playing field. “If we want to change how we include people and create opportunities for a more diverse group of people, we must consciously pay attention to our recruitment, development, and promotion processes. We need to ensure that we don’t make decisions based on our subconscious biases and assumptions.”

Creating a level playing field often requires equitable support for underprivileged and underrepresented groups, Zsuzsanna adds, explaining the clear business case for having an inclusive organisational culture. Organisations with such cultures tend to have “more engaged workforces, better retention, and stronger employer branding.” Younger generations in particular expect organisations to pay more attention to ESG and DEI.

Another typical pushback against working harder on DEI is that some industries find it more challenging to find a gender diverse talent pool, which is “the current reality”. Therefore, organisations have to become more creative, as well as think in terms of long-term solutions. For example, by supporting schools and universities and developing their own internal talent.

“Creating inclusive organisational cultures requires conscious efforts and is a journey over time,” Zsuzsanna says. “It’s basically like a change-management initiative and includes several different stages.”

Top management commitment is crucial, and it must become part of the organisation’s DNA, she explains. “Policies and practices need to be de-biased, and opportunities must be created for individuals to develop inclusive behaviours.” Specific diversity interventions, such as cross-cultural programmes and sponsorship for female employees or different ethnicities, are also essential. Finally, you need feedback mechanisms and policy reviews to ensure the culture change stays on course.

According to Zsuzsanna, it’s all about changing perspectives. “We need mindset shifts not only in companies, but in our wider environments, including our communities, societies, NGOs, governments and world organisations. Nevertheless, individual leaders can still (and must) do a lot within their own spheres of influence.”

A consistent theme in Zsuzsanna’s career has been the realisation that technical skills alone are insufficient in a global role. Her initial work as a financial management consultant for an auditing firm in Hungary made this clear, leading her to study cross-cultural competence during her MBA. She received a full scholarship from an Italian bank, enabling her to pursue an intensive 16-month MBA in General Management at Bocconi University, Milan, including an exchange programme at UCLA in the USA. A subsequent two years of travel reinforced this new awareness. Eventually, she chose to pursue a PhD in international business at LBS, at the age of 31.

It was a pivotal time in her career, but Zsuzsanna decided to pursue a PhD because on one hand, she wanted to become an expert in global leadership and, on the other, to be able to work at universities worldwide. “I aimed to study in Europe, in English, at one of the best business schools, and in a cosmopolitan city, which made LBS the obvious choice.” London is the most cosmopolitan city in the world, she says. “It’s the perfect place to study and experience international business as well as to expand your horizons in many ways. Despite having to commute between Zurich and London due to my husband’s job, I enjoyed a vibrant student life and made lasting friendships with students from around the world.”

Zsuzsanna enrolled in the PhD programme in 1995 and was fortunate to receive a full scholarship. “The programme’s structure, with only a year of seminars focused on research methodology, suited me well as I wanted to concentrate on research.” The OB department, she explains, was incredibly supportive. Several professors, even from other departments, involved her in research projects that broadened her perspective on international business. “My supervisor, Professor Maury Peiperl, was a brilliant match, as he supported me in the ways I needed support. This was true for subject and research methodology discussions as well as introducing me to an organisation that sponsored my research. My research included conducting interviews in Russia, which wouldn’t have been possible without financial support.” Her PhD focused on cross-cultural interactions in international business, particularly how organisations prepare their global leaders for success.

“Having a PhD enabled me to teach on post-graduate programs at various universities, including the Central European University in Hungary and Romania, the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, guest lecturing at LBS itself, and later at IMD, INSEAD, the National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University.”

Today, Zsuzsanna says that perhaps the biggest challenge she has experienced in her DEI work is that a change in leadership can suddenly result in a shift in priorities. In one case, DEI initiatives were almost completely stopped. “What we do in these situations, is that we keep the conversation going and continue building new, and nurturing existing, relationships.”

One success story she’s particularly proud of is their public women in leadership programs, one for emerging leaders and another one for senior female leaders. Since the first cohort in 2016 they have helped hundreds of women advance their careers. Additionally, their annual Inclusive Leadership Forum, a not-for-profit event, aims to promote inclusion best practices.

“In 2024, we ran the 4^th Forum as a hybrid event, addressing various DEI topics, such as gender equality, the multigenerational workforce, cross-cultural competence, LGBTQ+, people with different abilities and AI’s impact on DEI.” They had over 100 in person and 1,200 virtual registrants and received fantastic feedback from participants and sponsors. “It feels great.”

In terms of the future, Zsuzsanna is working on a second book on inclusive leadership, offering practical tips for leaders to foster inclusive organisational cultures. “I really enjoy what I’m doing, and although it’s on a small scale, we seem to make a difference. That makes me very happy. We’d like to expand on the inclusive leadership forum, building on this year’s success, to reach more organisations and leaders. I’m also hoping the LBS online programme will help access broader audiences.”