Overcoming Cultural Divides in the Workplace /Expert Tips
The big idea: Humans naturally bond with those in their own groups, but this tendency can foster unhealthy mindsets against those with political, religious and cultural differences. The workplace, for many of us, is the most diverse setting in our lives and workplace environments have the potential to orient us toward working across differences more than any other place.
The so what: While many organizations provide skills training, it’s just as important that they provide training in interpersonal areas, such as communication, inclusion and addressing unconscious bias. From Target’s “Courageous Conversations” workshops that engage employees of all backgrounds to talk about difficult issues, to Kaiser Permanente’s team culture, companies are exploring ways to build organizational structures that promote inclusivity.
The source: Howard Ross is an author, social justice advocate and thought leader on identifying and addressing Unconscious Bias. His latest book, Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection Is Tearing Our Culture Apart, explores how to bridge our increasing polarized society.
Key messages: Ross shares approaches to create harmony and validate the humanity of people on all sides on an issue. He addresses:
How the Whole Foods Market and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store factions fully exemplify our polarization
How to remove bias in areas such as recruitment, hiring, onboarding and performance reviews
How to create a safe space to engage with different points of view
How companies such as Target, General Mills and Kaiser Permanente create more inclusivity by challenging normative behaviors and asking courageous questions
Why organizations must provide training in interpersonal areas, such as diversity, inclusion and engaging in different points of view through a dialogue rather than a debate
How to embed a powerful, positive organizational narrative around belonging and the value of diversity
About the expert: Howard Ross is a lifelong social justice advocate and the founding partner of Cook Ross. He’s considered one of the world’s seminal thought leaders on identifying and addressing Unconscious Bias. Howard has delivered programs in 47 states and over 40 other countries to audiences including Fortune 500 companies and major institutions within healthcare, government and non-profit sectors. He authored the Washington Post best seller, Everyday Bias: Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgments in Our Daily Lives and ReInventing Diversity: Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose and Performance. His new book, Our Search for Belonging: How the Need for Connection Is Tearing Our Culture Apart (Berrett-Koehler, May 8, 2018) describes how to bridge the divide in our increasingly polarized society. Learn more at cookross.com.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
How have we turned our natural need for belonging into an unhealthy, destructive extreme?
How is our society promoting segregation into “us” and “them?”
What may be the consequences if society continues to fuel divisiveness?
What can we do, personally, to bridge these divides?
What can businesses and organizations do to create inclusion?
The LOWE-Down!
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