Skills for Inclusive Conversations

Skills for Inclusive Conversations
Instructor: Mary-Frances Winters
Released: 1/12/2022	Course Details 42m General
Skills Covered Interpersonal Communication Diversity & Inclusion		Course Link
Professional Certifications and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) Project Management Institute – PDUs: 0.75 hour National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASABA) – CPE: 2 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – PDCs: 1 HR Certification Institute (HRCI) – Recertification Credits: 1
Organizations reap the benefits of diversity—when employees bring their whole, authentic selves to work. Diverse teams are more productive, innovative, and engaged. Authenticity at work includes sharing and speaking up about work and life experiences that may be different based on one’s identity. Developing the skills to conduct meaningful conversations on potentially polarizing topics such as race, religion, and gender is critical for human resources professionals, managers, and team leaders. Mary-Frances Winters offers a multistep process for building the skills necessary to engage in inclusive conversations. Find out how to conduct an exploratory self-assessment to better understand yourself and your team, learn tactics to go from polarization to common ground, and discover practical techniques for discussing difficult topics. Learning objectives – Explain how psychological safety can benefit an inclusive dialogue. – Interpret actions that impact one’s ability to engage in an inclusive conversation. – Distinguish between the components of the 4E Model when assessing readiness. – Determine what action to take when people involved in a conversation have a strong emotional response. – Analyze what actions are necessary for effective and inclusive conversations about religion, gender, and race. Source: LinkedIN Learning

Introduction

Diversity topics can be polarizing

The sociopolitical climate impacts workers in a number of ways.

A study by the American Psychological Association found that following the 2016 US presidential election, nearly ½ of all workers surveyed said they were more likely to discuss politics in the workplace and that some workers experienced lower productivity as a result because more of their attention than normal was spent on debating polarized political perspectives rather than their work.

To what extent are you and your organization equipped to talk about these topics?

Thriving with inclusive dialogue

Research conducted by Catalyst found that when employees feel psychologically safe to bring up issues, they experience a greater sense of inclusion and that leads to greater innovation.

Creating Psychological Safety

Conduct nonwork-related check-ins at kickoff meetings
Model vulnerability
Be intentional in your learning journey
Implement an “ouch and educate” norm (mistakes happen)

Inclusive Conversations Skills

Six steps to inclusive conversations

Foster self and other understanding.
- Why do you believe what you believe?
Assess individual, team, and organization readiness.
Prepare for the conversation.
- Who, what, when, where, how and why you’re having the conversation
Create shared meaning and find common ground.
- What do you agree on?
Explore where perspectives diverge.
Interpret and bridge.

The model is not linear, nor is it expected to be a prescriptive tool for engaging in one conversation. The model is intended to be a framework for ongoing learning and reflection.

Know yourself and others

Question to consider:

Who am I culturally?
How has my identity shaped how I experience the world?
Do I belong to identity groups that are in the majority or the minority?
What is the history of groups that are different from mine?
What do I know about the values and beliefs of other groups?
What do I know about cultural differences?

Being part of the dominant group can cause us to have blind spots, which can make it difficult to engage in dialogue effectively across differences.

Inclusive conversations readiness

Four E Model:

Exposure – Who is in my world?
Experience – engaging with those who are different
Education – workplace training, continuing education, research
Empathy – capacity to understand perspective of others

Prepare for the conversation

When preparing for the conversation, we are asking and answering for ourselves, the who, what, why, when, how and when.

Why are we having this conversation?
Who should be a part of the dialogue and why?
What’s the desired outcome?
How should the conversation be conducted?
Where should the conversation be held?
And when will the conversation take place?

Getting to shared meaning

When emotions are high it will impact the ability to have effective dialogue. You will not get to “shared meaning” this way. Knowing when to pause is critical in this process.

Questions to consider:

What am I feeling right now and why?
Why did this event induce this reaction?
Am I seeing the situation from all sides?
Am I expecting too much?
What energy do I have to learn more? (from the other’s perspective)

Honing skills for shared meaning

Getting to Shared Meaning

Creating a brave zone – stretch the boundaries of your comfort
Inclusive listening
Focusing on self-awareness
Describing before interpreting
Choosing curiosity over judgment
Using “I” instead of “you” language
Asking clarifying questions
Admitting mistakes

Strive for reciprocal empathy

Reciprocal Empathy
The ability to see situations from each other’s perspectives.

Exploring Differences

Establish ground rules.
Acknowledge polarizations and differences.
Establish shared meaning.
Distinguish interpretations and clarify definitions.
Suspend judgment.
Respect the other’s view.
Consider impact, not just intent.
Know when to pause the conversation.

How would I feel if I were in another person’s situation?

Inclusive Conversations in Practice

Talking about race

Dominant Group
A group with systemic power, privileges, and social status within a society; may not always be in the majority.

Nondominant (Subordinated) Group
Societal groups that have been traditionally or historically excluded or disadvantaged in society; may not always be in the minority.

Oftentimes, we find that the dominant group (majority in the society) don’t necessarily think about their race. Those who are in a non-dominant group or minority society, think about race probably all the time.

Talking about religion

Assess readiness before initiating dialogue.

Exercise such as meetings and “I am” conversations to assess team or organizational readiness about talking about this subject.

Talking about gender

While similarities are important, we can’t stay there. There are differences that make a difference in how we understand the world and polarizing topics.

Conclusion

Inclusivity pledge

I commit to be intentional in living inclusively.

I commit to spending more time getting to know myself and understanding my culture. It is in understanding myself that I am better positioned to understand others.

I will acknowledge that I don’t know what I don’t know, but I will not use what is unconscious as an excuse. I will be intentional in exposing myself to difference. If I don’t know, I will ask. If I am asked, I will assume positive intent. Most importantly, I will accept my responsibility in increasing my own knowledge and understanding.

I commit to speaking up and speaking out, even when I am not directly impacted, for there is no such thing as neutrality in the quest for equity, justice, and inclusion.

I will strive to accept, and not just tolerate; respect, even if I don’t agree; and be curious, not judgmental. I commit to pausing and listening. I will be empathetic to the experiences and perspectives of my “others”. I will use my privilege positively and get comfortable with my own discomfort.

I commit to knowing, getting, and doing better than I did yesterday-keeping in mind my commitment to live inclusively is a journey, not a destination.