“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”

—Langston Hughes

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Every year there are a few mandatory trainings to attend in the workplace. With an increased focus on diversity, many companies now conduct trainings on bias, sexual harassment, cultural awareness, and other diversity topics to avoid legal action, demonstrate their commitment to a safe and fair working environment, and foster an inclusive culture. Organizations have their diversity and inclusion why. The why now may range from maintaining brand reputation and the bottom line in the midst of social movements like #MeToo to increased awareness and real concern for employee well-being or in response to an employee impropriety. Courses are intended to help people from different backgrounds work better together, as well as with clients/customers, and better prepare leaders to support diversity efforts. Attendance tends to be company policy and a requirement for employment with the expectation that everyone understands and agrees to comply. While training is a good thing and makes sound business sense, sometimes the unexpected happens; participants emerge feeling confused, judged, resentful, or angry. These feelings are not uncommon, and there are dozens of reasons for these reactions.

Lawrence, a White male senior manager in his mid-forties, feels that racism and discrimination aren't issues as he personally has never experienced them in the organization. He believes that the training was a total waste of time and that those company resources could have been used to fund his next project. He's baffled that the leadership team would do such a thing. Martha asserts that she is not racist; her nanny is Hispanic, and she is proud to say that she doesn't see color. Racism is someone else's problem but not hers. George thinks that diversity training is for the sole benefit of minorities so that they can get “special treatment” and complains of reverse discrimination. The multicultural messaging makes him feel left out and builds feelings of animosity. Janet is overwhelmed with the increased awareness of her bias, times of insensitivity to racial injustice, and the countless unintended microaggressions she's committed. She now feels as if she is walking on eggshells. Fernando is skeptical of the company's efforts and sees it as a check-the- box exercise. Months later, nothing has changed except that he is expected to be the voice of all Hispanics since he's the only one, where for years, no one ever expressed interest in his opinion or concerns.

What's particularly interesting is that leaders expect these one-and-done trainings to have a lasting impact on company culture as new knowledge and tools have been imparted to encourage new ways of interacting. An article by Harvard University explains, “Hundreds of studies dating back to the 1930s suggest that anti-bias training doesn't reduce bias, alter behavior, or change the workplace. Two-thirds of human resources specialists report that diversity training does not have positive effects, and several field studies have found no effect of diversity training on women's or minorities' careers or on managerial diversity.” That said, while training does indeed offer a new perspective and increased awareness of behaviors and attitudes that get in the way of improved working relationships—there is no reason to expect that alone will change lifelong beliefs and interactions based on those beliefs. That is a conscious choice to be made solely by the individual. We've got to decide what to do with the newly acquired information and choose to practice it every day if we genuinely care about the well-being of others. Start by connecting with your why and your why now. As a Forbes article describes, “If one knows their why, it's a lot easier to anchor to that stated mission, put in the time and make a concerted effort to go after the objective. D&I (diversity and inclusion) is very much an individual journey where folks need to get introspective, peel back the layers of their experiences to help dismantle the fear, and learn what their respective mental blockers might be.” Once you've discovered your why, cement it with your why now. Why now after years of thinking and behaving in the same way, would you change? When we do things that we believe make a meaningful impact toward our principles and philosophies, it's human nature to feel happier, more fulfilled, and thus, more inclined to apply the knowledge.

Christina, a regional manager at a prominent mobile phone service provider, experienced this transformation firsthand. Training raised her awareness of her biased beliefs that Black people were lazy and not as driven as White people, yet she was still blinded to the exemplary work of Tamara, a single Black mother of two and an employee of four years. Tamara's customer survey scores were regularly above 90 percent, and she consistently ranked in the top three of the seven frontline sales representatives. Tamara was indeed ambitious and worked hard to provide a good life for her sons but was looked over for the opportunities of team lead on one occasion and store manager in another, in favor of White co-workers with lower satisfaction scores and sales numbers. Christina could never provide an objective reason for her decisions except that Tamara wasn't ready yet and needed to be more like the individuals who were promoted. Tamara wondered what that meant. It was during the follow-up discussion, after the second denial for advancement, that Tamara asked for more specifics and examples in an effort to do better next time. As Christina shared her observations about the promoted individuals, she realized that they were very much like her. They came from similar backgrounds and had yet to start families. Her assessment of readiness wasn't based on skills and competencies, which Tamara had clearly demonstrated, but her view that capable people were like her, White, college educated and without children. Now that Christina was aware of how her stereotypical beliefs about Black people and her model of success informed her decisions about Tamara as well as the impact of those decisions—that a very hard-working candidate was blocked from consideration—she knew that she had to change her thought process. She had the why and why now she needed to look for ways to interrupt her biased thinking and decided to get to get to know Tamara by mentoring her. In the process, she discovered the sacrifices Tamara made on behalf of the company like working off-days to cover the shift of co-workers who called in sick, and she also learned of Tamara's dreams of homeownership. Christina began to feel more fulfilled knowing that her guidance was positioning Tamara for success and the realization of her dreams. Ultimately, Tamara accepted a manager's position in a different industry and continues to communicate with Christina. Christina has become more objective in the evaluation of employee skills for promotion opportunities and continues to learn and give back by volunteering at a local Junior Achievement—a not-for-profit organization that helps prepare students for a successful future.

The knowledge and skills acquired in diversity training wane over time as people return to old habits, especially when there is no company ecosystem in place to encourage and reward inclusive behaviors. We've got to decide whether we sincerely want to make the effort to be more inclusive, what beliefs need to change, and what actions we need to take. Ask ourselves questions that cause us to reflect. Consider starting with “Do I believe in equity for all, and how do my actions reflect what I believe? What can I do to make a lasting difference that goes beyond what I am currently doing?” Whether a training or other vehicle like books, webinars, etc., the application of the knowledge is where you can begin to make an impact. As champions of inclusion, we are continuous learners who seek to evolve our thinking and alter behaviors that create inclusive experiences with others. We endeavor for enhanced perspectives. We disrupt our biased thinking so that we can model what impactful inclusion looks like in the workplace and beyond. The outcome is well worth the effort.

Actions

Action Accelerators

Leverage these resources to enhance your knowledge and increase the effectiveness of your actions:

• YouTube.com: How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias, Valerie Alexander, TEDxPasadena: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP-cqFLS8Q4&t=905s
• YouTube.com: We Are Not a Melting Pot, Michelle Silverthorn: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnwTnYE_onQ
• Wseap.com: “6 Tips on How to Be Inclusive at Work,” Workplace Solutions: www.wseap.com/how-to-be-inclusive-at-work
• HBR.org: “Why Diversity Programs Fail and What Works Better,” by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kale: hbr.org/2016/07/why-diversity-programs-fail

Sources Cited