Most people think of Diversity as unconscious bias training.
Maybe there is a different way. A better way. A more fun and sustainable way.
Asking people to overcome their unconscious biases is like asking people to stop thinking. Stop assessing. Stop evaluating – all things the brain is evidently hard-wired to do. Why are we asking people to stop doing something that we are hard-wired to do? How is that even possible? How is that at all sustainable?
At Culture Consulting, our approach is simpler: to build relationships.
We recognize that working with other human beings is messy, imperfect, fraught with weird or uncomfortable moments. It is also wonderful, exciting, and one of the great sources of joy a human being can possibly experience.
So rather than try to “fix” you and your unconscious bias, we have another way:
We help you get better at relationships
After all, why try to be perfect? Why not just do your best, and build the kind of relationship where the moment you “say something the wrong way” you can just talk it out together? Wouldn’t that be a cool relationship to have? Isn't that a better skill to develop? Most of all, in the workplace, isn’t that a better, more sustainable way to deliver dignity and respect?
At Culture Consulting, your do’s and don’ts would look more like this:
Don’t try to un-wire your brain. Why would we even want this?
Do try to meet people who are different than you – the more different the better!
Don’t try to be perfect in everything you say. Seriously, who can do that anyway?
Do learn from people which things you say cause damage to your relationship with that person – this can be helpful outside of work too!
Don’t get so wound up about making mistakes. It’ll make you not want to make friends with “diverse” people because you’re so afraid of making a mistake and being labelled.
Do learn how to repair relationships if you break them. If you're not used to hanging out with certain “categories” of people, you're gonna screw up. It is absolutely, 100 % inevitable. It’s a sort of Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle for relationships: you can’t simultaneously have relationships and never screw up your relationships. Just develop the skills to be humble and fix it when it happens. Again, this is a core principle of Diversity Done Right that’s also useful outside of work.
Finally, always remember that Diversity is a tool for relationship-building.
Do it well, and you’ll have a massively more relationship-smart workplace. This is something every business could use.
Do it poorly, and you are vulnerable to competitors who understand the importance of relationship -building in business and who will therefore, in all likelihood, out-perform you. They will get better diversity scores than you. And they’ll have a better work culture, with a much more diverse workforce, and much more fun at work than you. Because it’s nice to come to work every day and be around cool, interesting people with whom you have excellent relationships.
Contact us and let’s talk about what defines a healthy relationship at work, and how you can create a culture that fosters healthy relationships.
Do Diversity right. Make it fun. Make it exciting. Make it something that we want to do because it makes life so much sweeter and your relationships so much better and your business so much “smarter.” Contact us now and find out how.
