In your last article you listed several areas of HR where managers should receive training. Included in the list was diversity. Why is it important that managers receive diversity training?
As organizations are serving more diverse populations and are hiring a more diverse workforce, diversity continues to grow as a concern for managers. Also, beyond diverse cultures, there are more subtle challenges, which left unchecked cause relationship breakdowns and workflow issues.
Simple differences are a part of everyday life and work and for the most part are left unaddressed in the workplace. When managers are taught about these subtleties and are given the tools to recognize, understand and use these differences, they are better equipped to support their staff to be more open minded and accepting of one another. They are also better equipped to support their staff to work from one another’s strengths. This can help minimize or reduce some of the more “petty” differences that often cause big disruptions in communication and productivity in the workplace.
Communication breakdown is often a result of a simple misunderstanding of another’s perception or response to a situation. We organize information into categories, helping us make sense of the world around us. To each category, we attach emotions, positive or negative. Judgements, opinions and perspectives are formed based on our feelings attached to these categories. How we feel about something often determines how we respond to a situation, phrase, or look and an auto response is triggered based on our perception.
Biases, stereotypes, attitudes and assumptions are formed based on our perceptions and are deeply embedded within us. They are often not given consideration when responding to a situation in the moment and so, much conflict arises in the workplace due to these subtle differences. Often when a breakdown in communication is traced back to the root of an issue, it is a simple/subtle difference or misunderstanding that has caused the conflict.
For example, when you read the words listed below, pay attention to your automatic response to each word:
- Military
- Spider
- Athlete
- Government
- Snake
- Beach
Some of the words may have elicited a strong response, while others, none at all or very little. For each of us the response is different, however, we often do not consider that the response of another may be different or valid.
When managers understand how to recognize subtle differences, how to broaden the understanding and perspective of their staff and develop a recognition for the strength each individual brings to a team, they are better equipped to manage the day to day interactions of their staff and support their staff to work more cohesively.
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