- 9 months ago
#2 DEI- Best Practices
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00:00Hi, everyone, and thank you so much for joining us for our second training event in our Belong
00:23series.
00:24Today, we're going to be talking about best practices for us both as individuals and as
00:29an organization.
00:31Having a sense of belonging can really make a difference.
00:34I know personally, when I joined WRIF in Detroit years ago, when we were competing against five
00:40different radio stations in the market, having a sense of belonging really did make a difference
00:45and brought us together as a team.
00:48And I really felt like I was part of something bigger than life itself.
00:52On the flip side, I'm sure you all can relate.
00:55Being in a situation where you didn't feel that way really didn't feel that good.
01:02And at times, I know over the years, I've had friends leave jobs because of that.
01:06I know I did through the years, and I'm glad where I am now.
01:10But it really does, I can tell you, make a huge difference.
01:13So we appreciate you all being part of this and joining us on this journey today as we
01:19talk about best practices.
01:21At this time, I'd like to turn it over to Deb Barrett, who will host today's session.
01:30Hi, everyone.
01:36And welcome to our second training session for Belong at Beasley, where a couple of things
01:43you may want to make sure you have at hand before we get started today.
01:46First, you may want to watch the videotape from Heidi Raphael, who is going to open the
01:52session with the videotape.
01:53Additionally, there is a handout that is a multi-page handout that we'll be referring to
01:58today.
01:58So you may want to pull that up and make sure you've got that.
02:01Feel free to pause this tape to go get those two things before you continue on.
02:07Now, where are we in the process?
02:08In the training, the last time we were together, we took a look at what is diversity, equity,
02:13inclusion?
02:15So what is this work?
02:16And we also talked about the why and presented the business case for doing the Belong initiative.
02:21Today, we're going to dig into the how with some of the best practices for diversity, equity,
02:26inclusion.
02:27So our agenda today, we're going to take a look at how do we create this environment of belonging
02:33that's going to be so important.
02:35And we're also going to introduce a couple of things.
02:38First, a model for how to think about leveraging differences.
02:41And then we're also going to make sure we provide you with some tips and some best practices
02:45for individuals that are really trying to do this work.
02:48So a couple of things here.
02:51Identifying and leveraging differences is important.
02:53And we want to make sure that employees understand how this is important to us in ways that matter
02:59to our business.
03:00We want to make sure that you as leaders feel like you can identify the relevant differences
03:07that you want to dig into deeper to get this work done.
03:09One of the things that I'll share with you is, as we think about creating this culture of Belong,
03:17one of the reasons this is so important is, as humans, we are social creatures.
03:22And we are driven by the need to belong.
03:25In fact, when you think back to the hunter-gatherer phase of our evolution,
03:29there were huge advantages belonging to a group.
03:31If you had one person out hunting and somebody else tending to the fire,
03:35there was more chance you were going to eat tonight.
03:38And frankly, belonging to that group was important for your survival.
03:43Now, while that may not be the case today,
03:45there is a hardwired link between that group belonging
03:49and the psychological need for us to feel safe in an environment.
03:54So we want to think about this idea of safety and connection
03:58and think about what we can be doing to foster more of that at Beasley.
04:02All of the research indicates that when we have a sense of belonging in a social group,
04:07particularly with coworkers, it has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
04:13It's also associated with lower levels of sickness and illness,
04:17lower levels of drug abuse, and more higher levels of physical activity.
04:22So we also know that the sense of belonging is linked to increased performance for both employees and students.
04:31And that in some cases, some coworkers have said that the sense of belonging and attachment
04:37is more important to them than money.
04:39So as a key motivator to getting people to work, this is going to be essential.
04:45So as we think about a world where we actually spend more time at work today than any other place,
04:50it's important that we're fostering this true sense of belonging.
04:53It can have huge payouts for us as a company, but also for us as individuals.
04:59So one of the concepts I want to introduce today is psychological safety.
05:05And when we think about how to accomplish that sense of belonging,
05:08it's going to be to introduce this idea of psychological safety.
05:12So what is psychological safety?
05:14Well, it's the belief that you won't be punished, humiliated, or shamed when you speak up for yourself,
05:19when you share your ideas, ask questions, or ask for any concerns you may have.
05:26It's also making it safe for you to make the small mistakes and to learn from them.
05:30It's about this idea of sharing more of yourself, your true self, without fear of consequence.
05:35It's also about feeling accepted and not rejected.
05:39And we're also building on a foundation of trust.
05:41So one of the discussions we got into was this idea of how do we foster psychological safety in the workplace at Beasley?
05:53Since it does create such a sense of connection and increases engagement,
05:56it's going to be important for us to think about that as leaders and how we can foster this every day.
06:02So there's a couple of things you may want to think about as a leader.
06:05Do you have an open door policy?
06:06Do employees feel like you've availed yourself to them so they can come to you to ask the questions?
06:13We want to be open.
06:15We want to be sharing our ideas openly.
06:17And we want to be able to be putting ourselves in a place of vulnerability.
06:21It's important for us to disclose when we've made a mistake
06:24and make sure people understand that we're learning from that mistake.
06:27But it's okay for them to fail fast and learn a lot as well.
06:32We want to encourage our folks to really speak up and talk about what are the differences in the workplace that are important to them,
06:41how much more they can share of themselves, how do we make it safe for them to do that,
06:46how do we make sure that we're being curious about differences.
06:50So during the workshop, we'd spend some time talking about that.
06:54Additionally, we want to make sure people understand how to work across differences.
06:59And we want to think about these differences holistically.
07:02So these can be gender, generation.
07:05These can be differences of race and ethnicity, differing abilities,
07:09difference in background, difference in physical size,
07:13and also introvert versus extroverts.
07:16So one of the topics that we introduced during the previous session was this diversity wheel.
07:22And I want us to get comfortable with this idea of introducing ourselves using different aspects and dimensions that are on this wheel.
07:29So as you introduce yourself and get in touch with who you are as a person,
07:33this is the first step of learning how to work across differences.
07:37This idea of knowing yourself well enough and being self-aware enough about yourself
07:41so that you can identify differences, you versus another.
07:45And while that might sound very basic,
07:47we want to make sure we're not talking in terms of good or bad when we talk about differences.
07:53In fact, the analogy I'll use is a chorus.
07:56And if we had all the singers that were basses,
07:58we wouldn't make music that would have harmony or melodies.
08:02We would be sounding very much the same.
08:05It's the differences of the sopranos and the altos and the tenors with the bass that really make the music.
08:10So we're thinking carefully about differences as being differences, not good or bad.
08:17And we want to think about which are the important differences for us.
08:20Now, before we can look out and understand others,
08:23we've got to get in touch with ourself.
08:25And this diversity wheel can help you to do that.
08:27But one of the seven habits of effective people that Stephen Cuffey
08:31released with his seven habits many, many years ago
08:35is that this idea is to first seek to understand, then to be understood.
08:40So to turn and understand in a relationship with someone else or in an interaction with someone,
08:46how do I learn more about your perspective versus sharing my perspective first?
08:50How do I really listen for understanding and try to understand where we have differences?
08:55And then working together to try to figure out how we can work together across those differences.
09:00How do we get to a mutually acceptable solution that works for both of us and creating that win-win?
09:06So I want you to first look in the mirror, think of your own identity,
09:10and then we can look out and see differences.
09:12Now, differences in the workplace can be, you know, in reality difficult to deal with some of those differences.
09:19And in fact, sometimes there are clashes in the workplace due to differences, one person versus another.
09:25And in some cases, there's unfair treatment.
09:27This can be really difficult where we see people being bullied in the workplace or being harassed or victimized.
09:35Sometimes people can be discriminated against because they're not being treated fairly because of some of their differences.
09:41Clearly, these are pretty overt.
09:43And I know the Beasley culture would work to solve those very quickly.
09:48These are the kinds of things that happen and people can, you know, lose their job over things like this.
09:52But it's the more subtle elements that I want to get you in touch with during our discussion today.
09:59And the first area that's more subtle is this idea of assimilation.
10:03When there are differences, because we are social creatures, we're always trying to fit in.
10:08We're trying to really make sure that we come to work and are good citizens,
10:14and we try to make sure we tone down parts of our personality to try to fit in and be part of a larger group.
10:21This is very typical.
10:23And some people cover up aspects of their personality that we actually really need at work.
10:27We need people to bring more of themselves to work so that we're really fostering that sense of innovation
10:32and curiosity and creativity that can really spark some great ideas for our radio stations
10:39and for our digital programs and for even e-sports.
10:43So we want to think about how do we tamp back on the assimilation
10:48and let people bring more of their full selves to work every day.
10:52If we're bringing in a great diversity in the organization,
10:54but then we're asking people to conform to some norm, we're not leveraging that diversity.
10:59So we want to be thinking about that.
11:01In some cases, these differences clash and we have conflict in the workplace.
11:05This is where maybe we're setting up a fight between us versus them.
11:10And sometimes that can degenerate to a place where relationships truly break down.
11:14And this may seem insurmountable and can really prevent collaboration and cooperation.
11:20So these are some of the things that could happen if we don't really think about leveraging differences.
11:25If we're really thinking about if we don't get proactive and get in front of this,
11:29these are some of the clashes that can happen at work.
11:31So what I want to offer to you today is a means or a method to think about how to leverage those differences
11:37in a constructive, productive manner.
11:40So as we think about this, this cycle is, this is a model that has been created by Dr. Martin Davidson
11:48of the University of Virginia.
11:50He's a dean of students, but he's also a highly regarded author who does a lot of work in this space.
11:55On most of the workshops that I've done with Beasley, this is a new model that many people haven't seen.
12:03So let me dig into it and share a little more with you.
12:06If you think about using a proven technique or a model like this to really see the sources of differences,
12:14you versus me, try to understand those differences, engage, and try to learn from those differences,
12:21and then leverage those differences.
12:23That's really what this model is all about.
12:26If we want to foster good, strong dialogues and have people learn from each other and really grow as people,
12:33we're going to need to stop tippy-toeing around issues, and we're going to need to get into solid conversations.
12:40If we're walking on eggshells, we're just generating more misunderstanding and mistrust.
12:45Some of this may be very well-intended to try to make sure we're not hurting people's feelings,
12:51but we're certainly not leveraging these differences either.
12:55Over the past 40 years, more women and people of color have entered the workforce,
13:00and in many cases, the minority groups are afraid to rock the boat.
13:05They're afraid to really bring their whole selves to work every day
13:09because they're afraid that they might be breaking some rules that they're not aware of.
13:15On the other hand, the majority may be walking on eggshells
13:19because they're trying to be politically correct and not say the wrong thing.
13:23These things are in the way of us really having those meaningful conversations to learn about each other.
13:30Using a model like this, leveraging differences cycle,
13:34can help us to really kind of break down some of those barriers
13:36and start having constructive conversations.
13:39The first element of the model is C.
13:41And even this is interesting because using the term C,
13:45there are many differences that aren't observable.
13:48When you think about things like religion, difference in background, difference in values,
13:52we can't see that.
13:53We only learn about that as we listen to others.
13:56And so I'm using the C here, not literally.
14:00But this part of the model is about really trying to notice the differences, you versus me.
14:05So instead of appealing to that sameness, we're all human beings and there's a lot of similarities,
14:13I want you to go beyond that and start seeing the differences.
14:16Think about this idea of differences.
14:20If we're trying to promote everybody to this level of sameness,
14:23we're discounting that those differences matter.
14:25And so in this stage, we want to be reflective and open.
14:30We want to be listening to see if things we're saying are landing with the whole audience
14:34or only parts of the audience.
14:36And if there's silence or tension, we want to acknowledge that
14:39and see what we might, what hotspots we might be hitting.
14:44I also want you to think about which differences are going to be important for you.
14:48You know, some, you know, maybe generational is very important to you.
14:51Or maybe there are some race and ethnicity differences that you want to dig into.
14:57You know, all of us individually probably have different places on our journey
15:00and have different areas we want to focus on.
15:04After we think about the C, we want to then move on to the understanding portion of the model.
15:10And this is where we really want to start to try to construct healthy relationships
15:16that are really working across these differences.
15:19We want to learn from each other.
15:20Now, some of this may come with some pretty charged conversation,
15:23but that's going to help us to learn more.
15:26We want to do this in a respectful and conscientious way.
15:29We want to reserve judgment.
15:31As I said, differences aren't good or bad,
15:33but we want to learn more about our understanding of those differences.
15:36We can't always rely on our co-workers to help us with this.
15:39We may have to dig into this by watching some films or some reading some books.
15:43We're finding out more about some of the cultural markers of people who are different from you.
15:48The most important piece about this is listening.
15:51So instead of making assumptions, really listening and understanding more about that culture that's different than yours.
15:57Okay?
15:58From there, we can start to engage and use this new knowledge.
16:01We want to put it to work.
16:03So we continue to be curious and open, but we want to think about how we expand our networks.
16:07How do we go broader?
16:09How do we start to really explore and deepen our understanding of different people?
16:14And try to imagine the world from their perspective.
16:16How do we walk a mile in their moccasins?
16:18Now, some conflicts may happen here, but we want to stay solid and really try to not let that conflict impede our learning curve.
16:27It's going to be important for us to really engage in these differences discussions to learn where we can explore together
16:34and use the relevant knowledge about differences to generate better results.
16:39And then the final step is this idea of leveraging.
16:41Once we've learned a little bit more about other cultures, people that are different from ourselves,
16:46how do we go beyond putting that to work into putting it into systems where we have systemic solutions?
16:52Where do we really commit to the relationship?
16:55How do we start to build that trust and respect at that deep, deep level where we have each other's back?
17:01How do we make sure we avoid that excessive carefulness?
17:04And I get a lot of questions about what does that mean?
17:06Well, I think sometimes when we're walking on eggshells, we're being so careful not to hurt people's feelings
17:12that we're not acknowledging the differences and trying to learn from those.
17:16And so we want to continue with that dialogue and really start to push ourselves to incorporate some of the new ideas
17:21and the new learnings into our wider understanding of the world.
17:26That's the model.
17:27Let me give you an example of how I've put that into action with one of the pieces of work that I did
17:35when I was at Procter & Gamble.
17:37Late in my career at P&G, I was asked to lead a diversity and equity and inclusion effort
17:42for Procter & Gamble North America.
17:44And our president of North America said to me,
17:46Deb, I want you to run this like you run a business.
17:49And so one of the first things that I did was I tried to dig into the data,
17:53dig into the numbers and understand what were some of the key indicators
17:56and where we were doing things right and where we're doing some things wrong.
18:00Well, one of the clear indicators that came to me quickly was we were turning over African-American females
18:08at a rate of four times white males.
18:11Now, I hadn't been exposed to the data before.
18:14I had no idea that was what was going on.
18:16Anticdotally, I knew a lot of my friends were leaving the organization,
18:19but I had no idea how broad it was.
18:21And so I saw an opportunity for me to really engage with Black women to understand more about the issues
18:27that were pushing them to look elsewhere and to leave the organization.
18:33I talked to many women in the organization.
18:35I talked to women who've left the organization.
18:37I tried to really understand what was going on and what were some of the key barriers
18:42where they didn't feel valued or respected
18:44and what we could do differently to really forge stronger bonds with them.
18:50One of the things I thought would be helpful was I offered to them coaching.
18:53I said, would you like more coaching?
18:54Would that be helpful?
18:55And the feedback I got was, you're trying to fix us, and we aren't the problem here.
19:02The problem is we have managers that aren't giving us feedback.
19:06We're not growing and learning like our white male counterparts
19:09because people aren't investing in us and giving us the feedback.
19:13That was a big aha moment for me, and I realized that I needed to come up with different solutions.
19:17And one of the solutions was giving the managers training
19:20to help them understand how to give feedback across the differences.
19:25It's easy for us to give feedback to people who look like us,
19:28but how do we start to learn how to give feedback in a meaningful way
19:33to people that are different from us on several different counts, race, ethnicity, and gender?
19:38So anyhow, as I got deeper into some of these solutions, I got to know these women very well.
19:44I got to know their families.
19:46I got to know a lot about what made them tick.
19:48And it made it easier for me to understand the situation they were living.
19:53You know, I couldn't say to them, oh, I'm a woman too.
19:57I understand.
19:58I could understand on the gender front,
20:00but I certainly couldn't understand on the race and ethnicity front.
20:03And I needed to understand more about that
20:05to forge a stronger connection with them.
20:08We were at the point where we changed programs.
20:10We changed approaches.
20:11We did some things differently with the way we managed talent.
20:14And that's where we're truly leveraging that deeper understanding
20:17to really make sure we're creating an environment of belonging for all.
20:21So I think that's a story to share that can hopefully underscore
20:26how we can use a model like this to make a difference.
20:30At this point in the workshop,
20:33we are sending your coworkers out to a breakout.
20:37We asked them to do two exercises.
20:39And you might be able to do this on your own.
20:41Or feel free to pause the video at this point in time
20:44and do some personal reflection if this is helpful.
20:47There are two elements to this breakout.
20:49The first thing I asked people to do was share with your partner,
20:53I am X, but I'm not Y.
20:56So the examples I shared with folks before I sent them to the breakout is,
21:00I'm a woman, but I'm not weak.
21:03I also heard during the workshops answers or examples like,
21:08you know, I am Latino, but I am not Mexican.
21:12Or I'm old, but I'm not set in my ways.
21:15And so we shared some of these observations with each other to underscore some of the labels
21:22or stereotypes that people have laid on us because of who we are, what our differences are.
21:27And then I asked them to go deeper and to use our new model,
21:30the leveraging differences model,
21:31to talk about those differences that they were revealing to each other.
21:35People came back from the breakout and shared a lot of comments,
21:38a lot of insights, a lot of learning from this breakout.
21:41This is something you may want to reach out to folks that did actually participate in the workshop
21:48and ask them what they got out of that breakout.
21:52Now, importantly, Beasley is doing a lot to try to embed belong in all we do.
21:58And the analogy I'll share with you here is it's not just like putting icing on the cake,
22:02but you truly want to embed the ingredients of diversity, equity, and inclusion
22:05and bake them into the cake.
22:07So it's the eggs, it's the margarine, it's the flour, it's the sugar.
22:13We want to think about those ingredients and really mix them up to make the batter
22:17that we bake the cake with.
22:19We want to think about this from a standpoint of are we recruiting talent?
22:23Should we be recruiting talent differently to make sure we're bringing differences
22:26into the organization?
22:28Are we really including each other?
22:30Are we inviting each other?
22:32Do we have open door policies?
22:33What are we doing as an organization to make sure people feel included, respected,
22:39heard, and understood?
22:41And so that is something that Beasley is doing.
22:44But I'd ask you to reflect on what are some things you can do as an individual?
22:47What are things you can do to be a leader in this area?
22:51At this point, I ask folks to pause and to reflect on this question.
22:56I ask them to write down the five names of the people they're closest to at work.
23:01And if you've got the handout, feel free to use this page of the handout to capture that.
23:06After you've written down those five names, I want you to reflect on the demographics,
23:12the differences of those folks on your list versus yourself.
23:16Is there more sameness or is there more difference?
23:19And again, by differences, I want you to think about age, gender, sexual orientation,
23:24differing abilities, socioeconomic status, educational levels, race, ethnicity, religion,
23:30religion, body size, body shape, introvert versus extrovert.
23:35So think about this on many different counts.
23:38And I'd encourage you to think about if your network isn't that diverse,
23:42how do you push yourself out of your comfort zone to get more diversity?
23:46If your group is pretty diversified, how do you keep leveraging that?
23:50How do you go deeper?
23:51How do you use the leveraging differences model that we just shared
23:54to get into deeper quality, deeper conversations, higher quality conversations?
23:59Think about the whole person you're dealing with, just not just the parts.
24:03And how can you get into dialogues where you're going to learn from each other and grow?
24:09There are also four more things you can consider doing.
24:13These are individual best practices that are tried and true in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion.
24:18If we're trying to foster more of a sense of belonging,
24:20there are things that you can do as a leader to really set the tone.
24:23You want to be an inclusive leader.
24:26You want to be a role model.
24:27You want to show people that you know enough that you know how to be inclusive.
24:31All right?
24:32If you're just talking about these topics, but you're not showing up
24:36and you're not being consistent, your behaviors match the words you're using,
24:41you're not walking the talk.
24:43So I'd encourage you to think about how you can truly walk the talk.
24:47And then actions are always louder than words.
24:49We really want to be conscious about what we're doing
24:52to make sure we're solidifying the actions we're taking.
24:56Are we celebrating successes when we're making progress?
24:59Are we doing the positive reinforcement of the right kinds of behaviors?
25:03You know, what are we doing about things like assimilation?
25:05Are there some things we can do to make sure people are bringing more and more differences
25:09with them to the workforce?
25:10And then lastly, how do you seek different points of view?
25:14Are there ways for you to really get outside of your current box
25:18and try to learn from new and different perspectives?
25:21Here's an example.
25:22Are you still reading the same paper you read 10 years ago?
25:26You know, if there's a newspaper that you're reading,
25:28or maybe you're reading it online these days,
25:30or maybe there's some magazine you read each month,
25:33can you push yourself to look at the world differently
25:35by trying to read a different newspaper?
25:37Something as simple as that can get us some different perspective.
25:41Schedule lunches with people that are different from yourselves.
25:43Reach down in the organization.
25:45Try to find some people that you can learn from and that you can mentor.
25:49So then I asked the group in the workshop,
25:52which one of these can you start working on today?
25:55These are easy next steps, things that any of us can do and put into action.
25:59From here, we showed a video that is also in the academy here
26:07in the diversity, equity, inclusion area.
26:09We actually showcased an NBC News article that really focused on the Black Opry,
26:16which is a number of Black musicians that are in the country music space
26:21and trying to make a difference in breaking out of the paradigm
26:25that country music is really mostly white and conservative.
26:30They want to get larger share of radio space, radio time, and play time in this area.
26:39So I'd encourage you to watch that video.
26:43I think it's something that I had talked to both Heidi and to Caroline about.
26:50We think it's important for us to really think about what efforts that Beasley can be doing
26:55to help to diversify our music genres as there's a lot of fusion going on in these different areas.
27:03So that's our workshop for today.
27:05I'd ask you to continue to do what you can do personally to drive this culture of belonging
27:10that's going to really help us leverage diversity, equity, inclusion at Beasley
27:14and be an even stronger company to work for.
27:17If you have any questions, you can always reach out to me on email.
27:21I think most of you have my contact information from the calendar invitations that have gone out.
27:26I'm very open to any suggestions you have about ways we can improve these workshops
27:30and improve the learning at Beasley.
27:33Good day to you.
27:34Good to see you.
27:35And take care.
27:36I hope to see you on one of our future workshops.
27:38Bye for now.
27:47Bye for now.
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