Diversity v. Inclusion - what's the difference?

Just because you have diversity - doesn't mean you have inclusion.  

Diversity means you have variety.  In the workplace - you could have a variety of people of different genders. You could have a variety of people from different ages. You could have a variety of people from different income groups. You could have a variety of people with different skin tones. A variety of people from different religions.  Think of diversity - as variety.

There is a reasons companies like to recruit in diverse people. And it's not just that they don't want to get sued for discrimination. It's also because that diversity is great for critical thinking and decision making.  

You  don't know what you don't know. Diversity gives you a better chance at uncovering the things you don't know so that you can plan for them and adjust your strategies so they are more likely to be successful.

In order for diversity to benefit your organization though - it's not enough to have diversity - you must also have inclusion.

What good is having a math wiz - if you never ask them to do math for you?  What good is it to have a epidemiologist during a pandemic - if you don't take their advice?  What good is it to plan for education during a pandemic if you don't include teachers in the planning discussions? Not good at all.

In order to benefit from diversity - you have to make sure people with diverse knowledge and experience - are included in decision making process. Otherwise, you are making decisions in the dark and that's exactly what were trying to avoid by recruiting in diverse people.

So - how to ensure people that are diverse create positive collaborative work groups where everyone is included and everyone can contribute equally?  That is literally - the billion dollar question that seems to defy solution.

It turns out we humans are really tribal. We don't trust others and if we don't trust - we don't collaborate.  Also - some people have learned that - they can get their way if they just - exclude those pesky others who have different ideas.  

In order to create a culture of inclusion- you have to simultaneous build up trust and get rid of the people who dominate through bullying and other obnoxious behavior.  This is why my book - The Bully Vaccine - is subtitled: How to inoculate yourself against bullies and other petty people.  https://humanistlearning.com/the-bully-vaccine-book/ 

Recruiting in diversity is actually fairly easy once you decide to do it. The harder part is how to make sure those diverse people are nurtured and included so that they can be their best and contribute to the organization - instead of being marginalized by your other employees.

To help you with that - I offer a variety of training programs that teach you and your staff - how to stop bullying using behavioral science and how to manage humanistically - so that you can finally - have that inclusive supportive organization you always dreamed of.  Details at: https://humanistlearning.com/programsoffered/

Racial Discrimination in "the trades"

I was recently asked by a manager in the construction trades: how to help their black employees become more effective and productive. This is a good concern to have. Unfortunately - the reason the manager was having such problems - despite having good intentions and actively recruiting for diversity - was because her understanding of what the problem was - was coming from a place of bias and privilege.

People talk a lot about bias and privilege and people bristle when they are told about it. All that is being said is that - there is a blind spot and you don't really understand the problem because - of the blind spot. I am sharing with you this example - so that you can see how bias and privilege create those blind spots so you can recognize them and fix them.

Please keep in mind that while this example specifically comes out of the construction trades, this sort of blind spot problem occurs in all industries. To create more diverse workforces, we have to start overcoming our biases - so that we can solve the problems preventing our teams from becoming truly diverse.

First - the problem: 

This manager said her company wants diversity and they actively hire for it. But every black person they have hired either quits, or gets fired. As I asked her to explain the problem she was having in more detail, she said that the black employees just aren't getting as much work done as their white counter parts and when this is pointed out and attempts made to increase productivity so that they can get the amount of work done that is expected  - reasonably so because white employees are able to meet these standards - that their black employees get angry - talk about racism and quit. Those that don't quit - end up getting fired because they simply aren't as productive as the company needs them to be. She came to me to find out how she could help the black employees learn how to be more to be more productive.

(If you are black and reading this - please take a deep breathe and let me handle this. In fact - this may be triggering - so proceed with caution. I am sharing this - because this person is well meaning - but ... her assumptions - were preventing a fix).

Here is how she worded her problem:

"So, we have a rather diverse workforce, but we still don't have very many African-Americans working for us. They don't tend to stay long, as, individually, they seem to not have the work ethic to do well. If something specific doesn't happen, they are often let go if there's a slow-down in work because they aren't working as hard. But I'm wondering if it's a defense mechanism. I know people make terrible decisions as defense mechanisms - "Oh, they're just going to (do something to let me down). Why bother?"  I need help articulating this idea that African Americans can be reached, if you understand their underlying behaviors as defense mechanisms, and that they possibly can be coached out of those behaviors, if you see their point of view. And not being willing to meet them in their space is part of systemic racism. But honestly, I don't know where to start.

The manager's understanding of the problem was flawed. From her perspective - the problem was that the black employees just weren't as productive and for some reason  - she had no idea why - they just didn't work as hard as their white counterparts, so - she wanted to help train them on things like conscientiousness and time management etc - to help them be more productive and less defensive when attempts were made to help correct productivity problems. (deep breathes).

The problem is - their decreased productivity isn't necessarily caused by the employee. It could very well be - a symptom of something else. And as long as she focused on increasing productivity without actually addressing that something else - the situation was never going to improve.

Why biases matter: 

We all have biases and those biases cause us to make assumptions about the nature of the problem.  In this case - she was making assumptions about her employees - that they just didn't know how to be productive or worse - that they didn't want to be productive.

The best way to overcome bias - is to ask questions. In this case, the best way to find out why people are leaving and not working to the expected standards – is to ask them.  But that requires a willingness to listen and adjust behavior to make space for the person who is choosing to leave instead of deal with whatever it is they don’t like.  Often, the fixes are insanely simple – because it has to do with giving and showing respect in a way that is meaningful for the person feeling aggrieved.

If someone isn’t respected, they often do the minimum work required – in a passive aggressive way. This may be what she was seeing. It may not be. The question is – if this is what you are seeing – why are you all triggering this response? How can you stop triggering this response?

To get past this – the hiring manager needs to understand their role in the communication problem and how to get past it.  The starting assumption should be: these people are willing to work and are capable of working to the required standards, but for some reason aren’t. Why? It’s entirely possible the reason they aren’t is because they feel disrespected in the workplace. If that’s the case, this is a harassment, discrimination and communication problem.  It also means – their behavior may be a result of them not feeling safe.

There is recent work on psychological safety and it’s impact on team performance. https://hbr.org/2017/08/high-performing-teams-need-psychological-safety-heres-how-to-create-it

The problem in using this information is – the resistance to using it. It is very easy for team leaders to say – the work I have to do to create safe workplaces for marginalized people isn’t worth the effort when I can get another employee who doesn’t require that extra work. This is a management failure where the management failure is rationalized to blame the marginalized people. Her instincts on this needing to be addressed is correct.

The person that needs to address it and who has to want to address it are the managers. They have to be willing to find out what is happening on site or wherever - because it may not be the manager creating the bad environment. It may be and probably is the people they are working with day to day. But until or unless there is a willingness to REALLY listen and learn with the goal of helping these people succeed and stay – nothing will change.

Another possibility:

Another possibility is this: We know women aren’t respected and their ability to be productive is negatively impacted by men withholding information and resources they need to get their work done. The example I’m thinking of is the guy who used his female employees email address and suddenly – customers who respond right away to him – were withholding and it was taking him A LOT longer to get the same amount of work done – because his clients weren’t as forthcoming with him because he was suddenly female. It’s entirely possible that the employees - who are being deamed - not productive – are working their asses off and not getting as much done because – the people who they are working with – are withholding from them and slowing them down. But again – you won’t know – until they are asked.

My manager friend was making assumptions about the motivations of her employees and why they weren't as productive as she hoped they would be. The result was - her focus was on fixing what she thought was the problem - and not what the employees understand the problem to be.

The only way to fix what is wrong – is to have honest – open conversations to find out what exactly the employees in question are experiencing and why they are experiencing it so that you can fix the problems or help them work around what they are experiencing so they can actually be productive despite the fact they may have hurdles that other - white employees don't have.

This is where privilege comes in. White employees don't have to deal with racist customers and vendors. Black and brown employees do.  Racism - impacts productivity. It's silly to pretend otherwise. If you want to change this dynamic - you have to make space for and protect your black and brown and female employees so that they can be productive - despite the racism and sexism.

How to deal effectively with age differences in the workplace

Most workplaces have employees that vary in age. One of the most common questions I get - has to do with helping employees and leaders - create cohesive work groups out of teams with large age differences. 

- What requirements do different generations need? 

The big shocker is that there isn’t really much of a difference between generations. They have the same levels of narcissism and emotional problems. They also have similar levels of conscientiousness and stick to itiveness. The big difference actually has to do with social trust. Older people grew up in a time of social investment and as a result – have a lot of social trust. Younger people have been experiencing social disinvestment – so they have low levels of social trust.  This difference in trust may make it seem to an older person that a younger person is less invested. And they may very well be because in their experience, you can’t trust others to follow through on their promises – because society hasn’t.

What younger people need – most companies can’t supply – which is the concept that if they give themselves to the company – the company will reward them for their hard work.  The social trust for that equation – just isn’t quite there for younger people and for good reason.

- How do you avoid workplace conflict and keep everyone happy 

Humanistic communication strategies and a lot of compassion. Everyone has issues. Everyone. The tendency is for people to think they are right and the other person is wrong when a conflict arises. The way around that is to create team cohesiveness. So that everyone sees themselves as part of the same team – working towards a common goal or problem to be solved.  This way – conflicts are seen as disagreement over best course of action as oppose to being seen as life and death struggles for the righteousness of our tribal cause, whatever that is. Disagreements are ok – conflicts are not. Everyone is on the same team getting the same thing done. This means treating everyone with dignity and compassion. If there is a disagreement  - don’t turn it into a conflict. Ask questions so the problem can be solved collaborative. This is true for all groups, not just for groups with age differences.

- How to motivate teams with a mix of generations

Dignity and compassion – for everyone. Foster a culture of social trust and create psychological safety so that people can air disagreements without them blowing up into conflicts. The best solutions are created collaboratively – and that means everyone has input. If you can create a culture where people can pose contrary positions and ideas without being attacked for having different ideas and instead – having those ideas seriously considered, you will create a culture of trust, which will help ensure that disagreements – don’t escalate and that everyone is motivated to contribute because they know their contributions will be welcomed and considered as valid.


And this trust – brings us back to the top. What do people need?  Trust.

To learn more - I have a course on bridging the generation divide – millennials and boomers at Humanist Learning Systems. https://humanistlearning.com/generationaldivide/

Protection for Gender, Gender Identity and Gender Expression

CA SB 396 went into effect in January. This law requires sexual harassment training to now include specific information on discrimination as a result of gender, gender identity, and gender expression.

My courses, are of course, compliant.

I want to share my supplemental video here for a few reasons.

1) This area is contentious and it shouldn't be.
2) Lots of people don't seem to understand the science of gender
3) Even well meaning people are confused by the terms and issues surrounding this topic and how to talk about it.
4) I'm really proud of this video.

I broke my SB 396 information into two videos.  One is about the law, the other is about the science of gender, identity, and expression and why they are protected by law.




This video is included as an optional supplemental lesson for people who take any of my sexual harassment training courses. https://humanistlearning.com/programsoffered/

If you are looking for a training that is comprehensive and that will actually help your staff learn how to stop harassment using science - please consider using me.  https://humanistlearning.com/sexual-harassment-compliance-training/

Dealing with Racist Rhetoric in a Business Setting

I come at this both from a behavioral perspective (as someone who teaches people how to stop harassment and discrimination using behavioral science) and as someone who has dealt with this.  I also come at this as Los Angelino living in Florida now and this colors my views.

First – personal experience.

I used to work in international franchise sales. My boss was a boorish oaf (he would rub himself in front of me – not joking). We had clients in from Singapore. Nice guys. They were both planning to do vacations after our visit and were asking for advice. One was going to New Orleans. My boss – told him – you need to be careful – there are black people there and he held his hand like a gun.  The guy from Singapore had ZERO idea on why he should be concerned about black people in New Orleans and why that was an issue. He was extremely confused and did not know what my boss was implying. He looked to me for guidance.  I told him – New Orleans has a lot of poverty and a lot of guns and while it’s a very fun safe city, you do have to be aware of your surroundings at times.  He nodded and understood.

  After our guests left, I went into my boss’ office – fists clenched because of how furious and upset I was and I told him he was NEVER to say such racist things in front of me ever again!! Ever.  My position was eliminated 2 weeks later and I was let go. My boss was let go 4 months later when he could no longer blame me for his bad performance.  I did the right thing even though it cost me my job. 

 He wasn’t alone in holding these racist views. My secretary there – told me she didn’t like black people because they would poop in the sinks of her father’s night club and she thought they were animals.  (Those were the words she used).  I told her that her views weren’t accurate and that black people are humans and the majority of them would be horrified at the idea of pooping in someone’s sink! I didn’t let her comments go unchallenged.

  This was the start of my education on just how blatantly racist southerners really were. I grew up in  Los Angeles. Not only were my classmates multi-colored growing up, I only had one job where the staff was majority white.  No one would ever say anything remotely like this because everyone, except people who isolate themselves in certain enclaves, has friends of every color. The racism in Florida was shocking to me when I arrived It’s gotten better, but it’s still pretty shocking.

Now for the behavior side of this:

Racism is a learned behavior. It can be unlearned. The process for unlearning something like this is not easy. It’s best if people have positive personal experiences with people of color – but given the high level of segregation in places in the south – that isn’t likely to happen. 

  It is critically important that white people who don’t like racism speak out against it when it is voiced every time it is voiced.

 Here is why.  Behavior happens when it is rewarded. To get it to stop, you have to stop rewarding it.  Racism is rewarded socially.  It’s a way of bonding. Failure to bond is failure to get reward.  You don’t have to be mean about it – but calling it out as inappropriate is necessary. Every time. People like my boss and my secretary would have never considered themselves racist even though they clearly said and thought horrendously bigoted things and clearly felt fully justified in those views and that it would be safe to voice those views in front of me because I am white too.

Challenging those views – politely – introduces doubt – not everyone agrees. Some will argue. My secretary thought I was naïve and unexperienced with black people and so I just didn’t know the truth.  It doesn’t matter how these situations turn out, the important part is to introduce doubt. Start the process of them rethinking whether what they think they know is actually so.

 The other reason we have to speak out is because of bystanders.  People who are listening who aren’t racist need to know those views aren’t ok and that it’s ok to challenge them.  They can only learn that if someone says – hey – that’s not ok. People of color are human too – stop being an idiot.  This isn’t done to change the beliefs of the racists. It is done to create a new social norm where these ideas are no longer “accepted wisdom.”

If you are a manager and have to deal with this stuff, I recommend taking one of my courses on harassment. They are based in behavioral science and will help you understand the process and how to facilitate it.  And yes, some people may have to be fired.

 If you are an employee and dealing with this stuff – again – I recommend you take my course. I teach a science based approach and can help you navigate these things, without losing your job or at least of setting yourself up to have the best chance of success.   Science really does help.

https://humanistlearning.com/category/bullyingharassment/

Prejudice against prejudice?!?!?

Discrimination is a problem for all employers. Recently, we are starting to see a legal argument being made that discriminating against people who want to discriminate is a form of unfair discrimination. I was asked about this on Quora and I wanted to share it here for humanistic leaders and managers to help you understand why despite a person’s plea that you accommodate their prejudices, you shouldn’t.

Question:
Is it acceptable/wrong to be prejudiced against prejudiced people? In society, prejudice and discrimination is deemed as inappropriate and morally wrong, be it in the form of racism or ageism or so on. However, even people who accept this as a fact of life are prejudiced against those in the society who are prejudiced, making them hypocrites. Is such prejudice ok?

Answer:
I am very intolerant of intolerance. So I understand why you feel this way. However, let's start by defining prejudice, which is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.

If someone is prejudiced, they cause harm because their actions aren't based in reality. In other words, these opinions are not based on experience and/or reason.

Prejudiced people discriminate against other people for no good reason and discrimination causes real social and economic harm and sometimes physical harm as well.

Because people who are prejudiced cause real harm to real people for no good reason, the real people who are really harmed by prejudice reasonably start judging people who are prejudiced as dangerous, because they are.

Judging people who are prejudice as dangerous ignoramuses isn't prejudicial because that judgement is based on real experience. If you are being harmed by prejudice, being upset by it and disliking people who are prejudiced is totally reasonable.

I understand why prejudiced people don't want to be socially ostracized because of their prejudice. Social ostracism causes real harm. Which is the entire point.  But if you act like a jerk you should expect people to treat you like a jerk.  Don't want to be socially ostracized for being a jerk? Don't be a jerk.

All our actions have consequences. If you act in a way that harms other people, other people will start to avoid you and employers will fire you to protect the other employees and their customers. This avoidance behavior isn't prejudiced because avoiding people who hurt people is reasonable judgement, not prejudice.

So, to answer your question, no: people who dislike and avoid prejudiced people are not prejudiced and they aren't being hypocrites. They are taking reasonable actions to protect themselves and others from the harm prejudiced people cause.

Bias in the Workplace is a Real Problem

Just because we think we are enlightened doesn’t mean we act as if we are. At this point, most people intellectually accept that women are just as capable as men and that skin color is not a predictor of work ethic!

Yet ... bias in the workplace still happens. And it happens despite people professing to not be biased!  Yes, this means you!

First some evidence:

Is Unconscious Bias Training Worth It?

Unconscious bias training is currently all the rage, and for good reason. Discrimination is still a problem. But that doesn’t mean that training will help you overcome your unconscious biases.

Neuropsychologist Sylvana Storey wrote a wonderful piece explaining what the problem is: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sylvana-storey/unconscious-bias-making-m_b_8771258.html 

It's an interesting essay and worth clicking through to read. She is right, a training isn't enough. The problem of power within an organization and resistance to change also has to be dealt with. Her example of how some people respond negatively to unconscious bias training was amusing because she seems to be unaware that entrenchment occurs whenever behavioral extinction is attempted. So of course, some people will respond negatively. That just means what they learned, they didn't like. It doesn't mean the training was ineffective.

Hidden Biases

Biases influence our thinking. They steer us in certain directions and blind us to the truth. It’s worth understanding your biases so that you don’t get fooled by them.

We all have hidden or unconscious biases. We don’t know we have them because we aren’t conscious of them. These biases provide our gut reaction to people, places and things.

Bigotry is often rooted in these unconscious biases and even people who don’t think they are biases, may be discriminating against people without realizing it. And yes, there is quite a bit of science to back this up.

The more we can uncover our unconscious or hidden biases they more we can conscious choose to disregard them in our search for the truth.

The process of uncovering your hidden biases requires reflection and a willingness to learn how you might improve. With the help of Abe Markman of the NY Society for Ethical Culture, we created a free online program where you can learn more about the science of unconscious or hidden biases as well as take Harvard’s Implicit Bias tests so that you can learn what your biases really are.

This program will help you explore your own thinking so that you can control your hidden biases and stop allowing your unconscious fears to control you. To learn more or to access this free online resource visit:  https://humanistlearning.com/controlling-our-unconscious-bias/

It’s been too long that these behaviors have been tolerated in the workplace

Bullying in the Workplace has been tolerated for far too long. It’s time we do something about it.

Bullying which can manifest as harassment or discrimination is tough to stop. This is because it’s hard to get any behavior to stop. We are all creatures of habit. Habits are hard to break. Harassment/discrimination and bullying are habits. People who do them don’t even necessarily understand that they are doing something wrong. It’s just how they learned to behave.  And yes, that’s very sad.

The problem is that any attempt to get a bully to stop will almost always result in retaliation. Retaliation is predicted in the behavioral model.  The good news is that even though this behavior is predicted that doesn’t mean we have to tolerate it.

Bullying is a learned behavior and it can be unlearned. Decades of research by behavioral scientists have taught us what works and what doesn’t to get unwanted behaviors to stop. It’s time we start applying that knowledge to the problem of bullying in the workplace.

The fact that we don’t have to tolerate harassment/bullying makes it all the more important that we start actively teaching these skills to our employees. You can’t teach what you don’t know.  The first step is to learn what the specific skills are that work and why they work so that you can then teach them to your supervisors and your staff.  In that order.

Imagine what the average workplace would be like if there were no bullies.  We have been tolerating bullies in our workplaces for far too long because we didn’t know there was an alternative. Now that we do, it’s time we put the knowledge we have to work to get it to stop.

My company Humanist Learning Systems offers a variety of bullying and harassment training programs to teach the behavioral psychology techniques required to get bullies to stop. Learn more at: https://humanistlearning.com/category/bullyingharassment/