I am studying Item 1.4.A. This covers the skill in integrating diversity and inclusion principles in talent development strategies and initiatives.
This is part of the Building Personal Capability category
These are notes, so expect typoss.
A book I like on this topic so much that I bought 10 copies and passed them out to people, and require it in courses. Highly recommend >> Dream Teams: Working Together Without Falling Apart
Top Resource and Notes
- This has been a top article in TD for several months/years, so any question on the exam drawn from resources will be likely drawn from this one >> https://www.td.org/insights/the-importance-of-intercultural-communication-training-to-the-global-workforce
- Another useful TD article/podcast I reviewed: https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/global-leadership-begins-with-learning-professionals
- According to the ATD BoK, the top skills for CA are
- Knowledge
- Listening
- Empathy
- Self-confidence (see my note later, though, about humility)
- Cultural self-awareness
- Those who are culturally sensitive and inclusive will consider every aspect of their training and interactions (e.g., it is not appropriate to always do ice breakers, and norms or practices may dictate different formal/informal practices)
- TD professionals understand that cultural dynamics are made up of subtle changes that occur due to the interactions of people, the organization, and the environment.
- Top Models
- Be careful of humor, idioms, slang, bias, prejudice, ethnocentrism
- TD professionals should know that promoting cultural awareness is more than just something nice to do. It helps teams function better and make better decisions. Diversity brings fresh ideas and a multicultural view to stimulate creativity and broaden the messaging to customers.
- Diversity areas include a focus on gender equality, race awareness, generational differences, personal space, disability awareness, religious accommodations, multiple languages, and diversity of thought.
- I think something missing in the TD BoK is the need for sponsors. Here’s what the BoK suggests:
TD professionals are often tapped to lead the development of an inclusion strategy. A workplace diversity and inclusion strategy is a written policy that expresses the belief that diversity and inclusion must become part of the organization’s culture.- Promote the Value of Diversity and Inclusion
- Create Shared Sense of Responsibility and Accountability
- Bias Training
- Provide Mentors
- Diversity and Inclusion Assessments
- Inclusion roles
- Have a D&I Inclusion Strategy
- Learn and Follow Ethical and Legal Standards
- The BoK could also add avoid cultural appropriation
- Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks Assessment” offers a useful roadmap for assessment and application strategy:
Some Additional Resources
- As I was doing research on this, I came across some very useful resources. One is the book Intercultural Competence Managing Cultural Diversity : Training Handbook (5th Edition). I was able to download the chapters “Culture and Cultural Dimensions” (this covers the theories listed above), “Communication and Perception,” and “Diversity Competence.” There is a chapter on Negotiation, but I ran out of downloads. These are training guides, so very useful for those doing this kind of training. I mention this for two reasons: 1) you can check with your library to see if they have digital access; 2) you can contact me and I might be able to share a few pages as a friend.
- There is another book chapter–“Professional Training: Creating Intercultural Space in Multi-ethnic Workplaces”– that could be interesting for many of you in this book: Becoming Interculturally Competent Through Education and Training. Again, if you’re a friend, I can share a copy/notes. Here are a few key takeaways — The key takeaways are that cognitive behavior therapy works and reflect diary method/role play are effective:
Schemas are cognitive maps of behaviours and beliefs which are cul-turally accurate. In our programmes we use the term cultural map because it draws attention to the representational aspect of the internal model cre-ated by each person and the use of the model to orientate and direct his or her action in the world …
Scripts refer to what it is appropriate and allowable to say and do (or not do) in a particular context. When people share the script there is much that does not need to be said.
The teaching methodology is modelled on the non-directive counsel-ling approach used in cognitive behaviour therapy. This explicit negotiated approach is part of the cognitive-behavioural method.
…Through Education and Training. Multilingual Matters.
The programme teaches formal techniques for refl ecting on events and behaviour. We teach critical incident analysis. (pp. 179-180)
Using the records in the reflective diaries, we are able to develop sce-narios (role-plays) quickly that have a direct bearing on the lives of the students. The scenario work that emerges directly from real-life encounters stimulates wide ranging discussion of workplace behaviour in its social, political, affective and legal aspects. The context for learning in this way is the assurance of confi dentiality in the psychologically safe environment of the classroom, and the mutual trust of the nurses and their intercultural skills teachers. The teachers are not required to act as ‘experts’ or ‘judges’ of behaviour but as facilitators and interpreters. (p. 178)
Random Notes
In a research article “Humility as a Predictor of Intercultural Competence,” the authors found that humility is key to intercultural communication competence:
- Results indicated that DoS mediated the positive association between humility and intercultural competence. Results, therefore, supported a definition of intercultural competence as the ability to effectively navigate interpersonal differences.
