Diversity and Inclusion

The benefits of diversity in the workplace include faster problem-solving, better decision-making, increased innovation, employee engagement, and better financial performance. Yet diversity can only deliver on its full potential when it exists in a genuinely inclusive environment. An organisational culture that does not make talented diverse employees feel valued and supported is certain to lose them. In Japan today, retaining talent is a zero sum game, which no organisation can afford to lose.

Inclusion, then, is the mechanism for achieving sustained diversity. It relies on cultural awareness and the people and communication skills involved in cultural competency. Cultural awareness refers to the ability to recognize and appreciate the nuances of culture and background – both one’s own and those of others – and it is at the heart of societies, communities, and organisations that aspire to be equitable and inclusive for all of their members.

We are not born with an innate ability to navigate diversity with ease, in fact our brains are wired to mistrust differences with others, that leads us all naturally to develop biases. Because of that, to become effective, trusted leaders within our organisations and communities, we first need to become students of culture. That is, we need to develop competency in effectively understanding, communicating with, and interacting with people whose backgrounds and culture may be different from our own. This requires training because it won’t happen organically and no amount of talking will make Diversity, Equity and Inclusion an achievable outcome.

Session 1:
Value Diversity
• Discover the role that values play in diversity
• Create a deeper appreciation for other cultures
• Become self-aware of hidden biases

Session 2:
Increase Self-Awareness
• Describe the relationship between perspective and selfawareness
• Identify the positive impact of self-awareness on your
ability to effectively lead a diverse team
• Gain a more accurate understanding of our own values, ambitions, thought patterns, attitudes, emotional responses, strengths and weaknesses, and their effect on others.

Session 3:
Cultural Awareness
• Understand our Conscious and Unconscious Bias
• Identify a process to make the most of diversity and inclusion
• Commit to use proven tools to bridge differences

Session 4:
Communication to Connect Across Cultures
• Use the power of storytelling to bridge cultural gaps
• Create emotion in storytelling to impact listeners
• Develop our empathetic listening
• Use our experiences to communicate more confidently and discover how past experiences influence behavior

Session 5:
Build Trust and Psychological Safety
• Understand the relationship between trust, credibility, and respect
• Minimize trustbusters and restore broken trust
• Apply principles to cultivate a trust-based environment.
• Broaden the psychological safety in our environments

Session 6:
Conflict Strategies
• Analyze your conflict response style
• Establish opportunities from conflict situations
• Get hidden conflict out in the open
• Move beyond conflict without harboring resentment

Session 7:
Find Common Ground
• Take an assertive approach to expressing opinions to keep the lines of communication open
• Identify personal hot buttons and our role in disagreements
• Give others the benefit of the doubt and cushion opinions for greater acceptance
• Apply a formula for contributing ideas and disagreeing in an agreeable way
• Create bridges to common ground

Session 8:
Influence and Sustain Change
• Recognize that people, including ourselves, react in different ways to change
• Identify ways to role model and manage ourselves during cultural change
• Give and receive recognition from our peers
• Affirm our insights and inspire and be inspired to continue our awareness