Can someone tell me why some leaders feel proud announcing that they are attending trainings to learn about their own people and their differences?…What we still call soft skills development...
Let’s keep it simple, I think what we really mean is learning how to be a better version of ourselves…how to be good human being in everyday life!
Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that leaders need to be lifelong learners; learning about the art of connection and how to take intentional actions to create a Real Change powered by Human Difference!!
We all need to work harder building specific signature traits including empathy, courage, active listening, curiosity, respect and cultural intelligence to master our people skills …But do we really need to be too academic and book smart about it!
To put it bluntly- Isn’t it really all about the little things we say and do everyday. We are very lucky to grow in diverse spaces rich enough to learn from each other’s differences. We tend to forget that our life experience is the greatest teacher ever!! People come to work with their history and personality. We just need to fall in love with them and be curious about their story in life both in the corporate realm and everyday life!
We need to be mindful and aware of our personal blind spots, open our eyes, heart and mind- We need to reignite human connections and extend love to other people.
It is for sure a matter of practice!
Funny enough, with all these leadership trainings, workshops and seminars…some leaders still unconsciously swim in their own biases while taking important decisions and shamefully everyone remains politically correct in the discussions- I personally heard discriminating things like rough African curly hair (hello!! I am African with curly hair raising mixed race boys with beautiful curls) or this person is too skinny, petite, not pretty enough…
Understand we all have subconscious biases. For decades, we have been brainwashed and bombarded with an infinite number of stimuli full of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination.
I personally force myself every single minute to learn from everyone around me how to respect differences- from my family, kids, teammates to the perfect stranger I bumped into this morning grabbing my coffee.
To all great and rising leaders,
It’s time to collectively reboot our brains.
It’s time to hit delete button on negative bias.
It’s time to admit mistakes and challenge the status quo.
It’s time to make visible commitments.
It’s time to create safe spaces for open dialogue.
It’s time to close all playbooks, take off the corporate mask and build a house of love!
I can guarantee that all these trainings, playbooks and policies are super useless unless we make diversity and inclusion a personal priority! …The journey to becoming a true inclusive leader starts with self awareness.
Change always starts with us! We are Unstoppable!
XoXo
Hindy
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