2020 saw a surge in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professionals as events of deep inequities and the Black Lives Matter movement moved to the forefront of our nation’s attention. Since then, it’s like people saw the window of lucrative opportunity as DEI trainers, coaches, and consultants. Suddenly, there were DEI professionals everywhere. With an increase in options, there’s been an increase in challenges.
One of those challenges, particularly with the sensitive nature of DEI content, is that sometimes doing something is actually worse than doing nothing. DEI and social justice content requires expertise in a lot of areas, not just lived experience and not just what can be experienced in courses, certifications, articles, and social media.
In our work, With Respect LLC has earned a reputation as the cleanup crew in more than a dozen organizations where previous diversity training wasn’t done well. With 25+ years of experience, the services we offer allows us to understand the resistance that poorly done diversity work can create. By creating psychological safety and coming through a lens of respect and belonging, we can almost start the process over, allowing organizations to gain real momentum and create sustainable change.
So, exactly what happens that an organization needs a DEI cleanup crew?
In some cases, the content was just poorly delivered. In others, the training didn’t match the audience and/or didn’t seem to utilize a formal adult learning model. Regardless of why, those trainings created or reinforced divisive workplaces. The impact ranged from people being hyper-sensitive to the topics of DEI to actual violence in the workplace.
That’s why it is so important to talk about how to avoid all of that. How do you know who to hire? It’s more than just snazzy marketing and skilled wordsmithing. What should you look for and expect from quality DEI trainers and their trainings?
Here’s the quick list:
- Assess Outcomes. Trainers need to tell you the actionable outcomes their training provides AND how that can be measured. Change only happens with action.
- Align with a Learning Model. Trainings need to be designed with a foundational adult learning model and the trainer needs to be able to articulate what that model is and how the training will successfully move participants through it.
- Provide Something. Speaking of action (#1), there has to be something to do, apply, integrate, and practice. Whether that’s skills, tools, strategies, software, or techniques learning requires a change in behavior, something beyond attitudes and perspectives. Behavior is what influences how people do their jobs, talk to each other and clients, and solve conflicts and challenges. Behaviors are the actions of the organizational culture; it’s how the change becomes a sustainable reality. If a training provides great information but there’s no clear path for implementation, that is, at best, a waste of resources, and, at worst, a recipe for disaster.
- Ensure Resolution. DEI content can, should, and does cause us to sometimes feel uncomfortable. Trainers MUST provide psychological safety for discomfort to be a willing outcome of the trainings. Additionally, trainings shouldn’t leave people feeling uncomfortable. There has to be a mechanism of resolution – often within the action or change – that alleviates that discomfort. Otherwise, people are literally and figuratively traumatized. Inflicting trauma is NEVER a good teaching strategy. People left in a state of discomfort without a way through it can and do become resistant which results in defensiveness, divisiveness, and even violence.
- Avoid Drive-bys. DEI training that is creating and nurturing change can’t be done in “drive by” models. That means an organization can’t just have a single DEI training and call it good. One-n-done doesn’t work to effect change. There is a series of learning (that follows the adult learning model) that provides for participants to move through to integration by practicing their newly acquired skills, tools, strategies, and techniques.
- Follow Through. From the leadership to the frontlines of any organization, what is being provided within the training has to be known, integrated, and practiced. This is the only way systemic change can happen. Whether trying to change policy and practice to shifting organizational culture, everyone has to be included. This is not something that leadership can hope to “do to those people” and have sustainable success.
Now we understand the basics of what is needed for quality DEI trainers and trainings. This is true if what is intended is to make change across an organization. Otherwise, it is simply an exercise in “check the box.”
What’s that mean? “Check the box” is the concept of being able to say something was done without much more expectation. This is one of the reasons the last several decades of DEI trainings haven’t made much progress; many organizations do a single training – often as a passive activity like watching a video or reading a manual at the time of hire or once a year – and declare that they have trained their entire organization. Little to nothing in our above list of six is included in that experience, consequently, there’s no learning. No learning = NO CHANGE.
And there are plenty of DEI professionals willing to give you just that, a drive-by experience. Sure, it might have great information or even an outstanding activity. But when participants leave that training and go back to work, what’s the “stick?”
These are the questions and considerations that need to be addressed in making the very important decision about who to hire for DEI work. It is not something to be taken lightly especially when we know, mishandled DEI trainings and trainers can and do cause trauma. No one wants that.
In the meantime, if you have questions or ideas be sure to leave a comment below. Can’t wait to see what you think!
Until next time,
With Respect,
Leah Kyaio
Founder/CEO
With Respect LLC
https://with-respect.com
Looking for quality DEI trainers, training, coaches, or consultants? Contact me for a free consultation on how I can meet your needs.
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