[acb-hsp] Diversity training session at ACB convention

[Baracco, Andrew W]

Hi Peter,

Seems like a wonderful session.  It's too bad that only 10 people
attended. I don't know how, but we have to find a way to grow this
affiliate. With all of the blind people that I know who work in human
service, this should be one of the largest groups in ACB. I am sad that
I missed the training, but do plan to be in Columbus next year.
Considering how sucky the VA's diversity training is, you should get
them to hire you as a consultant.

Andy


-----Original Message-----
From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf
Of peter altschul
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 5:53 PM
To: Acbhsp
Subject: [acb-hsp] Diversity training session at ACB convention

Hi:

As some of you may remember, I conducted a session at the ACB 
convention about diversity training.  Below is my most recent 
blog post which summarizes this session.  You can check out my 
other blog posts through my website

www.peteraltschul.com

I enjoyed leading the session, and I hope you find the blog entry 
useful.

Best, Peter

----------

Blog post for July 16, 2012
  Improving Diversity Training
  How many times have we left some sort of diversity training 
feeling bored, disconnected, and perhaps a bit guilty (but not 
motivated to do anything about the guilt)? How might we increase 
the possibility that these experiences might result in real 
change? I recently led a session where ten people with visual 
impairments wrestled with these questions, and a summary of our 
thoughts appears below.
  I began by splitting participants into three groups and asked 
each group to come up with goals for a day-long diversity 
workshop.  As they worked, I noticed some of them falling into an 
all-too-common trap: confusing goals (what should be 
accomplished) with methods (how to reach the goals).
  After several minutes, I asked each group to share their goals 
with the rest of us; they included:
  * Educating about the "business case" for diversity and "best 
practices";
  * Exploring what "diversity" means; and
  * Enhancing communication skills and the ability to respect 
others.
  I next asked whether they believed diversity was more about 
increasing knowledge or developing skills.  Contradictory 
responses bounced off the walls.
  "Why skills?" I asked, handing a microphone to a woman so that 
people who were hard of hearing could follow the discussion 
better.
  "You're trying to help people do things better," she said.
  "But," protested a man from across the room.
  "Hold on," I said, striding over and handing him the 
microphone.
  "People need to be given information to understand better why 
diversity is important," he argued."
  "But if I'm hearing you right," I said, "increasing knowledge 
is a method to motivate people to develop skills."
  After some more give and take, I argued that diversity is far 
more about skill development than increasing knowledge.
  "So how do you increase knowledge?" I asked.  Participants 
suggested reading, asking questions, listening to lectures, and 
doing research.
  "And how do you develop skills?"
  "Practice!" a man half-shouted from the back of the room.
  "That's right," I agreed.  "And if you spend most of your time 
reading about something, you may be increasing your knowledge but 
not increasing your ability to do that thing better.  And if you 
spend most of your time dispensing information instead of 
developing skills while doing diversity work, you're wasting 
everyone's time."
  I then talked about how some organizations require 
up-and-coming leaders to play leadership roles in organizations 
serving people different from them both for PR purposes and to 
allow these leaders to practice working with people different 
from them.  I talked about the reverse mentoring program I ran 
for a large multinational corporation where people of diverse 
backgrounds mentored members of their leadership team on 
diversity and culture change.  (Additional information about this 
program is available in my book and at www.peteraltschul.com.)
  "But?" a woman asked hesitantly.
  "Yes?" I handed her the microphone.
  She talked about how an organization seemed to be dragging its 
feet after being ordered by the federal government to hire more 
people with disabilities, and wanted to know how to encourage the 
leadership team to start moving forward.  "That can be really 
hard," I said quietly while thinking about encouraging our group 
to develop a "let's-get-started" activity.  I decided instead to 
point out that each of us have developed successful relationships 
with people different from us.  "What did you do to make these 
relationships work?" I asked.  The list the group developed 
included:
  * Finding things in common;
  * Being vulnerable;
  * Being yourself; and
  * Listening deeply.
  "All of us want to be loved and respected," someone said.
  I pointed out that activities like this tended to draw in 
participants because they are reminded that each of them already 
have a reservoir of strengths to draw upon.  "It's much easier to 
build on strengths than to start from scratch," I said, "and 
reminding people that they have things in common makes it more 
likely that they can effectively address the conflicts caused by 
their differences."
  "And how do feelings play into this?" a woman asked as I 
prepared to wrap up.
  "Feelings drive actions," I said.  "Thoughts help, but feelings 
are the main motivators of change."
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