Episode 21: Cultural Competency in Diversity Initiatives
An interview with Lisa Fain of the Center for Mentoring Excellence
[Note: this episode is available on the Apple Podcast App and Spotify in addition to this webpage.]
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important initiatives in organizations today. In this episode, we explore the concept of cultural competency as a needed “next step” for these types of initiatives.
SHOW NOTES
3:00 - What is cultural competency? Diversity is who is in the room. Inclusion is what we seek to gain… cultural competency is how you do that.
5:00 - How do organizations stand to benefit from increased cultural competency? “Ending up with diversity in the room and no idea how to leverage it…” Understanding our lenses… Getting curious about these differences…
7:00 - How to encourage the ownership of difference in an organization? Ownership means recognizing the need to be curious. Having a growth mindset…
9:50 - Advice to organizations struggling with diversity, equity, and inclusion. Creating awareness…the metaphor of the iceberg – “what shapes your iceberg?”
12:00 - The acknowledgment of differences is an essential first step.
13:40 - Advice specifically to leaders who are experiencing diversity breakdowns in their organization. Look at your own biases…and relationships. Your own diversity story…
16:00 - What is happening at the top of the organization?
16:20 - Look at the data.
17.20 - The more leaders can create authentic relationships across differences, the more they will build their cultural competency and create an inclusive environment.
18:00 - The importance of listening and asking questions… Generational differences towards cultural competency.
20:00 - The challenges of engaging diversity issues when you come from a homogenous environment.
PRODUCER'S NOTE
This is a re-released episode of the Groler Podcast with some new features and in shortened form. If you would like to engage the original, you will find it as episode #2 on the Groler Podcast listing.
LINKS
Lisa Z Fain on LinkedIn