Luna Jimenez Seminars

“Collaboration is about people working together effectively towards a shared and accepted set of objectives that generates solutions from a team that no individual could produce alone.” Baroundi Bloor

Collaboration is a bit of a buzz word thrown around in organizational change circles. But what does collaboration really mean when it’s put into practice? How would you recognize collaboration if you saw it?  I have identified five core “best practice”s to enhance or build collaborative partnerships. True collaboration seeks to keep all party’s peerness as central to the endeavor.  Power imbalances can skew both the practice and effectiveness of collaboration.

1)     Early Involvement: Nothing says we’re doing this together better than starting from the beginning together.  Early involvement assumes that your collaboration partner is an essential element to getting any project off the ground—and in it’s long-term success. It’s much harder to establish shared ownership in a project when it’s already underway and you have to adopt or adapt to someone else’s pre-determined outcomes and process.  Often, the collaboration itself shapes the very direction, process and outcomes and is a different project all together by the mere nature of collaborating.

2)     Co-create Shared Objectives: The essence of collaboration is having a shared objective. At the beginning of any new project, work together to agree on these outcomes, along with timescales, activities and everything else that goes with managing any kind of project. When this is not done, the people involved will not know what is required of them, and will undoubtedly be ineffective overall but certainly unclear about their role in bringing the collaborative effort to successful fruition.  If a project is already underway, it’s not too late to go back and clarify!

3)     Design and Protect Time for Collaboration: Time to collaborate won’t appear, you’ll have to create it.  And part of valuing the collaborative process means setting aside the time to do so—and protecting that time from other demands that would seek to infringe on it.  Communicate with colleagues and/or supervisors so that they understand you are using time for collaboration—especially when it may mean you cannot be as available for another meeting or task.  Remember that in the end collaboration creates more space and time because of the increased productivity and sharing of resources.  The more integral collaboration becomes the easier it will be understand why it’s a priority.

4)     Communicate, Communicate, Communicate: Communication cannot be overstated.  Having clear communication at every step of the process is crucial to effective collaboration.  And communication does not mean simply “telling;” clear communication also means listening deeply, checking in to see if you understand what is being said, asking questions that encourage the speaker to “tell me more,” etc.  Using collaborative technologies to increase communication is great—and keep in mind it is no substitute for face-to-face, in person meetings.  Explore various kinds of communication—and use them all.  Discover which are most effective with your team and use them most often!

5)     Recognize and Reward Effective Teamwork: Nothing says “success” like “success.” As you move along this journey, share your observations of collaboration success—both in process and outcome.  The more you affirm your victories the more likely you will be to repeat them.  No success is too small to recognize! In addition, determine how meaningful rewards can be fashioned to acknowledge the team’s success (rather than the individual’s) and implement them.

What are your thoughts about collaboration? Where have you been successful in implementing one or more of these best practices? What other ones might you include? How have you successfully challenged power imbalances in a collaborative relationship? How not?

Two of the most powerful words every uttered: “I’m sorry.” Sincerely meant, genuinely felt these words have the capacity to reconnect, repair and strengthen any bond.  Whether between two individuals or on a national or global scale these words can heal like no others.  As I watch, again, the powerful example provided by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (see video above) I am reminded of  the healing impact of an apology: visually I observe the responses of his fellow Australians to his words of apology given without condition or expectation; viscerally I gauge my own response to the impact of these words on fellow human beings so wrongly targeted and effected by racism, colonization and domination. I am moved to tears every time I watch him deliver this apology. Knowing how to apologize is a core cross cultural competency. It’s essential to repair the effects of hurts caused by structural inequities, enacted policies of domination and violence, as well as subtle, unaware acts of cluelessness.  We have the capacity to move through experiences of injustice and oppression–even ones as profound as those perpetrated on the Aboriginal peoples of Australia–by beginning with the words: “I’m sorry.”

Learning to give a clean apology is not easy to do.  It requires no attachment to the outcome. In other words, the person to whom you are apologizing may not be in a place to forgive you–and that needs to be OK.  A clean apology doesn’t require the person “get over it” just because you are apologizing.  Remember: you are apologizing because of some wrong-doing or mistake on your part. You don’t determine the timeline for someone else’s process. The power of an apology is coming into integrity with yourself.  ”I’m sorry” recognizes out loud and with accountability the impact of your actions–intended or not–on another human being (or group).  The apology is not for them but for you. Giving a clean apology means to do so without excuse, without justification and without any defensiveness.  In my own experience I have noticed I am able to give a more heartfelt apology the less bad I feel about myself. This may seem ironic because when someone has offended me I want them to know how badly I’ve been hurt by them. I can even tell at times I want them to feel bad–so they can know how it feels to hurt and feel bad. (And sometimes I will continue in my upset until I think they do!) Talk about a counterproductive cycle! But in the end, the longer they stay feeling bad about what they’ve done, the less likely I will hear those powerful words which, when sincerely given, signal a phase of healing and repair can begin.

Depending on our experience with apologies, how badly we feel about ourselves, how numb or in denial we are to the impact of our actions on others or how we were trained as members of certain groups: apologies can also be patterned.  A patterned apology lacks true sincerity–although the person saying “I’m sorry” may be completely unaware of this.  It isn’t necessarily a conscious decision to be insincere. More often it is an unaware, deeply ingrained set of attitudes or behaviors that have attached to the words “I’m sorry”–thus rendering the words almost meaningless and ultimately interfering with the possibility of repair. So what is a “patterned apology?”  Here are a few examples:

The “Shut Down” Apology Pattern Have you ever used the words “I’m sorry” as a pre-emptive “block” intended to shut the conversation (really the feelings of upset and hurt from the other person) down? I have used “I’m sorry” to placate the person, giving them what I think they want–but really I want to stop the interaction from going any further. This apology pattern is immediately experienced as insincere and often escalates the anger or upset–having the direct opposite of what I had hoped my patterned apology would render. I want it to be over. Done. Finished. I want to be off the hook and I have a very definite outcome in mind–forgiveness. I don’t want to hear any more about how I messed up or the impact my actions or words had on another person.  When I use an apology in this way I’m really not allowing for the repair to happen. When we feel that bad about ourselves, our (sometimes not so) hidden hope is that we can stop noticing our mistake by essentially shutting the affected party up.  It sounds harsher than I imagine it is intended and yet to the offended party, it can feel that harsh.  Instead of opening a door for reconnection, the “shut down” apology prematurely interrupts an opportunity for deeper learning and shared understanding.

The “I’m Not Worthy” Apology Pattern Another way that I’ve seen “I’m sorry” used (and myself participated in!) is one that comes from a place so deep inside, so entrenched in a bedrock of guilt and worthlessness, that somehow without uttering those words one no longer thinks they have the right to continue to exist.  The “I’m sorry” offered as part of the “I’m Not Worthy” apology pattern is like a rent payment–a regular, predictable toll paid for taking up space.  Primarily based in deeply-rooted shame, “I’m sorry”–repeated frequently and often inappropriately (i.e. for nothing the person could actual be accountable for, like bad weather or a plane delay)–is an attempt at redemption. The person to whom the words are uttered is expected to act as redeemer–a job they did not ask for and an unfair expectation when, on the rare occasion a real offense has occurred, they are now expected to help assuage the guilt of the person who has just aggrieved them. Challenging at best, a further offense at worst: this pattern can be a tough one to interrupt because the words sound right, and the tone is even contrite but it’s completely self-effacing and self-erasing and ultimately without self has no accountability in it.

The “Non-Repair” Apology Pattern Finally, another common apology pattern is one that uses an apology to substitute for real repair.  An apology is not repair. Repair is actual work, effort, behavior or policy changes that are enacted to rebuild trust.  (Repair will be discussed more fully in a future blog.) This apology pattern is neither capable of nor wants to do repair. It simply wants to move on. It’s different from the “shut down” apology pattern in that it isn’t attempting to stop further upset and require forgiveness.  This patterned “I’m sorry” essentially denies anything even happened. For example, I have to say “I’m sorry” because it’s expected but I really don’t understand what this all about any way. It reminds me a bit of a parent who requires a child to apologize to another child for some trespass but the apologizing child really doesn’t understand why or think that the apology is warranted; she or he is simply saying the words to be in compliance. And so the “I’m sorry” is perfunctory, flat and transactional.  It isn’t a means to an end. It’s the end. There is little or no compassion or attempt to understand what repair would be necessary to rebuild severed or weakened trust.

While apologies can be the gateway to profound and transformational healing, if done from a patterned place they can not only prevent repair from happening but, worse, can cause further affront to the offended party.  It’s crucial that we understand from where our apologies come…and what, if anything, we expect by saying those most powerful words: “I’m sorry.”

On this 100^th Anniversary of International Women’s Day I cannot only celebrate the tremendous gains and victories we have made to achieve equity—and there are many. In the current climate of open misogyny and uncensored dominance, I take a solemn look at the attack currently leveled at me and all women in the US and globally.

With visible and exceptional leadership, Egyptian women withstood violent aggression and won—with Egyptian men at their side and justice-seekers around the world watching—important steps toward establishing democracy in their recent revolution. Yet when women and their male allies gathered for a Million Woman March in Egypt today to draw attention to women’s rights and issues in the emerging democratic state the response was hostile.  Mostly men stood on the edges of the celebration and instructed them to go home.  Now is not the time for women’s issues.  When, then, is the time?

I watch video of women and girls in Cote d’Ivoire peaceably demonstrating against the continued rule of Laurent Gbagbo.  The joyful gathering of women’s voices raised in protest is shattered as tanks open fire on the weaponless group, brutally killing 6 women and girls.  (NOTE: Read more by clicking here or view the video is below.)

My own US government is also waging a war on women—especially poor women and women with children and of child-bearing age.  In proposed legislation, US representatives in Congress are attempting to redefine what qualifies as rape, reinstate the “gag rule” on international family planning which prevents agencies receiving US funds to even talk about abortion and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood which serves 1 in 5 women at some point in their lives. I am one of these women. Furthermore, women who choose to get a legal abortion would be forced to get an ultrasound and review the images—even if they became pregnant through rape or incest—before being granted the procedure.

Violence against women in the form of physical, sexual and emotional abuse; systematic and well-funded sex-trafficking of young girls; proposed roll backs on prenatal care for 2.5 million low-income US women: make no mistake—this is an organized attack on all women.  More than ever we need to raise our voices, sound the alarm, speak as one and say “no” to the brutality that would seek to silence us—whether through literal death or death of our spirit.  Now is the time. You are the one. Raise your voice—for women everywhere.

This month we are blogging about the 12th book in the Gallup’s series “The Elements of Great Managing” entitled Power of 2: How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life. Over five years and using thousands of surveys the authors Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller, Ph.D. have identified 8 elements of a powerful partnership:  Complementary Strengths, A Common Mission, Fairness, Trust, Acceptance, Forgiveness, Communicating and Unselfishness.

“Humans are made for collaborating,” the authors write, “Yet over time, humans created so many conveniences that we can now survive without each other.” I would offer that this is not the case in most parts of the world and certainly not in working class and poor communities in the economic North where survival is still very much linked to relationships and collaborations with other humans in strong clan, tribal, family or community networks. Nonetheless, for those of us with access to economic resources, their point is well-taken: we have “advanced” ourselves into isolation.

The first element of a strong collaboration, and the focus of this first book blog, is complementary strengths.  The authors debunk the myth of the “polymath”–a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas, otherwise known as the “Renaissance Man.”  This is a pervasive notion and supports the strong US emphasis on individualism, individual accomplishment and the Hero story.  Wagner and Muller write, “Few ideas so widely accepted are so demonstrably wrong [as the 'polymath.']“  Yet shoring up this myth reinforces values and beliefs that are not only deeply held and defended but also structurally supported and institutionally enforced by dominant culture in the US.

According to the Power of 2, in order to develop strong partnerships in life or at work, we would need to accept that while excellent in some areas we are also limited in others–the way any person’s skills and expertise are partial to the experiences, training and education they have received.  As they write, “So admit it: You stink at some things. You have blind spots, weaknesses….  Your strengths are stronger and your weaknesses weaker than you realize. You need help. You are also precisely the help someone else needs.” And this is why they make the case for true collaborators to actively seek a partner who is different from us.  In other words, we all need diversity to perform at our best.

I recently asked a client who has a very homogeneous workforce of largely white men if he thought it was a problem that his department lacked diversity. He thought about if for a while and then said, “No.”  He argued that they were still able to do excellent work, despite the lack of employees with different strengths or ways of thinking. Therefore, he concluded, no problem.  Wagner and Muller would disagree on the level of individual collaboration, contribution and excellence. “It’s a fallacy that…[you] alone will be anywhere as powerful as the two combined.” And I would also disagree, and even extend their argument to support the importance of having a diverse workplace.  It is also a fallacy, in my view, for any one group to imagine themselves to be as powerful, excellent, brilliant, or cutting-edge as two (or more) different groups collaborating and working together.

Wagner and Muller caution that seeking and acknowledging complimentary strengths means seeing your partner’s contribution of equal value to your own. In other words: ego and dominance must be checked at the door.  This is an important, yet difficult, diversity lesson when the groups we belong to (men, white, able-bodied, heterosexual, Christian, etc.) are in the position of dominance because of institutional validation for our way of thinking and acting.  It’s easy to get caught up into believing our complimentary strength really is the “better” strength in the partnership–and they wouldn’t make it without us.  According to Wagner and Muller, they wouldn’t. But neither would we.  It’s the interdependency of the complimentary strengths that allows each contributor in the partnership to shine. Therefore, to encourage true equity and peerness of both sets of strengths in any partnership, in other words to see them equally important, individuals and organizations will have to both closely examine and interrupt policies and attitudes that would seek to promote one strength over another. Failing to acknowledge that the partnership’s success is based in the diversity of the partnership itself will continue to invalidate and undermine true collaboration.

What are the strengths you bring to a collaborative partnership? What are your weaknesses?  Who would you need to seek out as a partner to compliment your strengths? What stops you?  How will you check your ego and dominance so that it doesn’t interfere with the partnership? Or conversely, how will you interrupt attempting to “adapt” yourself to mimic the dominant strengths you see around you at work and instead assert the value of what your bring as complimentary and essential to any successful collaboration?  How will you interrupt organizational dominance to ensure complimentary strengths are recognized, rewarded, and sought after?

By the end of June you can pick up a copy of this book or audio book through our website resources page (15% of all purchases are donated to a non-profit) or follow along using the audio podcasts adapted for the book.  Click here for the link to this chapter or here for a list of all the adapted podcast chapters.  Read (or listen) along with us and share you comments on this book blog!

I saw this on my sister Rita’s blog today. And it made me cry.

My father has diabetes as a complication from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease; my mother was diagnosed with diabetes in her late 60s but was able to reverse her diagnose through regular exercise and Weight Watchers; when I was 10 years old my grandfather’s leg was amputated after gangrene set in after third-degree burns from sleeping with a heating pad (he couldn’t feel the heat or the burning since his circulation was so poor by then). Type II Diabetes (also called “Adult Onset,” although it is increasingly diagnosed in children) is a pandemic in my family, and especially in my Mexican and Puerto Rican communities. When I was a little girl, I was told this disease is genetic and that I could expect to get it when I got older. Not a question of if, but of when. No information about what causes it. No information about how to live differently to interrupt its course. Just a fact. My destiny.

I have come to understand this disease as one of classism. It’s poor people who marketed to and sold cheap mineral- and vitamin-deficient foods. It’s poor people who do not have access to affordable, organic produce. It’s poor people who are marketed to and sold high-processed, high-sugar foods as a way to numb to our emotions and the injustice of classism. The effects of diabetes are slow and insidious. It’s the socially-acceptable way for us to self-destruct. And then we are targeted and blamed for being fat. And yet it is not only reversible–it is completely avoidable.

Despite no longer being poor, the effects of being raised poor and having parents who grew up in poverty under the full weight of classism, I still struggle to make choices that will support my health and longevity. To not choose food to numb, especially ones high in fat and sugar, I have to notice my emotions, perhaps anger or sadness. As the video highlights, without addressing the emotional components of what underpins food addictions, the struggle is fierce and I would dare argue virtually unwinnable. I will continue to share my insights and thoughts on wellness as a social justice issue–and as a personal act of transformation and human liberation. I hope you will join in the discussion…and find support to keep making choices that treat you as the precious being you are.

Some of you have read the LJS Newsletter article on “Authenticity: A Guiding Principle of Diversity & Inclusion” (which I also posted on this blog on February 24, 2010). In the article I refer to a keynote presentation I did with an organization encouraging participants to use their first language–even though no one else might speak their language in the room. Below is a response from the person in charge of diversity programs at that organization who hired me to deliver the keynote. Here are her observations, unedited, post event:

“Hello, Nanci. Thanks so much for the pictures and great article. I really took it to heart. Since the training the biggest difference I’m noticing is that people are talking about things. It’s not always nice stuff. Sometimes it’s expressing feeling hurt by a supervisor’s treatment or the way someone addressed them. Instead of just stuffing things under the rug people are opening up and talking a lot more. The break room is just louder and more vibrant. It seems like people have held back a lot of hurt feelings over the years and now feel like they can talk about them. It’s very different with all these new voices of people who used to be pretty silent. Thank you so much.”

Having more authentic conversations, even though they bring up thoughts and feelings that can be hard to hear or challenging to have, are a sign of success. Sometimes organizations are confused by this turn of events. Organizations assume that if no one’s talking about these issues, then everything is going fine. Quite the contrary–if you create enough safety, more and more conversations will happen, and more issues will come into the light; the silences are be broken. And that is a good thing. The question: do you have the organizational capacity to handle these conversations? Skills building for effective conversations as well as a framework with which to “hold” them is essential if the organization and individuals will move through them, toward true alliances and cultural competency.

Taking inspiration from the well known quote by Mahatma Ghandi “Be the change you want to see in the world,” Change Starts with Me is must-visit site for anyone looking to discover ideas and encouragement in the realm of personal development and transformational change. Nanci, a regular contributor to this site, is part of a diverse team of entrepreneurs, coaches, and business leaders who provide thought provoking essays and blog entries. They write about topics that fall into seven realms: physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, vocational, and financial. Rooted in the idea that everyone is a catalyst for change – individual and collective – this site is replete with tips for identifying and implementing strategies for transformation, on every level.

Feel free to follow along on their site or check out the repostings on this blog.

Since 1966 the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on March 21. This day commemorates the Sharpeville Massacre–the day in 1960 when police opened fire and killed 69 people and wounded 180  in Sharpeville, South Africa at the peaceful demonstration against the apartheid “pass laws.” The United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to increase its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination through this proclamation.

This year the focus is on racism and sports. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, “We must push for all sports organizations to adopt stringent anti-discrimination policies, as well as frameworks for punishing the perpetrators of racist incidents and justice for the victims [both inside and outside of the stadium].” The sports industry, like any institution, has perpetuated institutional racism and is used to reinforce “race-based” prejudices (often in the guise of nationalism in international sporting events). A brilliant example of how sports can be used to structurally and emotionally interrupt racist divisions, can be seen in the 2009 film Invictus.  This film tells the inspiring true story of how newly-elected President Nelson Mandela seeks to unite his still racially and economically divided country in the wake of apartheid by joining forces with Francois Pienaar, captain of South Africa’s rugby team, the Springboks, as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

Marking this day in the US, over 700 organizations from across the country are supporting the “March for America” campaign. Thousands are expected to march at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, March 21st to demand immigration reform. For more information about the march visit Reform Immigration For America.

You can find more information about the international call to action at Human Rights Education Associate.  Some tools featured on this site that you can use to bring about an end to racism include learning activities for use with young people to explore the issue of discrimination, developed by Amnesty International; the international basis for intercultural education including anti-racist and human rights education, to increase awareness and use of international human rights treaties to shape international human rights standards into reality; and anti-slavery fact sheets, that present simple, easy-to-use information on past slavery, present-day slavery and bonded labor.

Mark your calendars for March 8, International Women’s Day! This site is laden with information about how IWD is celebrated around the world. A national holiday in countries such as China, Bulgaria, and Vietnam, this is historical day to celebrate the contributions and achievements of women across the ages. If you’ve ever wondered about the history of International Women’s Day, this site provides a chronology tracing the celebration back to its start in 1911. While the goal is for every day of the year to include recognition for the accomplishments of women, International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to feel connected to the daughters, sisters, mothers, and grandmothers throughout our global community.

How will you celebrate your life as a woman?  The lives of women you are close with?  What do you cherish about being female?

I recently visited my father’s youngest sister, who is now in her early 70s.  Despite societal expectations and barriers of gender and class, she has created an independent life for herself that continues to inspire me.  She lives in her own cement house, built on the same site in Aguada, Puerto Rico that my Mama Minga had her wooden home (before Hurricane George had its way with it).

My grandmother, Mama Minga, had the foresight to purchase a plot of land with the settlement from her husband’s accidental death in 1936.  She left that land to her five youngest children–my aunt being the only girl in that bunch.  To make ends meet after her husband died, Mama Minga would bring in piece work (small articles to be sewn by hand for the US garment industry that paid pennies per piece of work) for her and the youngest to sew.

My aunt further developed her skills as a seamstress. Eventually she got a job at a JCPenny’s clothing factory, which supported herself and her son.  Her eyes still sparkle with pride when she talks about the lingerie she made day after day.  The factory moved overseas 13 years ago (for a cheaper labor pool) and she’s lives off her monthly social security check.  You can tell she’s glad to not work in the factory anymore (“I haven’t been sick a day since I stopped working there,” she tells me.  “Too much stress.”).  Now her days are her own and she sews for pleasure.

Although she sews most everything–clothing, curtains, etc.–she has a special place in her heart for making dolls. Treasured patterns of small girls, precisely cut, and lovingly wrapped in paper and plastic and stored in boxes are carefully removed for me to see.  Each pattern has a story.  “I made this one for my granddaughter, Nicole, when she was little.”  “When I was six, my mother made me a Victorian doll just like this one.” “I sold this one for $20.”

Each doll connects her to other girls and women in her life.

She’s now making one for me.

Be yourself.  This is the simplest way I know to describe “authenticity”—a guiding principle when working with groups around diversity issues and a core competency for an inclusive work environment.

While the statements, “be who you are” or “stay true to yourself,” sound simple, they are surprisingly challenging to live up to. This is especially true in a society that explicitly values and rewards particular groups and ways of “being” over others.

Many of us purposely change how we present ourselves in work environments to be seen as more credible or to advance our projects in our organizations. On some level, this strategy makes sense as we need political support and buy-in to be effective in our jobs. However, some of these decisions —how we dress and talk, how much we reveal about our personal lives, core values and beliefs, and how we live—have become so familiar and reinforced by co-workers and society that the connection with our authentic selves begins to unravel. We lose sight of who we really are.

I recently led a workshop where a participant insisted I couldn’t be Latina because I was so “articulate.” I grew up in a household where my parents spoke Spanish to each other, but spoke to us children in English because they didn’t want us to speak with an accent. I watched my father and grandparents be “stigmatized” as uneducated or less intelligent because English was clearly not their native tongue.

I learned as a very young person that English was the language of power and access. I excelled at it, especially verbally. I knew that skillfully commanding English would bring recognition for being smart, because I would sound smart. Yet, I’m most “at home” in Spanglish. My tone softens, as does my heart, when those melodic syllables roll off my tongue. For the most part, I don’t reveal that part of me in work settings. I remain wary of both the stigma and its possible “exclusionary” effect on non-Spanish speakers, even when I translate what I say. I worry that I may offend someone in power and as a result lose a contract or client, or worse, my credibility.

When I hold back from speaking in my more familiar tongue, I have already lost credibility because I contradict my value of being authentic. In order to come more in alignment with my value, sometimes it’s enough for me to be open about how higher education and especially my decision to adopt “very formally educated” English impacted me. Other times, it makes sense to slip into Spanglish and share this aspect of myself. The outcome is two-fold:  I bring more of myself to whatever I am doing, and this benefits everyone around me. Another outcome is that by being more authentic I invite others to do the same.

I recently asked workshop participants to do an activity in their first language.  The resistance from a small group of immigrants was palpable. The room filled with nervous chatter, anxious clarifying questions, uncomfortable shifting in chairs, and even visible upset at me for making such a request. After the exercise, several of these participants shared with me, one-on-one, how powerful it was to be able to speak their own languages at work. They cried about how hard it was to speak only English and how doing so led them to forget certain words in their birth language. The grief was evident. As I walked through the lunch area after the session, the participants volunteered to teach me “thank you” and “good-bye” in Romanian, Tibetan, Arabic, and Eritrean, just to name a few. The participants felt safe enough to be more authentic in the workplace and the trust increased for everyone.

Being authentic means being willing to be all of who you are. The truth is, being less of who we are impacts our organizational effectiveness. It takes effort—more energy, more resources, more time—to be less of myself since my brain is preoccupied with what and how much to change or hold back. If you are part of a group that has institutional power—English dominant, male, white, Christian, heterosexual, etc.—you are especially poised to create more safety for others. You can do this by engaging your access and credibility to model authenticity and insist on a workplace that actively counteracts pressures to assimilate.

Where have you changed who you are in order to fit in or gain more acceptance?  What can you do to be more authentic in the workplace? How would this increase the trust level and allow others to be more authentic? How would this impact diversity and increase inclusion where you work? I forward to reading your thoughts and responding to your comments!