Susan Scott's Blog, page 23

How to Bring Your Whole Self to Work

 

No matter the environment, no matter the timing, one thing is clear. When we’re discussing plans for 2022, we’re talking about people — and their ability to bring their whole selves to work. In his most recent blog, Director of Learning Paul Stabile explores what it means to bring your whole self to work and how to build that trust within your organization.

 

 

 

5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

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TIPS TO MAKE YOU AND YOUR TEAM FIERCE – PART TWO

There are only 31 days until 2022 which makes it the perfect time to start brainstorming new year’s resolutions. And while we may be biased, we believe being #fierce is always a great skill to practice. Last month, we shared our blog, Tips to Make You and Your Team Fierce – Part One. And now, we’re happy to share part two with five more tips to help you meet the challenges and opportunities of 2022 with confidence. 

ASK YOUR TEAM

Think about a time that a leader in your organization made a decision without consulting the people impacted.  How was the decision received? Was there resistance? Most of the time, when people are disgruntled with how an issue was handled, it is because people’s opinions and concerns were not addressed in the first place. People ultimately want to know that their perspectives matter. You might even argue that the simple act of engaging them in a conversation prior is more important than the outcome itself. American poet Mattie Stepanek once shared, “Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” In our Fierce Team Program, we help teams achieve unity through our beach ball conversation model. We recognize that no single person holds the whole truth, rather a mere sliver or ‘stripe’ of it. Inviting different stripes can be one of the most effective ways to explore potential solutions and make important decisions.  

BE FIERCE: Ask your team what matters to them when making an important decision. Invite people you normally wouldn’t…It may surprise you where the conversation leads. 

DELEGATE, DON’T  DELE-DUMP 

How does the phrase ‘delegate that’ show up in your organization? For most organizations, that statement means you need to get rid of a task you currently own as fast as possible. 

One of our clients fondly dubbed this act, ‘dele-dumping’. It’s when someone says, “Let me take ALL of these tasks  that waste my time and throw them on your plate.” Let’s be honest: That can make anyone want to run for the hills. We’ve found that delegation is a frequently misused and under-utilized form of development. If you start to look at delegation as a means of professional development, you may very well be less  inclined to run away when someone says, “I have  something to delegate to you.” In fact, your response may  very well be, “Thank you!” 

Think about it…What is currently on your plate that, if someone else had that responsibility, you would be freed up to take on something else? On top of that, what if the additional responsibility helped that person further mature in their own role? Talk about a win-win. 

BE FIERCE: Reflect on your current responsibilities and highlight three that are no longer the best use of your time. Start to have conversations about shifting those to someone else in order to free up your time for new things – this will help you, your team, and your organization grow. 

TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY

Have you heard of victim bonding? It’s when people get together and talk about how horrible a situation is, rather than doing anything to change it. Here’s how victim bonding shows up in a conversation: 

Person A: “Oh, you are having trouble with Finance?” 

Person B: “Yes, absolutely. Are you having trouble with Finance? They’re horrible! They never give me  enough resources.” 

Person A: “Me either! Oh, let me tell you this story…” 

And so, the bond begins. It feels so good. It feels so right. Someone actually ‘gets it’ or ‘gets you.’ We all love to victim bond at times. But let’s pause on that. Have you heard the phrase ‘misery loves company? That’s what is really happening here. Essentially, you are not only choosing misery, you are choosing to have someone else’s misery in your life as well. Here’s the kicker: No amount of victim bonding will change your situation. Is that what you really want? 

In our Fierce Accountability Program, one of our foundational concepts in the course is: If it is to be, it is up to me. That means, if a situation is going to change, you are responsible.  

BE FIERCE: Think of a situation in your life where you feel like you are the victim – whether it be with another person or circumstance. Don’t proceed to victim bond with your counterparts, instead have a direct conversation to initiate the change you wish to see. Remember, if it is to be, it is up to me. 

GIVE PRAISE 

When was the last time you said, ‘thank you’ or ‘great work’? And when was the last time you said more than just that? The numbers don’t lie folks. According to the John Templeton Foundation’s gratitude survey from 2014, only 30% of employees thank a co-worker multiple times a week and only 20% thank their boss several times a week. Shockingly, 29% never thank a coworker and 35% of employees never thank their boss…Wow. A good approach is to share and recognize how you yourself have grown in the last year and how your team’s efforts have impacted that growth. Ask yourself: Has your colleague gone out of his or her way to help with a project? Are you grateful for how someone is showing up? Did your team hit it out of the park? Tell them! So, how can you focus on expressing more gratitude in your workplace? Get specific and give them praise! It’s a form of feedback and essential for creating a healthy working environment. The best part: This is something everyone can do –  not just leadership. 

BE FIERCE: Share praise with at least three people in your organization. When giving this feedback, highlight and describe their positive actions with plenty of details. Then share the significance and impact their actions had on yourself and others. Make it sincere. Make it real. 

BE BRAVE, ASK FOR FEEDBACK NOW

How do you feel about work? Do you know where you stand with yourself, your leader, and your colleagues in relation to your efforts? Don’t wait until a formal review is scheduled to have the conversation. Real-time feedback is necessary to define what is working and what is not working. During this time, you need to ask the tough questions: 

Where do you see me adding the most value?  What feedback do you have for me with the work I am currently doing?  Do you see opportunities for me to improve?  How can I help you be the most successful through my efforts? 

Sometimes the feedback is not the easiest to hear. It takes bravery and people caring to share their honest perspectives. For you, it takes guts and humility to truly listen.  

BE FIERCE: Use the questions above to have a conversation with your boss or colleague about the specifics of your work. Regardless of the outcome, truly understanding others’ perspectives unblocks career paths and allows you to achieve so much more in the future. 

Improving the quality and depth of our conversations is a lifelong journey. There is a lot at stake to get it right – as professionals, as partners, as friends, as fellow inhabitants of Earth. 

Remember: While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship or a life – any single conversation can. That’s why it helps to take it one step at a time.

 

 

 

5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

Download eBook >

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The Real-Life Costs of Inauthenticity

I grew up learning English as a second language. My traditional Chinese upbringing created an environment where I was not to speak up, share my perspective, or disagree with a decision in public or in private. Because of a lack of confidence and cultural norms, I was never the first to speak in a classroom or social setting. I developed a reputation as a shy, insecure person who didn’t have an opinion. It became easy to stay in the background. While I was not expected to chime in or have a strong opinion about any topic, I would find myself in situations where my heart was aching to speak up. I could feel the knots form in my stomach when a decision was made that I didn’t think was right, especially when it was a decision about my future.  

In my junior year of undergrad, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Hong Kong. It was an incredible experience. I was surrounded by people who looked just like me and grew up with similar cultural values and norms (although to all my Hong Kong friends, I was the American). I felt like I was home, really home. I learned and experienced so much that I decided that I wanted to move to Hong Kong after I graduated college. The problem was that I never had a REAL conversation with my parents about my dreams. I applied to jobs in Hong Kong and got interviews, but when it came time to fly out, my conversation with my parents was 30 seconds long and went like this:  

“I want to move to Hong Kong and work there.”  

“No.”  

And that was that. There was no deeper discussion, no opportunity to share why I wanted to go and learn why they didn’t want me to. My dream was deflated. I started a career in my hometown, San Francisco, and never looked back. Do I daydream about a different life, and what would have happened if I had the courage to have an authentic, meaningful conversation with my parents? Absolutely!  

As I look back to that one failed conversation over 20 years ago, I wonder what other major conversations in my life were missing because I lacked the skill, courage or confidence to invite them. What about you? Can you remember a time when you did not share your real thoughts and feelings? What difference would it have made if you did?   

How often do you find yourself hiding what you really think and feel, just to be polite and not upset the other person? In your work life, are you part of a culture of niceness that supersedes the need to be authentic? How has that impacted your experience of work? How has it impacted others’ experience of you? How might your life be different if you started showing up radically transparent TODAY?  While we know not having the real conversation can cost us, sharing our truths also has its risks. 

Snyder (1987)1 found that the more successful a person is at portraying inauthentic experiences or expressions, the more interpersonally competent he or she is judged to be. If we’re showing up sharing every thought and feeling candidly without a filter, we can rapidly derail our careers. In fact, Harter, Marod, Whitesell, & Cobbs (1996)2 argued that the ability to express thoughts and feelings that are contrary to one’s mental states is an important developmental adaptation. Think about it, when you are a new leader, trying to build relationships and a reputation, it makes sense that you would have the desire to cast yourself in the most positive light and take actions and make decisions that do not ‘rock the boat.’ In my experience, even when I know my direct supervisor is disappointed, their ability to be encouraging rather than assigning blame kept us moving forward. That was critical to our team’s morale. 

On the flip side, we know that when we are inauthentic, it poses a challenge to our own sense of self. It has a significant psychological cost. In a study completed in 2013, Gino, Kouchaki, and Galinsky 3 found that experiencing inauthenticity led participants to feel more immoral and impure, directly impacting their sense of worth. These are the costs of missed conversations, where we choose to hide what we really think and feel. As I shared earlier, my entire life trajectory was impacted by a conversation I wasn’t willing to have. There is an art in finding the right amount of authenticity in each situation. How much we say, how we say it and what we choose not to say impacts our results. As you strive to become more authentic, here are some questions to consider that could make all the difference. Grab a trusted friend to ask you these questions or coach yourself through them. 

How You Can Start Becoming More Authentic 

Check your context filter: What stories am I telling myself? Being authentic can be scary. What might others think if I truly voice my thoughts, opinions, and feelings? What if my truth can sound hurtful? What if they don’t like what they hear? When these thoughts show up, pause, and check your context. What stories am I telling myself about the situation?Do I have some biases showing up?Is this true?What information am I missing?What evidence have I gathered so far?Check your intentions: Why am I afraid to step into this conversation? When you find emotions cropping up about a conversation you’re about to have, ask yourself:What am I feeling (fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, etc.)?What’s causing me to feel this way?What factors have led up to this point? How long has it been going on?Where have I avoided the opportunity to step into this conversation before?What was the impact?Check your track record: How often have you talked yourself out of having a difficult conversation? When you recognize yourself about to do it again, ask yourself these questions:What do I stand to lose if I don’t have this conversation? Is this true? What else is at stake?What if I have the conversation, and it goes well? What results might I enjoy? What do I stand to gain?What’s at risk if I do engage in the conversation? Are these results worth it? Are these potential results real, or are they the story that I’m telling myself? This is where you truly need to look within yourself to decide whether engaging in the current situation is worth the costs you’ve just listed. This is about thoughtfully considering the possible outcomes when you choose to engage in or avoid a conversation.

So my question to you is: How are you currently showing up when you’re surrounded by your peers, colleagues or family members? What about when conflict arises? Are you someone who tackles that challenge in the moment, authentically, or someone who runs in the other direction, avoiding the conversation?  

When I think about the times I have withheld my thoughts and opinions, I find myself playing and replaying the conversation in my head, wishing I spoke up. How might my life trajectory be different if I said what I really thought? What might my career choices, my family life, my social circle look like if I wasn’t afraid to say and do the things my heart wanted to do and say?  

I came across Founder and Author of Fierce Conversations Susan Scott’s keynote at a training conference. When she spoke about the costs of missing conversations, I realized how much of my life might have been different if I had engaged in the conversations I was so afraid of. My hope for you is that you stop avoiding conversations, and master the courage to come out from behind yourself, into the conversation and make it real. How might things be different for you in 2022 when you start showing up this way? 

To help you on your conversation journey, Fierce is ready to partner with you to start customizing your 2022 training.

 

 

5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

Download eBook >

Tags: #Employee Engagement, #Mergers and Acquisitions

The post The Real-Life Costs of Inauthenticity appeared first on Fierce.

The Metaverse and Next Generation Learning

Recently, there has been ongoing coverage and numerous discussions about the Metaverse leaving many wondering, “What exactly is the Metaverse?” Much like “the cloud” or “cloud computing,” the capabilities of the Metaverse have been around for quite some time, though the term wasn’t coined until later, at which time it was added to the mass lexicon.   

What is the Metaverse? 

Depending on whom you ask or where you search, you’ll find various definitions, all related, but it’s unlikely you will find a single, agreed-upon definition. Let’s break it down. Meta, a Greek prefix, means “beyond,” though you’ll find that when it is added to English words, it becomes “change.” The etymology of verse is simply a shortened version of “universe.  

Now, combined, the word Metaverse offers up several definitions: 

The 3D virtual spaces are linked together in a perceived virtual universe. The enhanced next step to the current worldwide web, which is based on text, videos, and images. A reference to digital spaces which are made more lifelike by use of VR (Virtual Reality) or AR (augmented reality). 

Book and movie fans might immediately think of Neuromancer by William Gibson or The Matrix film series. Of course, you can’t miss Facebook’s pivot into the Metaverse, changing its name to “Meta” to signify what the leadership sees as the importance and wide range adoption of Metaverse experiences. 

Fierce on the Metaverse – Making Life Better 

Here at Fierce, we couldn’t agree more! The impact of the Metaverse will be phenomenal, particularly in the areas of training, learning, and development.  Prior to the Pandemic, we learned a great deal from our clients through our various voices of the customer listening posts, including our robust Net Promoter Score system and analytics.  We were getting 70 out of 100 NPS (Net Promotor Score) from our end learners – exceptional scores for our industry.  

However, once we started to truly dissect the data, the shortcomings in our model became apparent.  The question regarding our facilitators, “How would you rate the facilitator’s skills?” consistently scored in the 90s, indicating the learner loved the overall experience.  Two questions scored significantly lower – “How likely are you to use the concepts and models?” and “How ready are you to apply what you’ve learned?” Our scores, along with customer verbatims, illuminated to us that our learning efficacy was low.   

To overcome these challenges, we created the Fierce Strategic Pillars: 

Application – How do we get closer to using conversation techniques in the environment and situations so that our learners will utilize it easily?  Some learners grasp more readily onto tangible relatable examples versus theory.  They want the punchline versus frameworks.  Sustainability – How do we make it easier for learners to sustain learning post facilitation or after a formal learning event?  In the real world, people want to recall easily and put into practice what they learned, and apply it in the moments they need it most.  Scale – How can we offer palatable solutions for various audiences within an organization? Instead of just providing critical skillsets around engaging in your daily environment to mid-managers and above, our customers want to be able to deploy learning and sustainability to audiences, including front-line workers who can’t be taken offline for days or even hours at a reasonable cost for the organization. Fierce 3D/VR offerings – Synonymous with Metaverse 

Once we defined the challenges we wanted to solve, we took a step back to look at solutions.  In early 2020, one of our key solutions and crucial strategies was to use 3D/VR simulations. The simulations put the user in a gaming-like environment in which they control the direction of the conversation, learning along the way as well as from the outcome.  Accenture (Accenture Extended Reality – Immersive Learning for the future workforce) has found mixed-reality learning modalities to increase learning retention by 75 percent over passive modalities.  The 3D/VR environments can be very elaborate. Still, the point is to immerse the learner in the scenario and allow the learner to participate in a safe environment where they can learn or hit re-do to try again.  How many chances do we get to hit re-do in real life? 

The BETA tests provided great learning to iterate and prove our hypotheses and aligned with our strategic pillars.  A great example, from early in the pandemic, one of our long-term telecommunication customers with retail locations throughout the U.S. and well-known globally was having difficulty quickly deploying the needed training to their front-line sales staff. They faced numerous issues from customers coming in with COVID concerns on both sides of the spectrum, who fumbled with moving toward a consultative sale. On one side, a jittery customer might not want the salesperson to shake hands, give them a pen, or otherwise be in their personal space. On the other side, an agitated customer was upset about having to wear a mask or asking why the salesperson was wearing a mask—every customer presented with strong beliefs around what was happening with the pandemic responses. In talking with the VP of Sales, we developed simulations to capture their “secret sauce” to handle these situations, which could be deployed quickly, accessible on any device and absorbed in 15 minutes or less.  

We had another successful BETA with a large hospital chain that needed front-line nurses to be versed in providing feedback, confronting, and delegating to physicians.  They had similar constraints – not being able to take them off-line for hours or days of learning and needing to get impactful microlearning at scale in a familiar environment. 

 

Rich Human Connection – Surviving and Thriving  

Creating the modality in these situations was not enough. Fierce Conversations have always been about developing the techniques needed to engage your environment in any situation – be it the need to ask for feedback, provide feedback, confront a persistent problem, run better team meetings with clear accountability, get curious about a situation, etc.  These are foundational to everything and anything an organization hopes to accomplish.  

For example, we are not a competitive alternative offering to change management.  Change management frameworks and methodologies are essential, and at the intersection of change management are the people. The conversation techniques are what support the successful execution of change management plans. 

With the renewed focus on racial tensions and diversity, we quickly realized that we wanted to support these efforts towards positive change. We acknowledged we weren’t experts in DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), but we knew many very passionate and accomplished thought leaders on the topic. From there, we created the “Powered by Fierce” model to leverage our platforms, investments in 3D/VR, and, most importantly, conversation techniques critical to the success of others’ philosophies and instruction.   

We partnered with Dr. Yasmin Davids, founder of the Dr. Yasmin Davids’ Leadership Institute, a multi-ethnic, anti-racist organization partnered with USC and UCSD. Dr. Davids teaches techniques on how to be “Graciously Assertive,” whereby women can be assertive and effective in the workplace just like their male counterparts while avoiding negative connotations such as “bossy” or “angry.”  We captured these techniques along with our conversation models in 3D/VR simulations, including an example of a male employee challenging a female boss on a given performance review.  Within the microaggression space, we do role reversals to illustrate the importance of engaging in these critical conversations to evoke learning and enrich relationships while avoiding anger, defensiveness, and toxic environments. 

According to TraingIndustry.com, 2021 State of Leadership Training Market, less than one percent of revenue is generated from immersive modalities of this type. Why? It has more to do with adoption. Frankly, it lies in the hands of decision-makers who need to realize the familiarity of those environments with younger generations, to see past “graphics” and the lack of human connection, and see immersive modalities as augmentation for the learner journey.  

At Fierce, we firmly believe this learning modality will continue to increase in adoption with use cases and capabilities continuing to be enhanced.  Fierce is passionate about empowering the world with conversation techniques and is partnering with leaders in their fields to bring immersive Metaverse Training to their learners along with embedded conversation techniques. Our mission is to better the world, one conversation at a time, and to continue as The Metaverse Training Company. 

 

 

5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

Download eBook >

Tags: #Employee Engagement, #Mergers and Acquisitions

The post The Metaverse and Next Generation Learning appeared first on Fierce.

TIPS TO MAKE YOU AND YOUR TEAM FIERCE – PART ONE

There are only 50 days left in 2021. Can you believe it? As you reflect on this year, what worked? What didn’t work? Which goals did you meet? Which ones did you miss? And Why? As you’re taking note of where you’ve landed this year, think about what you want to change and all the possibilities that await you in 2022. And while you do this, make a plan. A purposeful plan that will allow you to meet those challenges and opportunities with confidence. To help, we’ve listed a few Fierce tips to help prepare you and your team for the new year. 

MAKE A NEW CONNECTION

In your typical week, think about all the individuals you interact with – whether it be on the phone, via email, and even people you pass by on the street. How many of these individuals do you genuinely attempt to foster a connection with? Let’s be honest: We can all spot if someone is not being genuine from a mile away. What we should be asking ourselves when interacting with others, is whether we are asking questions and actively listening during our conversations with these individuals or do we just wait for our turn to talk? As our Founder Susan Scott shares, “If you want to become a great leader, gain the capacity to connect with your colleagues and customers at a deep level…or lower your aim.” 

BE FIERCE: Make a new connection with someone in your life – whether it be inside or outside the office. Ask questions and really listen. Schedule a time in your calendar for this effort and make it a habit. 

GO DEEPER

How many times a week do you have a conversation that just stays at the surface level? With your boss? With your colleagues? With your family and friends? The truth is…It happens. Perhaps, more often than any of us would care to admit. Even when we are in the conversation, we can breeze past each other altogether. Here’s the thing: We are craving depth each day. We are craving real. We want people to care. Author Joseph Pine once said, “The experience of being understood, versus interpreted, is so compelling you can charge admission.” We need to seek to understand and go deeper in our own day-to-day conversations. 

BE FIERCE: Identify the relationships in your life that deserve extra attention. To do this ask yourself: Where and when do you tend to have your most meaningful conversations? Where and when do you tend to have the most superficial conversations?

ASK ‘WHAT ELSE?’

Think about when someone asks you: “How’s it going?” How do you usually respond? My guess is that the initial answer is surface level. Work is busy, but good. Family is good. Vacation was good. I’m good. Surprisingly enough, the conversation becomes drastically different when you ask ‘what else’ afterwards. Only after the ‘what else’ does something juicier come out. It’s almost like ‘what else’ translates to “No, really. I want to know.” Part of our Fierce Coaching Program, we instruct individuals to ask ‘what else’ at least three times in different parts of the conversation. You’ll find that each time you ask, you will go deeper into the question – exploring and unlocking new territory.

BE FIERCE: Start with the relationships in your life deserve extra attention. Concentrate on where and when you can ask, “What else?” It is only two words after all…

IMPROVE TWO RELATIONSHIPS

Here’s a simple five-word sentence, and yet the depth and applicability of this sentiment is powerful… The conversation is the relationship. 

Just think of all the relationships in your life… 

How would you rank the quality of your conversations with those relationships on a scale of 1 to 10 – with 1 being most satisfying and 10 being least satisfying. When you picture this spectrum, where would all your conversations land? Is one end of the spectrum heavier than the other? With that visual in mind, it’s important to ask ourselves what kinds of conversations we’re having:

As a leader, are the conversations developmental and supportive or skeptical and controlling? As a team member, are the conversations collaborative and robust or superficial and frustrating?As a friend, are the conversations thoughtful and compassionate or assumptive and insincere? As an individual, what kind of conversations are we having with ourselves? Are they encouraging and optimistic or critical and sabotaging? 

The quality of your conversations is a direct reflection of the quality of your relationships. 

BE FIERCE: Keep things simple. Start by identifying two relationships in your life where you are having the least satisfying conversations. Is it with your boss? With a team member? Your friend? Yourself? If you want to make the relationships more fulfilling, you must start by improving the content and quality of your conversations. Take them out to coffee. Schedule a lunch. Go somewhere that you can focus.

GET REAL

At Fierce, we do not have annual performance reviews. Instead, we engage in open and honest conversations every day of the year with the people central to our success. Talking about performance is just one of the many conversations you should be having with your leaders and team each day. We find that this activity aligns closely with one of our Fierce values: Be real. We describe it like this: There is no faking it at Fierce. We present ourselves – our capabilities and our knowledge – exactly as we are. We don’t pretend to be anything we aren’t. We are transparent with each other and our clients, and we embrace that which makes each of us unique. We regularly ask our employees how they are aligning with this value. What does this value mean to them? What does it look like? 

BE FIERCE: In the spirit of leading Fierce, get real and be your authentic self. Are you having the conversations you need to have with the people central to your success? If not, there is no better time than the present.

Improving the quality and depth of our conversations is a lifelong journey. There is a lot at stake to get it right – as professionals, as partners, as friends, as fellow inhabitants of Earth. Remember: While no single conversation is guaranteed to change the trajectory of a career, a company, a relationship or a life – any single conversation can. That’s why it helps to take it one step at a time. 

Stay tuned for part two with more tips on how to make you and your team Fierce! 

 

 

 

5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

Download eBook >

Tags: #Employee Engagement, #Mergers and Acquisitions

The post TIPS TO MAKE YOU AND YOUR TEAM FIERCE – PART ONE appeared first on Fierce.

How to Really Listen Well

November 26th is National Day of Listening, a reminder to actively practice listening and make a conscious effort to learn the stories of our families and communities. In our newest vlog, Fierce Master Facilitator Beth Wagner explores ways you can become a better listener, and not just on National Listening Day!

5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

Download eBook >

Tags: #Employee Engagement

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How to Prevent Microaggressions Against Employees with Disabilities

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, a time dedicated to educating the public about disability employment issues and celebrating the many and varied contributions of workers with disabilities in the United States.

It’s important to celebrate the abilities and contributions of workers with disabilities because, just like other marginalized groups, people with disabilities are regularly left on the sidelines in the workplace. They often experience subtle forms of aggression or microaggressions.

A microaggression is an indirect, subtle, possibly unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group. Usually, these take the form of statements, actions, incidents, or exclusions. People with disabilities experience these microaggressions all the time. Sometimes even the most open-minded people may be unconsciously biased about their differently-abled counterparts. Still, microaggressions can be hurtful and painful for people with disabilities.

One common microaggression towards people with disabilities in the workplace is not inviting someone to an event because of a perceived lack of ability to participate, or not being prepared for a person with disabilities’ attendance at a meeting (for instance, not having a chair removed for a wheelchair space). And often, those with slower or delayed processing time for speaking are not provided with the necessary processing time.

Other examples of microaggressions towards people with disabilities in the workplace include not presuming competence or presuming incompetence, asking personal questions about devices, orthotics or whatever equipment the person uses, pushing a person’s wheelchair without asking them first, and saying something like, “You don’t look disabled.”

It is important to remember that we’ve probably all committed microaggression towards people with disabilities at some point in our lives. The good news is that we can learn and grow if we have the humility to admit to our mistakes and apologize for the emotional wake left behind. If you feel you have committed a microaggression towards a person with disabilities, or any person for that matter, be accountable for your actions and be willing to apologize for the emotional wake you may have left behind. Check your context and address any harmful assumptions or stereotypes.

If a person with disabilities points out to you that you, in fact, have committed a microaggression, listen carefully to what they tell you and if you are caught off guard, pause and realize that even though it may be hard for you to hear, there might be some learning here. Recognize that this person has taken the time and perhaps the courage to have the conversation with you and offer you feedback. Take responsibility for your emotional wake and ask them where else they have seen you commit microaggressions or how long they’ve been noticing this. You want to be aware so that you can avoid the behavior in the future. Take responsibility for your emotional wake. Apologize. Then describe your future focus. What will you do? What are the next steps you will take to avoid committing microaggressions? Tell them why it’s important for you to receive this feedback from them. Show gratitude and thank them for the opportunity to learn and grow.

As we celebrate the abilities of the diverse contributions of employees with disabilities this month, let’s also bring a greater awareness of the microaggressions they regularly experience. Awareness can create positive changes and fewer microaggressions towards people with disabilities. That would be a cause for celebration!

 

 

 

5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

Download eBook >

Tags: #Employee Engagement, #Mergers and Acquisitions

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How to Promote a Healthier Work Environment

October marks National Work and Family Month, a time for all to recognize the importance of a fulfilling balance between work and our human need for community. In this vlog, Master Facilitator Paul Stabile celebrated National Work and Family Month and explores how companies can help promote healthier and more flexible work environments for employees! 

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5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

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Tags: #Employee Engagement

The post How to Promote a Healthier Work Environment appeared first on Fierce.

How to promote a healthier work environment

October marks National Work and Family Month, a time for all to recognize the importance of a fulfilling balance between work and our human need for community. In this vlog, Master Facilitator Paul Stabile celebrated Nationa Work and Family Month and explores how companies can help promote healthier and more flexible work environments for employees! 

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5 Conversations You Need To Start Having Today

Learn how to successfully navigate the most common conversations with this free eBook.

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Tags: #Employee Engagement

The post How to promote a healthier work environment appeared first on Fierce.

Curbing Bias and Improving Teamwork Through Virtual Training

Over the past year, the switch to remote work spread across the globe as quickly as the virus, in an effort to keep people safe while maintaining business continuity. As many companies decide that remote or hybrid work environments are here to stay, it’s important to ensure that communication is always clear and open to keep productivity levels high.

Let’s explore some of the unintended consequences of remote working and bad habits that people may develop over time. And how to fix them!

In this Fast Company article, Fierce CEO Ed Beltran discusses the importance of taming stress and striking a healthy balance in work and in life.

Read: 5 Bad Habits Remote Workers Need To Bust (And Ways To Do It)

10 Steps to be Fierce at Work and at Home

Learn how to successfully navigate your work and home life with this free eBook.

10 Steps to be Fierce at Work and at Home >

Tags: #3D Simulations, #Digital Transformation, #Innovation

The post Curbing Bias and Improving Teamwork Through Virtual Training appeared first on Fierce.