Engage with Fred Falker, a well-known thought leader and experienced diversity and inclusion consultant, for your upcoming event. Fred aims to shift our thinking about differences and shares a new perspective for the New Workplace called the Distance Paradigm
What People Are Saying
In two sentences: Everyone dreads assigned training because they are often seen as wasting time. This training is the absolute opposite of that. It focuses on people over policy and gives practical ways to show empathy, close the distance, and widen the circle to include everyone. Do it, you won’t be disappointed.
I am happy to advocate for the program because it focuses more on how to be a better person to include others vs. policy prescriptions. You can’t solve a heart need with a rule or policy, it requires empathy and a human touch. Thank you again!!!
I will have to admit, when I got the notice that I needed to take a 4-hour course on inclusion, my initial reaction was, “not another one!” I had made a line of division before we ever started. However, within the first 5 – 10 minutes of the class, I could tell this would be different, and my line slowly began to be erased as the training continued. By the end of the training, I was fully engaged and emotionally moved as I learned to listen loudly and empathize with others.
I really enjoyed the training. It was much more interactive than many I’ve attended and kept me engaged. For me, I think I learned a little more about myself and some of the conclusions I unconsciously draw about other people based on my own assumptions or stories that I assign them without knowing them. I have always told myself that I am the most inclusive person you will meet, but I found that I still have more work to do in this area to ensure I’m being intentional with my interactions and truly choosing to include everyone. I also really enjoyed connecting with others across the organization, not just on my team. It was great to hear their stories and know I’m not alone in some of my experiences.
Overall, my feedback is that your approach to D&I is focused on behaviors that result from our biases rather than simply the fact that we have biases. Honestly, I think this creates a much bigger tent for all to participate. Often people discuss D&I only from the viewpoint of marginalized groups which alienates others. Your training pushes through that by focusing on the individual level and leader level – rather than the generic group level. It makes the point that everyone is capable of marginalizing others if we don’t focus on changing our behavior. I loved the idea that inclusivity is about closing the space/distance between individuals.
All in all, I would highly recommend this training for literally any employer looking to be more aware and progressive as a whole!
I really enjoyed the Include session and highly recommend that other companies include this in their training as well. This should be offered not only to new employees but as an ongoing training session for all companies to bring awareness to how distance in the workplace and our society creates problems and what we can do about it. I really appreciated the way the course was presented.
I really enjoyed the breakout sessions. They provided opportunities to listen to and learn from others through our different stories. One of my takeaways is that “adversity is adversity” I may have made that up, but that is what I received. Everyone has a story that is different from anyone else’s, and its our responsibility to listen and gain perspective. These are things that I thought about before, but they resonate even more with me.
Through this training, I’ve become much more sensitive to how the lines I draw and see affect my approach to people and the world. Change will have to start with individuals. So I’m going to truly consider how my lines affect my views of others so I can change my behavior.
My biggest takeaway is my need to approach some people more openly and invite them to share more of themselves with me. Recognize our humanity rather than our differences. called the Distance Paradigm
