1:1 Diversity Coaching & Training

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
– Maya Angelou

We agree that building awareness through formal training is very important; yet training is not enough. Those of us who have worked in corporations for a while have likely attended many eye-opening diversity trainings. They’ve certainly had a positive impact and momentum; yet without reinforcement, there’s still a lot of work ahead as recent polls, protests and results continue to remind us.

Our experience is that sustained awareness and growth only happens when we each first take responsibility by changing habits that no longer serves us and practice new, more mindful, skills daily. Only then we collectively produce positive results.

It’s simply not possible to change individual hidden biases overnight with only a couple of days of live training. Training needs to be supplemented with 1:1 individual or team coaching or ongoing micro-learning to continually build on awareness, openly discuss impact since training and close gaps using coaching tools to sustain habits until these become second-nature.

That’s where we come in. We coach individuals and teams after any diversity awareness-building training programs are complete. Our process and coaching tools ensures employees fully adopt new skills to align moment by moment decisions with good judgement and corporate culture.

A Case Study: Starbucks

This case study illustrates that diversity training alone is not enough, even for a successful company like Starbucks. The consequences can be damaging. It all started when one single phone call by the local Starbucks Manager in Philadelphia, to the police, triggered a sequence of unfortunate events that led to their client’s arrest. This incident catapulted Starbucks on the wrong side of the front page news. It was one decision that created a series of severe consequences for the client, customers who witnessed it; then social media picked up this story, impacting an even wider circle of, family, friends, employees, vendors, investors and global customers by the end of the day.

Kevin Johnson, the CEO of Starbucks, was visibly shaken during interviews. He flew out immediately to personally apologize and took full responsibility, on behalf of Starbucks, and for their manager’s lapse in judgment. Most important, Johnson acknowledged that this incident pointed to an even bigger problem within the Starbucks culture and assimilation of their current diversity training practices. Johnson was praised for his fast and effective response. At a time of stress, he showed true leadership qualities: a genuine concern, empathy, admission of a failure and a practical way forward.

Within days, Johnson took bold action steps to begin addressing these biases & gaps through diversity training. The first step was to immediately launch a companywide, awareness-building program with a consistent message for all 175,000 employees worldwide. It was rolled out and attended by all, on the same day. He mandated that all Starbucks establishments be closed on that day, to underline how important this anti-bias training was to Starbucks’s culture.

The clear and effective message Starbucks sent globally was: people over profits. Johnson also recognized it was only the beginning of an ongoing process. We agree, it takes ongoing coaching, as part of the learning process, to produce lasting change and sustained adoption of new skills. When all employees are on the same page, it improves employee engagement, decision quality, overall culture alignment and positive business results.

Our Approach is to: create a positive environment where individuals & teams can: Collaborate, Learn, Apply what they learned in the Diversity Awareness Building program and Celebrate together the rewards of learning new skills and attaining individual and team results together.

We deliver services using one or more of the following, depending on many factors such as culture, team goals, level, venue, budget and duration of program(s).

We partner with you to explore which one or more of the following is the best approach to develop your teams:

• 2-hour web-based programs
• ½ day programs delivered each quarter
• 1 day to 3-day programs on-site or off-site
• Live, Web, Telephone or combination of all

We can deliver a program your firm has already designed, use one that we’re licensed to deliver or only offer post training 1:1 individual or team coaching.

We also have extensive experience in custom designing unique, innovative, engaging diversity trainings that meet each client’s goals using more of a “coach approach.” Our coaches who specialize in diversity bring extensive experience in enabling each leader to become aware of their own hidden biases, and apply practical action steps to help them grow in specific skills. Skills can include, developing listening skills, how to give and receive feedback among many so they can be effective within their role. Training, combined with post 1:1 or team coaching allows each leader to weave inclusion, good judgment and acceptance, more consistently, and for individuals, teams and businesses to grow.

• A common culture, mission, goals, language and processes that inspires individuals and teams to share ideas, adapt quickly to change, resolve conflict respectfully with full resolution and excellence in delivery and results
• A world class brand and reputation that makes a difference, attracts, retains and develops top talent through an, assimilated, positive culture where everyone ‘walks the talk’ and inspires passion, integrity, creativity and growth.
• Clarity and alignment with vision, goals and roles allowing for empowerment, collaboration, fast decision making, grounded in good judgement.
• A collaborative and highly effective internal and external network of individuals, teams of motivated people and vendor-partners who are agile and focused on delivering value for clients and a fulfilling work environment.
• A clear path towards positive behaviors that builds trust with individuals, teams and vendor-partners across levels, geography and industries to inspire loyalty, collaboration, innovation, and focused results.
• Empowered employees who have a voice in the decision-making process while holding accountability for their own personal and professional growth, and choices in creating an environment that supports a: values-driven culture, leveraging strengths, especially under stress or conflict.
• An environment that promotes continuous improvement, knowledge-sharing, and fair practices for all employees.
• Individual-Corporate Social responsibility: clear corporate objectives that positively impact local and global communities fostered by: compassion, humility and service.
• Rapid adaptability and Continuous learning: unified people who celebrate and honor milestones, differences and diversity.
• A shared high-performance philosophy, systems and guidelines that enable clear decision-making: for example, a: “Do it Right The First Time” philosophy; sharing best practices, using good judgement when taking risks and learning from mistakes.
• A clear and unified employee project management process that leverages systems, structures, support and rewards behaviors that reduce: chaos for chaos’ sake, bureaucracy, hierarchy, a silo‐mentality, political self-seeking goals, blame, confusion, favoritism, complacency, or arrogance
• A rewarding team experience, out of the box innovative thinking, where everyone is valued and excellence in behaviors and results is rewarded.
• Shareholder value: an environment of financial stability, growth, safety and wellness for all its employees.
• Reduction of excessive control and caution and zero tolerance for all forms of disrespect, political driven drama, greed or exploitation Strong strategic alliances and partnerships:
• Mutually beneficial alliances with other organizations.