Diversity and Power Workplace Training

Foster practical confidence and competence in your staff to honour the diversity in groups and harness the wisdom it offers.

Does your workplace need skills and awareness around diversity and power?

Diversity is a complex arena, where we will never know all factors at play. Accordingly, our emphasis is in preparing people to understand the dynamics of diversity, and to use self-awareness and an array of attendant skills so diversity – in its many shapes and forms – can be welcomed, and then managed well.

While many of us see the need for working well with others, there can be unrecognised triggers that hold us back. Our training assists you when working with diversity and power in understanding your own responses, where these are coming from, and the effect they have on your interactions with others. With greater self-awareness and increased emotional resilience, your staff have the opportunity to make the most of the wisdom that arises from differences in rank, power and diversity.

Why our training for your staff?

We deliver this training in-house, and can adapt the content to meet your organisation’s specific needs. We work with you to address specific issues or learning areas you require. We can offer input around these issues, including useful techniques, processes and some exercises.  Content is always related to people’s experience.

We engage participants with a range of learning tools – discussion, reflective activities and smaller group work. There will be ample time to address people’s challenges, with substantial time devoted to practice.

What will participants learn?

Tailored learning to meet your organisation’s needs

Incorporated into the learning outcomes of the workshop, these could include:

  • deeper understanding the effects of rank, power and diversity in group dynamics
  • practical components of getting along together at work
  • giving and receiving workplace feedback
  • handling challenging conversations wisely
  • conflict resolution skills

Understanding ourselves in groups and the role of the unconscious

The more we understand our own inner ‘selves’ and their interplay, the better facilitators we will be. Come prepared to know (and accept) yourself better. Components of this are:

  • working on fears and other self-limiting messages that hold us back when working with others
  • developing the emotional resilience to manage our own reactions when faced with challenging dynamics.

Essential principles of diversity

When working with diversity, we need to have a strong, clear value base.  We will look at:

  • the central values and principles of diversity
  • how diversity can enable great outcomes when well facilitated – great minds think differently!
  • the importance of compassion in facilitation, especially when there is potential conflict
  • how diversity in groups can contribute to better relationships when it is named and discussed

Understanding diversity

This is a complex arena. Depending on people’s interests, we could focus on the relevant points below:

  • understanding different perspectives
  • understanding how diversity is played out within various setting
  • understanding that we are guests in other people’s cultures
  • appreciating there is much we do not know about other cultures
  • dominant/non dominant groups and their effect on groups
  • encouraging and working with diversity
  • harnessing the strengths of diverse perspectives
  • understanding how our own rank effects our endeavours
  • dealing with myths and misunderstandings
  • embracing helpful attitudes to diversity
  • cultural awareness
  • working with diversity
  • communicating across differences

Diversity skills

There are a range of micro skills essential to working with Diversity. Some of these skills will be familiar to you, some will be new. In this training, we will introduce a number of micro-skills. For example:

  • naming and normalising
  • validating
  • summarising
  • helping people hear each other
  • poking around
  • hearing and validating people’s contribution
  • say more
  • welcoming difference – facilitating strongly held differing views
  • dealing with unnamed dynamics

For the full course outline and training content, click here

Details

Duration: Two days 9.30am – 5.00pm, depending on your staff’s needs

Provided:  Delightful lunch, morning and afternoon tea are available. We provide all workshop materials and comprehensive resource: Diversity and Power Skills Training booklet

Optional venue: Groupwork Centre Training rooms, location to be advised.

Facilitation services: Engage our staff for a complex decision you’d like to make collaboratively. Learn more

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Our approach to training

We create an environment where you can look at your work practices with safety and lightness. Our work is lively, experiential and practical – and fosters emotional resilience throughout. And we have a bit of fun along the way!

A large part of the program is devoted to practising skills using situations your staff members want to work on. We encourage them to bring real-life examples, and we allow time for them to address individual needs and issues faced in the workplace.

Held at Groupwork Centre training room inner Melbourne TBC.
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