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August 2006 |
Strategies
and Advice on Work and Life |
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This
Issue
Leveraging Diversity
with Dialogue |
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Diversity Dialogues
Introduction
Now You've Got Diversity
How do you Effectively
Leverage it?
Newsflash
Stress Management
Investor's Business Daily
Simma In the News
Speaker,
Trainer, Consultant, Author.
About Simma
Forward
it to a friend
The Lieberman Learning Letter |
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Introduction
The diverse
organization is not temporary. Doing business
globally is not a trend, and the business case for
diversity is generally accepted. At the same time
all of these differences in the workplace can give
rise to misunderstandings and costly mistakes if
people are not able to understand or trust each
other. Knowing how to communicate with other people
is a skill that can be learned. If organizations are
going to be able to leverage their diversity,
communicating across differences is a skill that
must be learned.
We have talked about the dialogue process in past
articles. Organizations like Texas Instruments use
dialogues as a way of building trust amongst people
who are different from each other.
Now more than ever there is a need for people to be
able to dialogue across differences in order to
create environments where people can do their best
work
Whether its bringing marketing together with
research, men with women, LGBT with heterosexual,
Jews, Christians, Muslims with atheists, barriers
that separate people can be broken and better
working relationships can be developed.
Read on for the business case for using Diversity
Dialogues and links to additional articles about the
dialogue process. As always, you are welcome to
contact me directly to learn how the Diversity
Dialogue Process might help your organization.
Simma Lieberman
Associates
"The Cross-Cultural
Conversationalist"
Consulting,
Speaking, Training
Diversity
Strategy, Diversity Dialogues, Gender Communication
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Diversity: Now
You've Got it, How do you Effectively Leverage it?
There are still
conflicts that interfere with the ability of people to
work together, people seem to be congregating by
demographic group, and there is a sense that people are
walking on eggshells around each other. There are still
people who say that their skills and talents are not
appreciated and that they have more to contribute to the
help the organization be more successful.
All the work you have done has made your organization a
better place to work, but your efforts cannot stop
there. Now that you have diversity in your organization,
your task is to create an environment where people can
do their best work and be more successful. This means
engaging your organization in Diversity Dialogues that
will promote productive communication, build trust, and
encourage people to ask for help, share resources and
listen to each other.
You might say, 'Haven't we done enough? What is so hard
about talking with each other?'
Yet when it comes to talking across difference, this can
be extremely challenging. Many people in these
situations spend more time countering what other people
say rather than try to understand why another person
sees things in a different way or may solve problems in
a different way. Most have not learned how to listen
with empathy from another perspective, and how to speak
so they will be heard--which is what Diversity Dialogues
are all about.
Beginning a dialogue process is more than just having
people in a room discussing a controversial topic. The
purpose of a real Diversity Dialogue process is to help
people who are different from each other in any
dimension of diversity discover commonalities while
discussing their different experiences. When people
discover what they have in common with each other, they
have a basis to work together and they are more able to
appreciate their differences, learn from each other and
are more willing to work together toward common goals.
This benefits the organization, the team, and each
individual, and can contribute to an increase in
performance, productivity and profit.
To know more about the dialogue
process and how you can improve the performance of your
organizations read these two articles below:
Would
you like to be able to turn diversity into dividends
and improve the performance of your organization?
Call
Simma Lieberman Associates at (510)-527-0700.
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Newsflash: Stress
Management
I recently presented a
tele-seminar on stress management to several hundred
employees and managers from various corporations and
government agencies. While the seminar was very well
received, there were still a couple of people in the
audience who wanted a 'quick fix' to their stress
management woes and those of their employees working
over 60 hours a week.
Unfortunately, there is no magic word, pill or
seminar that will permanently undo stress or create
a life/work balance. There have been no new major
breakthrough surgical procedures that erase stress.
In order to handle your stress and create
comfortable life/work balance you have to change
your behavior. That means you have to be willing to
assess your life, how you live it, and who and what
creates stress in it. You'll have to fully stop the
runaway train you are currently on and start moving
in the opposite direction. Taking a single stress
management course can serve as a pivotal point to
turning you around, but you'll still need to fuel
your own change in behavior. There are no free
rides, unfortunately, when it comes to stress
management. The answer lies within you.
So before you sign up for a stress management
course, or sign up your employees for the same, do a
'stress management' readiness check. Are you really
committed to making a change in your life, and to
putting in the time and effort that will be required
to put stress management strategies into practice?
We will be addressing this issue more in later
newsletters. For more information now, visit:
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Simma in the News:
Investor's Business Daily
Last week, when
Investor's Business Daily wanted to help their
readers overcome bad habits in the workplace, they
turned to Simma and her life and work for insight.
In "Secrets In Easing Bad Job Habits," author Morrey
Stettner talks about how Simma pushed through a past
of overworking, over consumption, and overtaxing her
body using the stress management techniques that now
form the cornerstone of her life/work balance
programs. Read an excerpt of this article, and other
interviews with Simma, by going to:
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About
Simma...
Simma helps organizations create environments where people can do their best
work and enjoy their life. Simma is a consultant, speaker, and author. She
is the co-author of Putting Diversity to Work (Crisp Publications,
2003), a guide for managers on leading a diverse workforce.
Simma is often called "The Cross-cultural Conversationalist" because of her
ability to improve communication amongst people who are different. She is
quoted in various national magazines and news sources, including The
Economist, Redbook, NY Times, Investor's Business Daily,
First For Women, Human Resources Executive, Black MBA,
MSNBC and Fox News. Her clients include McDonalds, Pillsbury,
Lucent Technologies, Motorola, AT&T, Monster.com, Diageo, Stanford Court
Hotel, and the Women's Food Service Forum.
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The Lieberman Learning Letter
The Lieberman Learning Letter is an occasional e-newsletter containing information from Simma's workshops, seminars, and keynote speeches. Simma
shares this information free of charge with
colleagues and clients to promote the continued
learning and growth of individuals and their
organizations. This email is sent to subscribers of Simma's newsletter, colleagues,
program attendees, and clients of Simma Lieberman
Associates. It is intended to be enlightening, not
irritating. Unsubscribe below if you have
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