Diversity training - it doesn't work.

Question from my Human Resources Management Course: Unlike many training programs designed to develop skills, diversity training focuses on attitude. Briefly describe one experience you have had with diversity training (1) assessing how effective the training was and (2) one recommendation for improvement. Be specific and support your response with an example.

“Diversity training doesn’t extinguish prejudice. It promotes it” (Bregman, 2012, para 15).  I have attended many diversity trainings.  They were all a waste of time, except they helped me identify which of my coworkers might be bigots.  The best lesson I ever learned on diversity was at a UC Santa Cruz graduation. The president delivered the commencement address.  He said something to the effect of focusing on differences is counterproductive.  We should focus on similarities: we put our pants on one leg at a time, we eat breakfast and brush our teeth, and we want a better life for our children.  Diversity highlights division, divisiveness, and creates a hypersensitivity and burden of political correctness. 

My Most Valuable Leadership Lesson

It has been way too long since I posted.  I must do better.

Many of you know that I am a retired US Air Force Reservist, having made the rank of Lt Col.  I did not get there on my own.  A lot of great people helped me on the way.  Officers in the military are the managers and executives who decide direction, and strategy.  It is a lot of authority, because lives are at stake.  But there is a difference between "acting in charge" and "being in charge."  Thankfully in ROTC, I was taught that a brand new second lieutenant will fail by acting in charge of enlisted folk who have more experience.

That was the major take-away from ROTC.  Sure we spent many hours discussing leadership, management, organizational theory, command responsibility, supervision, force employment.  A lot of us felt our oats when we pinned on.  But we also were warned and humbled to know our place and respect the enlisted folks who could also mentor us.

Building Trust

Image: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot

Trust in the workplace has been a hot topic for some time. At some level, we all know what it means to trust, and that trust is important. We have also seen the ‘fall back, I will catch you’ exercise for building trust in teams (usually on a sitcom where the catcher is distracted at the last second creating a predictable laugh-track moment). We can recognize when trust is lacking: micromanagement, not wanting to bring up bad news for fear of reprisal, overly burdensome red tape, etc.