If I'm honest I know, as a L&D professional, that typical organizational training can lack depth, focus on the wrong goals or issues, focus too much on having fun and not enough on learning, and/or can assume that learners are not capable enough to handle complex information. I'm not saying fun is bad (I like fun!) - fun trainings create memorable experiences for people! The problem lies in that sometimes those memories are more about the fun they had versus any lessons learned or skills gained.
So, here is an issue us L&D and HR folks tend to face. How do we create meaningful, impactful, yet engaging training that results in actual cultural and behavioral changes? There are so many learning styles, beliefs, cognitive abilities, past experiences, and diverse ways of thinking, it feels impossible to create something that all can benefit from. A common "fix" is to develop very simple, surface-level training that caters to what is believed the majority of people will resonate with. That should work, right?
With cultural change efforts, starting with the basics has not given us the results necessary for creating and sustaining healthy workplaces. The challenge in training and change efforts is to make everyone aware of how their behaviors and actions impact the experiences of others, and to inspire them to care enough to make necessary changes. Focusing simply on basic concepts in hopes of keeping everyone comfortable only keeps us in the same loops we've been in for decades now:
Behavioral change isn't comfortable
Taking accountability isn't comfortable
Hearing about the negative experiences of others isn't comfortable
Communication isn't always comfortable
...nor should they be.
As learning, change and DEI professionals, our goal (especially at this point) should not be to accommodate or make people comfortable. Our goal should be to create learning experiences that challenge us all to be more accountable for our behaviors and words, for organizations to be accountable for their policies and practices, and for us to acknowledge the truth of where we are as a society and design ways we can work together to make things better. That will be uncomfortable- change only happens through discomfort.
Where can we start? Here are three tips you can use to generate conversation and get started building thoughtful and effective learning experiences:
Be realistic: When we approach training from an 'othered' approach (when we present ideas and information as if the issues and circumstances described do not apply to us or the organization we're in) we are separating ourselves and the people we are training or supporting from the real issues. When designing education around cultural change, we have to do so in a way that allows participants to see themselves in the issues presented.
Recognize resistance for what it is and provide support: It's common knowledge that the majority of people struggle with change at any level- but in attempting to influence behavioral and structural change you'll find a whole different level of resistance. Trying to justify this resistance isn't useful. Calling out resistance for what it can (and often does) represent is a first step in building accountability. Resistance is about maintaining privilege and comfort. Resistance is about power struggles. Resistance is about an internal refusal to accept a worldview different from your own. Resistance is about fear. Resistance is about manipulation and thwarting efforts as a way to control. Resistance can indicate deep psycho-social issues we tend to shy away from addressing. Call it what it is, allow people to sit with it and provide support, coaching and counseling where needed to process those feelings.
Tie practical application to theory: When training soft skills like emotional intelligence or cultural change training, theory is a crucial part of the learning and shouldn't be avoided. Here's where creating games, exercises, role play, and other activities can help put theory into practice, and help people digest heavier material in a better way. The goal is not to avoid deeper discussions and learning, but rather to find ways to encourage engagement in these types of discussions and influence deeper, lasting behavior and mindset changes.
We've tried for so long to tip-toe around shaking things up "too much" and maintaining comfort- but this approach has proven to be ineffective. It's time for us to rethink our approaches to training and education-in general, but also in respect to dismantling current workplace culture and creating mentally, socially, and emotionally healthy workplaces for all- regardless of position, ethnicity, religion, gender, ability, color, socioeconomic status, personality type, age, looks, size, sexuality or any other superficial factor.
Hi! I'm Nicole, an organizational consultant and personal coach, who is passionate about inspiring the changes our society needs for all to thrive. Using lessons learned from my own experiences and challenges, I hope to help people within organizations by creating mentally, socially, and emotionally healthy workplaces for all. Check out the other resources on this site for more ways to do just that!
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