Fired.
Julie Edwards: Okay? So I'm gonna start it and start letting everybody in.
Jarrod Harden: Okay.
Julie Edwards: Hello, everybody welcome. I see you all starting to join us. Come on in.
Julie Edwards: We'll get started here in a couple of minutes, but feel free to jump over to the chat if you would like to, and say, Hi, let us know where you're from. We do publish the Chat Transcript on the blog, because so much good information gets passed back and forth. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. You can change your name if you want but if you are comfortable, hopping over to the chat, saying, Hi! And telling us where you're joining from.
Julie Edwards: We would love to hear from you.
Julie Edwards: and we will get started in a little bit.
Julie Edwards: these windows here. so we are just gathering. People feel free to say, Hi, if you would like in the chat.
Jarrod Harden: don't be shy.
Julie Edwards: We'll get started in just a bit.
Jarrod Harden: Hello! Hello! From Iowa, Iowa, coming in first today, followed by a Ha!
Julie Edwards: Hello!
Julie Edwards: So nice to see all of you coming in, hey? Southern Indiana, while we've got the Midwest representing here today. Hey, Virginia.
Jarrod Harden: there's not lunchtime for them. That's why a little easier.
Julie Edwards: Northern Illinois. Hello, everybody!
Julie Edwards: Thanks for for joining, hey? South Carolina.
Jarrod Harden: Here we go. Awesome. Hey? Washington State.
Julie Edwards: New York.
Julie Edwards: Awesome. Hello, Georgia, Maryland. Keep on coming in, everybody. We're going to go ahead and and officially get started. Keep on dropping in and saying, Hi! But we are at the top of the hour.
Julie Edwards: I am joining you today from California, which is not where I normally am. I'm at the at Tech Conference here in la I'm Julie Edwards. I am an instructional designer with Niche Academy, and I want to welcome you to this webinar on building belonging the key to creating connection with your Dei efforts
Julie Edwards: mit Ctl. And so let me start by quickly introducing niche Academy. We are an easy to use all-in-one learning platform to help organizations create and deliver effective training measure learners, success measure, learner success and improve organizational health 125.
Julie Edwards: Our platform is the perfect tool to help you reduce staff turnover, increase recruitment, prove, cost efficiency, and provide timely training. Niche Academy can help you reduce risk, proof, compliance, and overcome recruiting obstacles to promote a healthy, resilient, and inclusive environment where people want to work.
Julie Edwards: If you're interested in learning about why we are trusted by more than 1,700 organizations. I will drop a link in the chat to our website.
Julie Edwards: We are recording this, webinar and I will make the recording, the slides, the chat, and the audio transcripts available to everyone after the presentation. All of that will be available on our blog, and you will get an email directly from me, letting you know when all of that is live. You're welcome to turn on closed captioning at the bottom of your screen.
Julie Edwards: Please feel free to to talk with each other in the chat. But if you have a question for Gerard, please use the questions and answers, box it's not unusual for things to get lost in the chat, and if you want to make sure that we address something in the QA. Please put it in in that box. I'll do my best to moderate that. At the end of the session
Julie Edwards: this webinar is part of our new and expanded offering to professionals in the training, talent, management, and learning and development space. Everyone is welcome here today. I'm so happy that you joined us all, and I will drop a link to our upcoming webinars in the chat.
Julie Edwards: So, without further ado, our presenter to day is Gerard Hardin. Gerard is a belonging coach facilitator and Dei practitioner. Having led global programming across tech healthcare and creative industries, Gerard had a front row seat to the challenges faced by even the most prestigious organizations. Those challenges are what inspired him to start his consultancy. The belonging guy
Julie Edwards: throughout his career drawd has designed successful onboarding programs, built and led employee resource groups and facilitated culture initiatives, initiatives for companies like Google, yeah. Ukg and Nbc universal.
Julie Edwards: In 2021, Gerard was named one of North America's most influential Dni leaders. By hive learning. Gerard's passion lies in helping people and organizations create greater and more authentic connections, using the power of belonging. I am absolutely thrilled that he is joining us today, and I will turn the webinar over to him.
Jarrod Harden: Thank you so much, Julie, so glad to be here with everyone today. Thank you so much. As Julie said. My name is Gerard Hardin. I am gonna ask for a little bit of grace, though I've been slightly under the weather. I live right outside of New York City, so I'm in New Jersey, and the weather can't decide if we wanna be 20 degrees or 60 degrees. And I think I finally got caught with
Jarrod Harden: something. But we've got a lot today. So we're gonna be talking about one of my favorite topics ever now I could talk about this ad nauseam for days. But I don't think that would be interesting for you. So there are, gonna be a couple of opportunities for you to write in the chat, inscribe some things. I have video for you. We practice the video. So fingers crossed that Tech continues to work.
Jarrod Harden: but really excited to discuss how belonging can really impact what we do with Dei in all of our organizations, no matter big, small, what type of organization
Jarrod Harden: in it. So let's get started. I'm gonna walk you through. Here's our agenda. We'll talk about the State of Dei, and I think the context of where we are will be really important for our conversation. We'll go. I'll give you some definitions we'll talk through some things.
Jarrod Harden: Feel free. If there's if questions get smart from that, I know Julie will will be watching the chat.
Jarrod Harden: Then we'll talk about the bee belonging. That's the place where I go. Call myself the belonging guy. I found some research that really just keyed into me, and I think it's we'll we'll discuss. But I think it's a really great way
Jarrod Harden: to help our help activate our Dei efforts and also talk to a larger audience. Then we'll get to making it real.
I think so. Often
Jarrod Harden: we talk in lofty terms around Dei, and we go that perfect future state that we want. But making it real will be, what does this really mean for us wherever we are today? And I've attended a ton of these webinars.
Jarrod Harden: and sometimes they're great in the moment, and then you leave. You leave, and you're thinking, well, that was wonderful. That was a great hour of my life. But what next?
Jarrod Harden: I have some things for you, actionable takeaways that you can do today to create more belonging in your organizations and to supercharge your Dei effort. We'll save some time for QAI am. Gonna look down every now and again, just to make sure that timing is okay, but
Jarrod Harden: sounds like a plan. we'll get started.
So the state of Dei.
Jarrod Harden: I have to start here just because if you are connected to any type of media, social media, television cable news. You've heard the words, Dei. Now. There are still people who every now and again will say, Well, what's that? But many of us we're getting messaging all over the place, and it's so conflicting
Jarrod Harden: one of. If I could change anything about the way the Dei is spoken about, I would put
Jarrod Harden: the definitions more in the hands of people who are actually engaging. I think
Jarrod Harden: it's so easy for that telephone game where one person tells it to another person. He tells it to. Another person tells it to another person, and then we get our messages mixed up.
Jarrod Harden: So what we're gonna do is I'm gonna define what I mean when I talk about Dei. So we're really really clear when we say these words, and maybe for you can take some of the heat off of the words it's so controversial and and fraught, and it shouldn't be so. We'll look at some of the words on the side and let's go.
Jarrod Harden: So
Jarrod Harden: diversity, I think this is the easiest one of the of the alphabet soup de I, because now there's de IB. Some people put A. J for justice in there.
Jarrod Harden: The funny part about Dei is, many people think that we're just talking about race gender or sexual orientation. Certainly this moves with the Zeitgeist right? So when black lives matter! After the murder of George Floyd became big in the United States.
Jarrod Harden: diversity meant black and white for most people.
Jarrod Harden: Depending upon what you're talking about, especially now with gender expression being such a hotly contested issue. Gender is often what people think about sexual orientation is another. The funny thing about diversity, though.
Jarrod Harden: is it so bigger than that? So much bigger than that? It can mean age, socioeconomic status education, level disability.
Jarrod Harden: I was watching a television show recently. And the host who's actually someone that I regard as really smart.
Jarrod Harden: talked about diversity and said, yeah, well, it doesn't include Jewish people.
Jarrod Harden: And I was like, Where are you getting your Dei? Because that is absolutely not true. So religion could have gone on this list. There's so many different things. So when we talk about diversity, it truly is just the makeup of people.
Jarrod Harden: Right? So let's keep that in the back of our mind. So when when you hear Dei break those letters down, the d really means all of us, no matter what your identity is, you're a part of this Mosaic
Jarrod Harden: equity.
Jarrod Harden: Equity is. It's probably the trickiest out of all of them.
Jarrod Harden: because people are like is equity. Is it equality? What does it mean?
Jarrod Harden: And the way that I parsed it to, even though a quality is not on the screen, a quality is, everybody gets the same thing right. You all get a beverage. So you walk in. Ever been to like a one of those picnics where they give everybody like the little water bottle you all get the same thing right.
Jarrod Harden: Equity is about tailoring what you provide to separate unique needs. Now, the water bottle example is one you'll notice on the slide, though there is a picture. I love this example.
Jarrod Harden: if 2 friends want to go on a bike ride.
Jarrod Harden: if they both have the same bike. That's great if they're both of the same ability level. But you'll see here the person on the left side of the image has a an accessible hand cycle instead of bicycle, because it looks like they one of their they don't. They only have one leg right? So
Jarrod Harden: then, the standard bike that the person on the right is using would not work for the person on the left. So equity is about tailoring what you provide to the individual needs of people
Jarrod Harden: hope that makes it clear again. Equity's the tricky one
Jarrod Harden: inclusion. So now inclusion is about going beyond just diversity. So diversity is like, Hey, here's the mosaic we're all here.
Jarrod Harden: Inclusion is A is a about allowing everybody to engage fully. So it's not just, hey, you're here, but it's Hey, you're here, and can you contribute
Jarrod Harden: like? Let's lean in a little bit more so. De I, when you think of those letters again.
Jarrod Harden: don't default to the hope like, oh, Dei, is that?
Jarrod Harden: Break it down? These are the things that we're talking about. That's what this work this body of work is rooted in seeing the diversity in people.
Jarrod Harden: equity providing them what they need and inclusion allowing them to fully engage.
Jarrod Harden: So on that first slide I had unconscious bias and unconscious bias makes me
Jarrod Harden: there. There's so much that you can say about unconscious bias. And it's another one of those places where there's a ton of unconscious bias trainings, and that if there's anything I can leave you with when you think about bias.
Jarrod Harden: it's that we all have it, and it serves a purpose. I'll tell you what I mean.
Jarrod Harden: So if you go Google, you'll find many, many, many, many types of bias, right? And there's a bunch on the screen right here. I think I saw one list. It was like 24 types of unconscious bias.
Again, if you if you wanna go deeper, feel free, let Google be your friend. But what I would say is the 3 that I'll talk about briefly here.
Jarrod Harden: Halo and horns effect, confirmation, bias and affinity bias. I'll give them to you really, really easy, in a way that you'll understand.
Jarrod Harden: Forgive me, because most of my analogies have to do with either dance or food. 2 things that are really important in my life. So halo and horns bias it is the notion of whenever you see somebody's resume. So say you're coming to a belonging seminar on a random Wednesday. Well, you might. When I give my resume, I say, Hey, I've worked at Google, Nbc universal like I've done this work before
Jarrod Harden: I'm like, I'm looking for a little halo bias. I want you to think that guy knows what he's talking about.
Jarrod Harden: If you want to break it into your real life. Think about a friend that you have, who you think they've got good taste, and they say, Oh, you know what this is a good restaurant to try.
Jarrod Harden: Now, if it's somebody you've got some halo bias for. You might be like, yeah, that person does have good taste. I'm gonna check that spot out. So if there's a food blogger or an influencer you're like, I gotta try that spot. You probably have a little Co halo bias with that person.
Jarrod Harden: Horns is the exact opposite. If it's somebody who's like, maybe you've tried their food, and you're like, that person doesn't exactly know what good food is you might hear them recommend a restaurant and thing. I can skip that one. So that's halo and horns for you.
Jarrod Harden: Confirmation bias. Now, that's when we hold a belief ourselves. and we feel really, really, strongly about it. And you hear something out in the universe that sounds like it supports the way that you think that's confirmation bias. You walk a little bit closer to that because you kind of believe it already.
and then affinity bias. It's the third one we'll talk about
Jarrod Harden: affinity bias is, if someone is like me. So say we went to the same school like I went to proud Rutgers alum here. So State School of New Jersey. But if somebody else went to Rutgers, I'm a good oh, you went to Rutgers, too, so
Jarrod Harden: I might, you know, listen to them a little bit more, because we're both scarlet knights together.
Jarrod Harden: But affinity biases it can be any any kind of shared characteristics that you're if you feel this likeness, you might listen a little bit more
Jarrod Harden: so again. Bias is one of those things, though, that serves us like in that restaurant metaphor. It's one of those things that helps us make decisions quicker. The issue with bias is when we use it, and we don't think about it. And we just go on autopilot. And we let bias
Jarrod Harden: shade our interactions. And we stop focusing on the person. So just wanted to call that out a little bit give you a definition of unconscious bias. So
Jarrod Harden: we did the D. We did the E. We did the I even throw in some unconscious bias. I guess bias could be A B as well. But we're about to get to my favorite me. That is the B of longing.
Jarrod Harden: But what is belonging.
Jarrod Harden: Don't you worry. I got you covered. This is my favorite definition. I use this. If you've seen me speak before the good chance that you've heard me talk about this before.
Jarrod Harden: There was a 2019 study from a thing tank called coqual, that they broke it down into 4 elements, and they were perfect
Jarrod Harden: first element feeling seen. So I feel belonging when I'm recognized. So when you walk in the room, someone sees you, you're respected. They they value you being here. So feeling seen is one piece.
Jarrod Harden: This is the belonging equation for me, so scene is one bit of it. The next part is feeling connected.
Jarrod Harden: So not only am I seeing, but I've got connections with the people who are there, whether there's some affinity or but I feel like I'm a part of what's going on. So again, it's almost like that difference between diversity and inclusion, right? One's being there, the other ones actually being a part of things so seen and connected.
Jarrod Harden: next feeling supported. So if there's an option an opportunity for me to need support, or if I if I'm struggling a little bit does this group where I want to feel belonging? Do they support me? Are they? Are they there for me? Do they have my back
Jarrod Harden: seen connected, supported in the last one is proud, and this is such an interesting one. So if you think about maybe the place that you work, or any place where you feel a high level of longing.
Jarrod Harden: There's some pride about being associated with that group. Right? It's not if you have high belonging. That's not necessarily the group that you want to say, like, I hope nobody knows about that right? Like the pride piece is really really important. So if it's your workplace. I feel good that I work for a place that's improving the world, too. Right? So, seeing, connected, supported and proud those 4 together, that's where you get what belonging is.
Jarrod Harden: And so why should we care?
Jarrod Harden: Well, it's because studies show research shows that belonging is first first bucket.
Jarrod Harden: the one metric that is tied to consistent workplace, commitment, motivation, and pride. So if you have high belonging, that's great for employers. Second, part high belonging is linked to an increase in job performance. Yay, a 50% drop in turnover risk. We all take that
Jarrod Harden: and 75% reduction in sickness. Now, again, the little sickness that I had this week belonging did not impact at all, but just overall. The research shows that it's really really valuable.
Jarrod Harden: And then for the Lgbtq plus population
Jarrod Harden: employees who are able to be out at work are 30% more productive. So this alone. This is why we encourage. We want higher belongings for our people.
Jarrod Harden: Now we've got a little bit of exercise. And, Julie, I've been talking a bunch. So I'm gonna I'm gonna ask you for a little bit of a help at this point. We're gonna need. So everyone here need you to not be shy. I want you to take a couple of moments and right in the chat. Now.
Jarrod Harden: someone who is created belonging for you. Now you don't have to give out their whole name.
Jarrod Harden: you! But what I'm curious is about what did they do for you that made you feel a high level of belonging?
Jarrod Harden: How did it make you feel? And why was it important. Remember that belonging piece, seen, connected, supported and proud. I'm going to give you a couple of minutes right now jot some things down in the chat, and, Julie, if you don't mind, please call out a couple things that you see in there.
Julie Edwards: I will do that
Jarrod Harden: right.
Jarrod Harden: Don't be shy
Jarrod Harden: so often, you'll hear, and I'm not. I'm not trying to skew your answers at all, but people will talk about if they'd been a part of a sports team, or if they've been their church group, sometimes with their family, I'm curious. Where have you felt
Jarrod Harden: high belonging? Who's someone who's created it for you? So the overarching. If if it's about being your sports team, is there a coach? Is there a person who was playing there already that say, you know what? Come on in. I'll show you how to do this.
Jarrod Harden: Who's who's the person that created belonging, no matter where the place was? That means you feel belonging.
Julie Edwards: So we've had some great responses coming in. People are saying. The best belonging feeling I had was when I was in college when I lived in an 8 man. It was just that we did things together, ate together. These went dancing. Several people are saying.
Julie Edwards: I feel belonging when I'm asked my opinion about work decisions. When when I'm being asked by my supervisor about an opinions on a topic colleagues reaching out for my opinions.
Julie Edwards: I feel belonging when people are welcoming friendly asking about me, including me in decision making contributions. Yeah.
Jarrod Harden: I love that decision making piece, too. Right? Cause there's there's inherent value tied to that right? So if I care about what your thoughts are about this decision, we're about to make that absolutely says something about how connected to the group you are. The college is
Jarrod Harden: the college example. Excuse me, is really the reason it resonates with me, too. Is it sounds like those are the people you're with that you don't have to do anything. You don't have to be anything different. You just you belong because you're here. You're one of us, and I love that.
Julie Edwards: There's some great stuff coming in, someone saying, my colleagues, listen to me when I need to voice any insecurities or fears. Someone saying, hair stylist lowers the music when I have an appointment, knowing that I have a sensory sensitivity. Yeah, my previous boss was always asking me where I want to be and helped me get there.
Jarrod Harden: Wow.
Jarrod Harden: yeah, I think, I think we could all like step back and say, how fortunate we are. Right. I know that that's nobody. Most people don't feel belonging 24, 7, right? But the notion belonging is interesting, because a lot of times people can say
Jarrod Harden: when they felt like they didn't belong right like so easy to call out those times where you felt like the outsider.
Jarrod Harden: One of the reasons that I love. This exercise is because it really is about going to that place in your mind and in your body, even where
Jarrod Harden: someone said you, you're okay. We want you and and tailor things to you. It's it's really really nice.
Julie Edwards: Oh, my gosh! There's so much! There's so much I love it! I love it. Lots of great stuff giving me stretch assignments, supporting me with advice and training. Yeah, I love this when not when I was not just welcomed into a space or group, but mentioned a bit, so I can understand the culture, the in jokes, and not feel like in outside.
Julie Edwards: That's so so good.
Jarrod Harden: Well, and you think about it like when you start a new job, when you, when you enter a new space, we all have that little bit of like, am I am I? Am I okay? Right? And so to have someone that looks at you and sees you and says, you're absolutely okay. You're more than okay. You're welcome here
that that feels like a thing.
Jarrod Harden: all right. If we've got nothing more. A round of applause for the audience.
Jarrod Harden: and let's keep going.
Jarrod Harden: Let's hear from Brene Brown a little truth about belonging
Jarrod Harden: short video, I promise. But it'll help you out to break up my talking, too.
I was so shocked to learn in the research that the opposite of belonging is fitting in. because fitting in is assessing a group of people and thinking, who do I need to be? What do I need to say? What do I need to wear? How do I need to act? And changing who you are, and true belonging never asks us to change who we are. It demands that we be who we are.
because if we if we but if we fit in.
because how we've changed ourselves. That's not belonging.
That's not belonging, because you betrayed yourself for other people, and that's not sustainable.
Jarrod Harden: When the host, whoever she was talking to did a Mmm. I was feeling that same. it really is that notion of. And I've seen slides in the past that have like this.
Jarrod Harden: When I feel belonging, I'm expanding and being all that I am when I'm fitting in, I'm shrinking, and that's not what belonging is about. So belonging really is about that piece of being exactly who you are, and one of the the reason that I say belonging. So this is about unlocking De I efforts using belonging.
Jarrod Harden: There's a few things that belonging does. It's the great leveler. When we talk about identity right? And so often, de I,
Jarrod Harden: the messaging of Dei has been about race often, and I think it can be exclusionary, depending upon the way that you use it. Now I often talk about how I break myself into. There's Gerard the Human, and Gerad the practitioner.
Jarrod Harden: and they don't always agree, but they're both informed by each other, and the thing is
Jarrod Harden: as a practitioner of this work I need this work to speak to everybody, no matter your identity. So if you're a member of a majority group or a minority group.
Jarrod Harden: I need this work to really resonate for you. And if I'm only talking to one group here, saying, Here's what you need to be doing. And here's why you're causing people to not feel belonging. Or if I'm talking to this one group and saying, Here's what your experience is. It's gotta be this. That's not really where the work shines. It's not really where the work works best. And so this notion of belonging, saying, No matter who you are, no matter what your identity piece is, we want you to feel seen. We want you to feel connected, supported and proud.
Jarrod Harden: that goes across any identity. Marker. The socioeconomic status is all of them that we that we showed previously.
Another thing about belonging that I think, helps when you're trying Dei efforts is
Jarrod Harden: Dei looks different. We get so us-centric, many of us right, whether it's the company that we work at. It's where we do most of our business. If you're in the Us.
Jarrod Harden: But if you work at a global company, or if you've got counterparts, who are, you know elsewhere.
Jarrod Harden: Dei means different things, depending upon where you are. So what we think of as diversity in the Us. Is dramatically different from what they think of when they think of it in Japan
Jarrod Harden: is dramatically different than what they think of when they think of it in Brazil. But this notion of belonging it holds true. and it really does work across. So it just plays well, internationally wherever you are. I think these notions of feeling seen, connected, supported, proud. Notice how I keep refreshing your minds about what those are. But those work everywhere so belonging is really why, that's the that's my! Why behind.
Jarrod Harden: why go to? Why default to belong?
Jarrod Harden: I was so shocked to learn in the research that the opposite
Jarrod Harden: tech has been working good for us. All right. So let's talk about making it real. This is always an interesting piece of the conversation for me.
Jarrod Harden: Whenever I go into an organization, a lot of my effort is about slowing the diversity train down, or the Dei train down. And what do I mean by that? I certainly don't mean that we're almost at our destination. Slow down, relax. That is not what I'm talking about at all.
Jarrod Harden: The reason that I say that this work is about slowing the train down. Excuse me.
Jarrod Harden: is because you want more people to get on the train, and if the train is going a mile a minute, and if it's breathing past me too fast, and I can't really see what it is, or I can't ask a question about what happens, or if you tell me something, and it lands with me a certain way that maybe isn't the way you think it should land.
Jarrod Harden: want to be able to engage. But if that train is just go, go, go, go going! And there are a lot of initiatives that happen.
Jarrod Harden: I'm probably just going to say you know what I'm out like, I agree, and you know I'll do what I can, but my level of investment, if I can't get a seat on the train, is going to be less.
Jarrod Harden: And so again in organizations, I often will see the best intentions from people who are leading this work, and also excuse me.
Jarrod Harden: Also, I'll see.
Jarrod Harden: like really great quality work that just isn't being acknowledged, because think about you and your day job.
Jarrod Harden: Most of us, many of us, are really busy during the course of a day. And so we think about that Dei piece that we should be doing, even if we feel like. Yes, I need to participate in Dei. Well, if the trains going too fast and you've got to figure out. How can you fit in that 1 h 1 h day to go there and and do that? But oh, you've heard 6 different messages about what you're supposed to be doing with Dei, and
Jarrod Harden: if the trains moving too fast you can't get on. So what I say is less efforts, with much more intention, will get you a lot closer to where you want to go.
Jarrod Harden: I know that between having ER. Gs celebrating heritage months, like international Women's Day, Pride, month, black history, month, and all of the things
Jarrod Harden: it can be a lot. And if you're just constantly pumping out content, no matter how great the content is.
your people are going to
Jarrod Harden: being a whirlwind. There was an executive I worked for before, and she said she coined this term, and I use it all the time. Now. random acts of Dei, and we do not want to be
Jarrod Harden: a part of creating random acts of Dei, it should actually feel very strategic. very intentional. And so that's why I always think about slowing the training.
Excuse me.
Jarrod Harden: it's got to be baked in. I warned you earlier that I do tons of food metaphors. It's just my thing.
And so I always think of a cake or cupcakes.
Jarrod Harden: I'm a cupcake kind of guy what often we treat DEIB like the icing on the cave.
Jarrod Harden: and as great as icing is brown butter, icing, cream cheese, icing
Jarrod Harden: if you use it as icing. The cake doesn't really need the icing. It makes it better. But you don't need to do it. What I talk about is Dei needs to be baked in.
Jarrod Harden: It has to be a part of the batter. So if you're missing an ingredient from the batter. You don't have the same cake, and so too often we treat de. I like that thing that you put on. At the end.
Jarrod Harden: The thing that goes on after everything is d10, let's do the Dei. I have an example for you. I've been a part of organizations, and I usually partner closely with the learning development teams, the L. And D teams, and what they'll do is they'll say, Hey.
Jarrod Harden: we're going to do a managers training series, and we'll train. We'll train all of our leaders to be better leaders. Excuse me, I'm going to take a sip of water. Ask for a little, Gracie.
Jarrod Harden: Alright. So back to my example, the Managers Training Series.
Jarrod Harden: Very often the
Jarrod Harden: people who are creating that will come to a Dei person and say, Okay, well, we've got these great modules about delegation communication. Difficult, difficult conversations, performance management, and we want to do a module on Dei as well.
Jarrod Harden: Well. To me. That's that, putting the Dei on as the icing. you do all the things that you were going to do. And then you say, Hey, Dei person, come, give us some Dei at the end.
Jarrod Harden: An alternate way to do that is to actually bake it in. So when you're doing your communication module. put your divert, your Dei module inside of that
Jarrod Harden: add some belonging to that. When you're thinking of performance management, you're thinking about difficult conversations. We're thinking about communication and all the aspects of leadership
Jarrod Harden: incorporate. DI. Into what you're doing. One of the
Jarrod Harden: easiest ways to turn someone off is to give them another thing to do right. So a company might say, here are the values that our company is. Here are our values. Here are the behaviors that go along with.
And so if we do everything to make you feel like you're part of the company by reinforcing those values and reinforcing those behaviors. And then we say, Oh, and then there's this Dei stuff that we have to do too
Jarrod Harden: well instead of making them separate. Let's talk about how belonging and Dei support the core values of the company communicate that message together, and that feels more baked in that feels more organic. And then you can actually use Dei belonging to support. How you engage with the core values of the company.
Jarrod Harden: Alright. So what else we got? The importance of language language absolutely plays a critical role when we think about how to operate with belonging and Dei
Jarrod Harden: the foundation of respect. Peace is obvious. The the
Jarrod Harden: easiest place to look at this, though, would be with pronouns right? And so I know right now there's a lot of like, well, what does it mean to say someone is a they, their preferred pronouns are he thing or they them. What does that mean?
Jarrod Harden: There's a piece of it, and I've got all the empathy in the world for one. I was never brought up talking about a person being they right. That is 100% new for me. And I pay my bills this way, right like I in the work. I read all the right things.
Jarrod Harden: I follow all the right people, so I want to stay abreast. Stay abreast of what's going on in the world of belonging, and Dei and pronouns were new for me a couple of years ago.
Jarrod Harden: But when I think of how people just want to be people and recognize and feel belonging. Is it easy for me to
Jarrod Harden: make the shift?
Jarrod Harden: What do I get if I if I'm resistant to that? So that's for me when I think a foundation of respect a better one. An another example I won't say a better example is when I start a webinar like this. So I can see right now there's about 90 people who are watching right?
Jarrod Harden: And I could say, ladies and gentlemen, well, if there are 4 people, or 2 people, or one person who is non-binary. If I said, ladies and gentlemen, I've left one person out.
Jarrod Harden: I could easily make a shift and say, Hey, everyone!
Jarrod Harden: And right away everyone's included. And we can go on now. Will mistakes happen? Of course. Absolutely right. It's the I've had
Jarrod Harden: X amount of years of talking one way.
Jarrod Harden: but the notion that I'm making the effort shows respect. It also creates greater belonging. I will never forget. I used to. Everybody knows peloton right there. The peloton bikes is the most common, I think, form of peloton, but they had an app where you could actually do like outside running or outdoor running.
Jarrod Harden: And I love the app cause. The trainers were so motivational, and there was one trainer who and my and my pronouns are he him right like. So, my! I'm a Cis man. My pronouns align to the gender. I was assigned at birth, and so it's it's a point of privilege for me. I'm very happy about you know that. And I realize that's not everyone's story.
Jarrod Harden: but listening in and my headphones to the peloton person they just give you like. They've selected the playlist, and they're in your ear just like encouraging you to go telling you you're doing a great job. And one of the peloton instructors, she said, Okay, King's queens and non-binary royalty.
Jarrod Harden: and like that is II couldn't believe it. I just had the thought. And again I like when she said kings like I checked that checked my box. I was like, yes, she's talking to me.
Jarrod Harden: But just think of how many people that opened it up to, and even. And when I say how many people, even if it was one person that when they were running, they heard themselves being acknowledged, they heard themselves being validated.
Jarrod Harden: It's it's a nice thing you can do in language. So when I talk about the importance of language. That's one of the many places that show up
Jarrod Harden: and that third bullet there. It is so difficult to change again. Many of us have been talking one way for a very long time, and so these things they don't come easily.
Jarrod Harden: but with a little effort we can get there
Jarrod Harden: all right. And lastly, when I think about making it real.
Jarrod Harden: this is, don't outkick your coverage. So okay, I promised you dance and food metaphors. I don't even know that I gave you dance one. But this is a football metaphor that it's in time for Super bowl week, so Sue me.
Jarrod Harden: Anyway, I'll kick your coverage. I promise I won't geek out on football too much. But
Jarrod Harden: essentially there is a playing football where you have to kick the ball to the other team. Now, if you just kick as long and as strong as you can, your own team cannot run down and defend it like they're supposed to.
Jarrod Harden: So outkicking your coverage means. You've kicked it way beyond what your own team can handle. So you're essentially hurting yourself.
Jarrod Harden: and sometimes our DEI efforts out kick their coverage.
Jarrod Harden: The easiest example of this is when Bud, Light or Budweiser had the campaign, and they used a trans. Person to pitch the beer.
Jarrod Harden: So now we can talk about whether or not that was right or wrong, and whether or not they paid attention to who their demographic audience was, and what they were trying to do.
Jarrod Harden: The reason, I say they outkicked their coverage is when the backlash happened. They didn't. They weren't fortified enough to be able to support the backlash that came to them
Jarrod Harden: right or wrong.
Jarrod Harden: So their intentions were in the right spot
Jarrod Harden: again. Remember slowing that train down, but they kicked so far. They went so far with their efforts that they couldn't support the work
Jarrod Harden: behind it. And so
Jarrod Harden: is this me saying, Hey, you get a free pass. Don't work too hard, or don't push. Don't do too much.
Jarrod Harden: absolutely not, I promise you.
Jarrod Harden: But you need to be aware. And so a lot of times. That's why that's where consultants make money is. They come in and they help you think about 3 steps down the road, largely because they've done the work before. But you don't want to outkick your coverage. You wanna certainly take on a like a bite sized amount of the work that you can support. And then once you get your training, it's the crawl before you. All right. Once you, you build up that muscle. Of how are we gonna do this? That's how you can take it to the next level.
Jarrod Harden: So
Jarrod Harden: what can you do today? All right. I promised you that we weren't just going to talk lofty up here. I was going to give you some things that you can absolutely take back to your organizations and your roles today.
So let's see if I can deliver on that
Jarrod Harden: all right, a few ideas that you can use, one.
Jarrod Harden: Consider how you can create belonging for someone else. I love this one, because remember that exercise we did earlier.
Jarrod Harden: That's always my little like bait and switch. I asked you who created belonging for you the same way that someone created that for you. You can create that for someone else. It's the easiest way that you can even feel belonging yourself, because you feel connection to another person.
Jarrod Harden: The reason I list this first one. It's my favorite, but 2. It's the notion that so often when we engage in Dei work.
Jarrod Harden: we think, what is my company going to do for me? What is my organization? What is my school? What? How are they going to create an environment of belonging?
Jarrod Harden: And the secret is, we all create that atmosphere of belonging.
Jarrod Harden: Yes. Does the organization need to set
Jarrod Harden: boundaries for? What are the behaviors? What are the values? What's our north Star absolutely. But in those individual interactions, how we carry that forward, it's up to us. So we can create longing for other people the same way. And if you think that that is not true, just remember to that answer, think back to that answer that you put in the chat someone has created belonging for you.
Jarrod Harden: I think we call that paying it forward. How are you going to pay that forward and create belonging for someone else? So you can do that today. Next one identify one area where you can make De-i be a part of the batter so belonging in De. I remember, we talked about. Not that icing at the end.
Jarrod Harden: Think about the initiative that you are part of. Is there any way that you can build in an element of belonging an element of Dei.
and you might say, Well.
Jarrod Harden: how can I do that? I'll give you a really easy one at the start of a meeting, so
Jarrod Harden: I don't know whatever kind of job you have. But
Jarrod Harden: at the start of of a staff meeting or a project meeting
Jarrod Harden: first 2 min
Jarrod Harden: there's access check ins is everybody okay? Does ever anyone need to run to some people been in back to back meetings? Anyone need to grab a drink of water or anything like that, just doing that seeing and acknowledging that I know there are a lot of people here, and a lot of people are busy
Jarrod Harden: that access check-in that creates belong right? So at the start of your meeting last the last 5 min of your meeting. Little fun game that people play. I think the people talk about doing them at the start of the meeting, so that people won't drop off and skip the belonging moment. But
Jarrod Harden: How can you in the work that you do every day? Maybe it's about thinking about who your work is. Benefit? Right? So if I, my end user is, has a different identity marker than than I do.
Jarrod Harden: What if I check in with my end user and say, you know, here's the project. Here's the project that we're trying to work on. How does this land for you?
Jarrod Harden: And it doesn't even just need to be about your end user. You should be doing that, anyway, if you're creating something for someone, make sure it serves them. But how about get someone else's perspective in on that asking someone what they think we've even heard that already. That's one way that people feel greater level, belonging
Jarrod Harden: identify an area around inclusive language. That you can be more mindful of. This is not supposed to be punitive. Right? So it's not, hey? If you don't do this shame on you, or are you someone who says, Hey, guys, when you're starting a meeting. Well, maybe, hey, guys doesn't serve your audience. If you've got, you know, 6 guys and 2 women.
Jarrod Harden: that's one of the places that I've always that I try and change. Am I perfect? Certainly not. But it's an effort that I make. So is there an area around inclusive language that you could be more mindful of. What about pronouns are? Are there? Do you struggle with? They them cause you maybe practice a little bit
Jarrod Harden: and here comes pronouns. Respect them and include them in your email signature. What I think most people don't realize is putting your own pronouns in your email signature
Jarrod Harden: is an active allyship, and I'll tell you why.
What happens is they're so because
Jarrod Harden: the issue of pronouns is so fraught right now that there's a ton of people who think, well, I'm not. I'm not about all that pronounced stuff.
Jarrod Harden: but there's also a segment of the population who are because pronouns are so important to them. they might have some fear around engaging
Jarrod Harden: if they see pronouns in your email signature that could signal to them. You know what that person's a safe space. The notion that that person I could, even on my Gerod Hardhard, when the little zoom, if I could do Gerod harden he him that let someone know if they're a non binary person.
Jarrod Harden: and say, Oh, he's a safe space, just my acknowledging that that exists can be really helpful for a person. So it's not about me. So much of this work isn't about me, right? It's about how we're creating an environment for everyone where everyone can feel belonging.
Jarrod Harden: And so if I put pronouns on my email signature and I apologize for not having them here today.
Jarrod Harden: it's just a little indicator it can be the so slightest little indicator for someone that, like I see you.
Jarrod Harden: And lastly, give Grace like if there is a guy with big hair on the zoom, who is coughing because he's getting over a cold. Give a little grace and what you don't just give Grace externally, either. You give Grace to yourself as well. So when you don't hit the standard, when you don't
Jarrod Harden: operate in a way that you think is the way that you want to. It doesn't serve any of us. If you're just kicking yourself and saying, why did why did I do that
Jarrod Harden: accountability? Yes, but give yourself give yourself and others a little bit of grace.
Jarrod Harden: And so I think now one more. Let Google and AI be your friend. It's so funny to say to add AI to this slide, if I'd use this slide 2 years ago, AI wouldn't have made it. But if you ever, if there's any kind of question that you have. I promise you someone else has likely had that question before as well.
Jarrod Harden: It is very common for me to type in to Google or to chat GPT. Whatever your preferred Chatbot is, you can use bar
Jarrod Harden: and just ask like, ask a question. It may not give you a perfect answer, but it'll give you a
Jarrod Harden: and answer on the right road. And that could be anything from why doesn't this group do XYZ. Right. Sometimes these things are really really hard to be vulnerable and ask, I know
Jarrod Harden: Dei and belonging topics cause fear in a lot of people and
Jarrod Harden: my goal. My hope is that we get past that. But if you've got some places where you're looking for like oh, well, how do I engage here, or if you will even want to know some social media influencers or the right books to read anything like that.
Jarrod Harden: go! Seeking if you don't have a person that you can ask go seeking. On the Internet you'll find a ton of things.
Jarrod Harden: I think I've talked a whole bunch, Julie. I'm calling you back now. I think it is time for Q. And A. If anybody
Jarrod Harden: sounds great, yeah, please feel free to go ahead and drop your questions into the QA. Box on zoom we had one come in. Someone is asking, can you define intersectionality? Yes, it's funny. It was on the it was on the first slide, and I didn't talk about so intersectionality. The easiest way to think about that is, it's the I, the identities that you carry the way that they play in with each other, and so
Jarrod Harden: I couldn't choose. It's it's like, on the answer, choices on a test, when
Jarrod Harden: check all that apply intersectionality. Is that right? So
Jarrod Harden: I'm black.
Jarrod Harden: I'm male. I'm the intersectionality of my identity is coming together so you could be.
Jarrod Harden: are you? What's your gender?
Jarrod Harden: What's your race and your ethnicity? Do you have an ability or disability?
Jarrod Harden: Intersectionality just speaks to the levels of identities? Come together?
And so if you're in a corporation that has ergs
Jarrod Harden: one of the ways that er G's can partner with each other, it's it's the easiest one is. Say, there's the black yeah. Rg, for black employees and their allies. And the women's yeah yeah
Jarrod Harden: for women and their allies. Well, if those ER. Gs come together, you might get a black woman as a speaker for a combination, for an event that
Jarrod Harden: somebody who has intersectional identities and it serves both. So I know it's a long word. But essentially it just talks about the levels of your identity as they come together.
Julie Edwards: Thank you so much.
Jarrod Harden: Thank you.
Julie Edwards: While we're on that. Can you just go ahead and explain.
Jarrod Harden: Oh, I apologize. I'm usually good about my acronyms. but Dei was the one I've had friends who have come into like. Well, I'll say I work in Dei, and I'm like, what is that?
Jarrod Harden: I don't know if they still know what I do so sometimes I just say human resources. But ergs are employee resource groups. So
Jarrod Harden: back in the eighties, I wanna say, is, when they got started, and they used to be called affinity groups, and so there would be for black employees, and they might be for employee, for women employees. They might hear like women in business would be a big one, or women in technology is another one. But so essentially their employee groups led by volunteer employees. Usually some some employers provide a stipend or something like that, too.
Jarrod Harden: their people. But basically they come around and they build community. So typically they have a charge. Right? So they'll be, hey, we're supposed to build community, or we can educate, or we can do philanthropy through the erg. But they're employee research groups.
You'll hear places call them BR. Gs as well. Business resource groups. And essentially
Jarrod Harden: there was a moment where
Jarrod Harden: people in corporate America thought, Why are these people just coming together and like having parties. because often happy hours are part of what? Yeah, is do for networking and things of that nature. And so the title BRG. Business resource group was changed to
Jarrod Harden: demonstrate the value to leadership, that these are not just about parties. These are actually groups that support our employees and make our business better. So employee resource groups are groups typically around an identity market. There are groups, though, that it's not just E, like the classified identity markers like sex and gender and sexual orientation.
Jarrod Harden: There are groups you'll find groups around like parents. You'll find groups around like cancer and disability. I've seen. I've seen those. And they work really, really well for connecting employees to one another and to resources.
Jarrod Harden: I love ER. Gsa. Fantastic. Any quick tips for getting one started in an organization? 100%. So the biggest thing about starting an er G is, I'd say, start small and grow.
Jarrod Harden: You've gotta one. You have to set expectations, I think when these groups come together very often you may get an employee group, and they'll say, you know what we're going to increase hiring for people with our same identity work.
And that's a really noble
Jarrod Harden: charge.
Jarrod Harden: The only issue with that is, unless you're talking to hiring managers, you're able to train hiring managers. And remember, these groups are done
Jarrod Harden: on volunteer time. So it's not really
Jarrod Harden: someone's full time job to run the er G. You've got to manage expectations because there's nothing worse than getting a whole lot of people who are really excited and then not delivering on that. So
Jarrod Harden: manage expectations when you're starting them. Just come up with a clear charge around what you're trying to do.
Jarrod Harden: and consider what your members are. They must have an executive sponsor. You need somebody who's not going to dictate what the group does. Necessarily, they might give you some structure and structure is a good thing.
Jarrod Harden: but
Jarrod Harden: you need somebody who's got some executive muscle. So when you come up with some ideas and some executive savvy, so they can say, you know what this is. A great idea. Our company's just not ready for this yet. How about we do this? And so those conversations to navigate.
Jarrod Harden: They're really, really.
Jarrod Harden: they're really, really key. So having an executive sponsor, and also.
Jarrod Harden: any answer when you're starting an ERG. One that you can take to. Your AI Chatbot people laugh at me. I think AI is
Jarrod Harden: a a really great way to do some of this very human work. It just gives you access to resources that you might not have, but managing expectations and getting clear about your what your north star is, and getting an executive sponsor. Those are the 3 biggest things from starting one.
Julie Edwards: Thank you.
Jarrod Harden: Sure. So someone's asking. My place of work is always trying to recruit Dei, but we don't have much luck. Is there any advice in making us more welcoming with such recruiting?
Jarrod Harden: So an interesting thing is. And this is my like 60 s version of like, How to solve the Ei there.
Jarrod Harden: when you say Recruit Dei, I'm imagining that you're mean. You mean recruit for diversity, and get different people into your organization, feel free to write in the chat or the questions that if if I have that wrong.
one key thing about it is
Jarrod Harden: is making your place look like a place where diverse talent will want to land. Right? So if let's just say everybody has one identity and on all of your marketing on your career site on your website is, it looks one way, and I don't see myself represented. Is that a place that really welcomes me.
I'm not so sure about that.
Jarrod Harden: So what? What's the messaging? That? What's the messages? What are the messages? Excuse me that you're communicating out to let people know that you really are a place that welcomes the diversity that you're seeking
Jarrod Harden: on the other side of that ergs are a great place to help. So that refer a friend program. Talking to ergs and you leveraging the ergs to share with the experiences of somebody from a diverse background at your company that can help. So one part of it's the cell. Then, after you get the person in your doors.
Jarrod Harden: are there policies and practices that
Jarrod Harden: and programs that support having diverse identities at your place. Right? So if I come in and I'm going to feel alone, not going to see anybody who looks like me. There's not going to be anybody who reaches out and says, Hey, I see you to create that supported, connected, seen, proud, feeling.
Jarrod Harden: good good luck, keeping diverse talent if you do that.
Julie Edwards: thank you so much.
Jarrod Harden: Thank you. Someone is asking any other pointers you can share for getting more involvement, acknowledgment of Dei efforts within an organization. The train is stopped and people are not getting on.
Jarrod Harden: Yeah, I feel your pain. I'm sending you energy cause. I feel your pain.
So one of the things that I always talk about Dei, especially as I work through it
Jarrod Harden: is the notion of so often we treat this like a separate area of business, and I understand why, like it, it's come about more recently than other areas of business and is with sales.
Jarrod Harden: Say, what sales are marketing you can see at the end of a month. Is your arrow pointing up, or is your arrow pointing down?
Well, the interesting thing with the yeah. If you don't have meaningful metrics
Jarrod Harden: to not only demonstrate to leadership, who says, Okay, well, you want us to fund these things? How do we know it's working?
But also to your people
Jarrod Harden: the one of the biggest mistakes. There are a lot of one of the biggest mistakes that I think
Jarrod Harden: people make with their Dei efforts is they remove the joy right? And so
Jarrod Harden: there's absolutely work to be done. But you can't avoid celebrating the work that's already been done in the progress you've made. So, putting in that joy and being able to show your people say, Hey.
Jarrod Harden: our goal this year was to Host X. Amount of engagements with X amount of participation and do quick surveys get you? You've got to talk to your people so that you have. What does success look like if you go into Di like, we wouldn't do any other area of business like
Jarrod Harden: right? Like we wouldn't start a business that sold
Jarrod Harden: cupcakes and say, Well, I hope it works out. We would know. Okay, well, we're spending this much on ingredients. We're spending this much on market, and our sales were this at the end of the month.
Jarrod Harden: Now is, does that rigor line up one to one with the Ei efforts? It doesn't. But if you never stop to look at, what did I do last quarter? How do I know that that was effective? And I promise you, I promise you, I promise you.
Jarrod Harden: What you don't want to do is say.
Jarrod Harden: well, I heard from people that
Jarrod Harden: cause those anecdotal meetings in the hallway when someone says, Oh, I really loved your Gei event, or I really love that program, that mentoring program that you did or I. Really.
Jarrod Harden: we wouldn't use that in business. We wouldn't say somebody really love my cupcakes. I've got a viable cupcake shop right? So you've gotta put more rigor into what you're doing to EI
Jarrod Harden: set a clear goal, because there's nothing feels as good as like achieving that goal and surpassing it. Right? So if we say, Hey, we want to do X
Jarrod Harden: X number of events. But success for those events looks like this. The more clearly you can define that the more energy your people will get, because now it's like we want to take that
Jarrod Harden: and go further again. If your train is stopped, what's an easy one like? Is it a black history month? Is it an International Women's Day, is it? I think so often we think so big and so lofty. It's this like
Jarrod Harden: multi-tiered mentorship sponsorship program that does recruitment, that does. It's like, if your train is stopped, that's not. You're not there yet.
Jarrod Harden: Crawl before you walk right. What is? What is the event that you can do that's meaningful. And I always think about use your employees faces, use your employees stories that you often want to share. Use what your company does, the good work that that you do when I think about that pride piece of belonging.
Jarrod Harden: If you tell me that my! If I work at a library, my company does a Saturday afternoon with children from UN from socioeconomically challenged backgrounds. And we can be a part of that that feels good. That's a place where you can actually develop some momentum, because people feel so proud about being a part of that.
Julie Edwards: This is great you totally in in anticipated the next question. We've had good questions coming in. I'm seeing them all. This person's asking, what kind of data should you collect when you're trying to capture the impact of these efforts. Anything specific you want to throw in there.
Jarrod Harden: Yeah. So it'd be so easy to
Jarrod Harden: like, be able to give you one line. But it it just II wish it was. That easy is what I'm saying. The the key is right. So, sir, I love serving so well. When I was at Google. One of the things I used to do. I do was everybody knew it was a 3 question serving and what I would do before my event was over there'd be a slide, and the slide would be a little silly
Jarrod Harden: if people were feeling good at the event.
Jarrod Harden: and I threw something that made them laugh. And I was like, don't forget to fill out that 3 question survey, and my question would be.
Jarrod Harden: Does this fall in line with our inclusive values on a scale of one to 5. What do you rate the event? Anything else? And they could freeform type?
Jarrod Harden: My survey, the percentage of people that took my surveys.
Jarrod Harden: What so was so far above, what survey, what most surveys did there? Because
Jarrod Harden: it was easy. It was clear it came right after the event. Catch them when they're on the high of the like. Wow, I love that event. So survey data is one. So right? So if you say we're going to host 4 events, and we want X percentage of our serve like we want
Jarrod Harden: our survey satisfaction scores at this level. That could be one, right? Because that's actual data.
Jarrod Harden: I think so. Often people defer to demographics and demographics are lagging.
Jarrod Harden: A lagging number, right? So how many black people do. I have, I mean, when do I have? It's like that shows you
Jarrod Harden: you can't. That's not as active and so often hiring is just it takes longer to change. But if you talk about programs, if there's training right, like satisfaction scores after training.
Jarrod Harden: it depends on what you're doing. It depends on what your culture is, but I promise you there are metrics that you can find sometimes as easy as like launching an event, creating awareness. How many people are asking questions, how many people are using me
Jarrod Harden: if there's a QR code that they can scan. But there are ways
Jarrod Harden: I think you just gotta get creative around. What are the what's the right metrics for?
Jarrod Harden: Your company?
Julie Edwards: Thank you.
Julie Edwards: Sure. Someone is asking if I'm not in a leadership role. How can I help Foster Dei work at in my organization in a way that does make it baked in? I'm concerned that creating a separate committee will other. The work, but not creating committee might mean that nothing gets done.
Jarrod Harden: Yeah, I feel this pain. So there is a piece of this that is absolutely you've got to be intentional, right? So we say you don't want to check the box. Well, when you're starting out, sometimes you do have to check the box. And sometimes it really is about
Jarrod Harden: the leader, who doesn't necessarily really believe, maybe as much, but getting their voice and getting their buying and talk to people. There are ways to get things done. Non, traditional ways. Right? So if it's hey, I just need 15 min of your time. Can you do a quick coffee chat. I'm curious. Here's what I'm thinking about, one of the worst things so that you can do. And
Jarrod Harden: II say this from a spot of. I've made all of these mistakes already, so please don't think that it's a you should never do this. It's don't make my mistakes, is going, hey? What do we want to do
Jarrod Harden: like? Then you get all these ideas. If you come with something semi crystallized
and you're flexible.
Jarrod Harden: So it's like here. I'd love to do an XYZ. Because then, if I'm a leader, or if I'm a person who you wanna work with, I can say you know what? Well, that date doesn't work, because all of our leadership will be at this thing, or, you know, think about. Consider adding this element to it because you can get this group. So it's about finding Allies. It's about finding collaborators who
Jarrod Harden: can help you push through and get the things that you need done
Julie Edwards: awesome. Thank you. This is such an important question that has come in. So this person saying, our system has been making Dei a part of our organizational culture. But some of our efforts have left some staff feeling like they're being left behind. Is there a way to have people who feel like they're no longer being seen, feel like the Dei also benefits them, which it does.
Jarrod Harden: Yeah. And so the biggest piece here, without knowing your organization and the culture there. So not not just the name of, but like what the culture is like.
Jarrod Harden: If it's safe to be honest, because I think that's a piece of it right where, if I was a heterosexual white.
Jarrod Harden: and I saw all these Dei Effers happening, and I never saw a white male represented.
Jarrod Harden: Excuse me, I might say. Well, this clearly isn't for me right? And so, finding the way that you can kind of get in the.
Jarrod Harden: you know I'm curious. Is there ever a spot for? And and I don't want to pretend that you won't find a person who will say, How dare you ask them? Right? So
Jarrod Harden: I think there's a piece of it that just it requires some honesty, and maybe it requires a
Jarrod Harden: somebody speaking. When I think of myself as a practitioner, I invite. People say that, because then I can be the mouthpiece. What I can say, hey? I need a little grace before before I ask this question. But I'm curious if blah blah blah, am I welcome? Here am I. This could we do, and it's about finding the right.
Jarrod Harden: the right person maybe to go to, but if you don't call it out.
Jarrod Harden: it can't get addressed.
Jarrod Harden: Thank you so much. Wow! That brings us right to the top of the hour. Thank you so much, for your expertise
Jarrod Harden: was a pleasure. Thank you all. and we made it through without too many coughs.
Julie Edwards: No, it was great. We really appreciate it. I think everybody's extending you a lot of grace. There's a lot of people saying, Thank you. This was wonderful. Yeah. Somebody saying, feel better. Yeah, thank you so much. Thanks to Gerard. Thanks for all of you in the audience. And we hope to see you at our next
upcoming webinars. Niche, Academy com blog. You'll find those there until then. I hope you all have a great afternoon. Thanks so much, everybody.
Jarrod Harden: Bye.