In today's organizations, leaders at every level must serve as passionate advocates for diversity and inclusion (D&I), ensuring these critical values become deeply embedded in organizational culture and directly inform business strategy. This innovative 3-day certificate program transcends typical D&I training by providing you with comprehensive skill development to become a genuine champion of diversity and a thoughtful leader of inclusive teams.
Throughout this immersive program, you will learn to recognize the rich uniqueness and multidimensional nature of each individual's identity, develop a deeper understanding of how biases operate, and explore the specific behaviors that build genuine trust. You will also acquire practical knowledge and tools to help you cultivate a thriving organizational culture that actively promotes these essential values. By completing a specially designed, interactive capstone project, you will apply everything you have learned to real-world scenarios.
As an added benefit, upon successful completion of this program, you will receive an exclusive American Management Association (AMA) certificate in recognition of your achievement and professional development.
Certificate Program Resources:
All certificate programs include valuable post-course resources to support your continued learning:
- On-demand lessons designed to reinforce key skills and concepts
- Best practice skill refreshers to keep knowledge current
- Articles offering practical tips and tactics for workplace implementation
Ideal Participants:
This program is designed for leaders at all levels, HR professionals, and others who hold responsibility for or wish to actively embrace responsibility for advancing diversity and inclusion within their organization.
How You Will Benefit:
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of the nature of biases and proven strategies to overcome them
- Identify and apply emotionally intelligent leadership communication strategies
- Learn and practice mindfulness techniques for supporting individuals and teams through challenging situations
- Strengthen your abilities to facilitate and participate in meetings that welcome all perspectives
- Take ownership of creating and sustaining a workplace culture founded on respect, civility, and trust
Comprehensive Course Content:
- Explore how our brains process information and understand the neurological basis of bias formation
- Distinguish between overt bias and unconscious bias, and understand the impact of each
- Master strategies for cultural awareness and effective communication when navigating healthy workplace conflict
- Identify and implement emotionally intelligent leadership communication approaches
- Learn to assess your team's stress levels and emotional state to maintain optimism and sustained productivity
- Build skills for facilitating your team's capacity to collaborate effectively
- Recognize and address unhealthy workplace practices and behaviors
- Execute steps to establish and maintain a healthy culture of respect, civility, and trust
- Complete the Inclusive Leadership Assessment to identify your strengths and development areas
- Perfect the art of facilitating truly inclusive meetings
- Create a comprehensive and actionable Inclusive Leader Action Plan
- Capstone activity: Apply your new skills in authentic real-world scenarios
Detailed Course Outline
Module 1: Introduction to Diversity and Inclusion
- Establish shared language and common definitions related to diversity and inclusion
- Understand the compelling business case for diversity and inclusion in modern organizations
- Reflect thoughtfully on the multidimensional, multicultural aspects that define individual identity
Module 2: Bridging Communication Differences
- Describe the critical importance of adapting your communication style as an inclusive leader
- Explore and articulate your preferred communication style and those of others on your team
- Recognize how ineffective listening creates barriers and obstacles
- Identify and understand the two types of micro-messages and recognize how micro-inequities operate
Module 3: Emotional Intelligence and Diversity and Inclusion
- Build a deeper understanding of the relationship between Emotional Intelligence competencies and Diversity efforts
- Complete the Inclusive Leadership Assessment to pinpoint your strengths and development needs
- Develop skills for facilitating teams' collective capacity to work together effectively
- Identify the unique challenges faced by leaders working with multicultural teams
Module 4: Leading a Successful Multicultural Team
- Use the Inclusive Leadership Assessment to identify your strengths and development areas
- Develop practical skills for facilitating your team's collaborative effectiveness
- Define your ideal network to accomplish your goals and accelerate your career advancement
- Recognize and address the specific challenges of multicultural team leadership
Module 5: Conducting Difficult Conversations Successfully
- Apply a structured model for holding productive, difficult conversations
- Distinguish the characteristics and purposes of debate, discussion, and dialogue
- Practice dialogue skills through realistic conversation scenarios
Module 6: Your Vision and Plan for an Inclusive Workplace
- Review and reinforce the seminar's essential tools and key takeaways
- Create a forward-looking, inclusive vision for your workplace
- Develop a detailed and actionable Inclusive Leader Action Plan
Capstone and Practice Application Session
- Apply your new skills and understandings to realistic workplace scenarios
- Engage in role-play activities that simulate authentic business interactions
- Receive constructive feedback to integrate into your inclusive leadership development journey
- Observe peers' role-plays and provide them with thoughtful, supportive feedback
Putting Your Plan into Action
- Synthesize what you have learned from instruction, interactive activities, and capstone work
- Finalize and commit to your Inclusive Leader Action Plan for implementation