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© Copyright, 2006 The
Freeman Institute. All rights reserved. Nothing on this
page may be used without explicit written permission.
Note: Reproduction of any kind, including copying and pasting, is
strictly prohibited.
D
I
V E R S I T Y
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O P T I O N
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1. "Diversity Day" Presentation or Keynote Address
-- See Below
2. All-Day "Diversity Seminar" Program -- See
Below
3. "Black History" Presentation -- Click
Here
4. Employee Assistance
Seminars, DC/Baltimore region -- Click
Here
5. Preview Online Diversity Course
-- Click
Here
Online course is designed for the
general marketplace...
Flash Player needed to Preview Courses -- Download
Flash
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An Open
Invitation to Participate in -- "THE
MOMENT" -- Dr. Freeman's Latest Book Project
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 The
Freeman Institute's™ believes that the word "diversity"
has been ripped off by the world. Many Christian leaders are
afraid to address the topic because of the many perceptions
that cloud the topic. The Bible is a rich repository of
diversity. Just look at the many backgrounds of the authors
-- shepherds, prophets, kings, farmers, tent makers, etc.
Our philosophy in presenting the subject
of diversity is best understood when considering an onion
with its many layers. Each layer presents another
opportunity to discuss the best ways to work together with
greater harmony, understanding and mutual respect. The cross
of Jesus Christ is at the very center of it all. Everything
on this page can be customized for faith-based
organizations. Here are
just some of the layers we address:
-
Fear of
Loss
-
Cultural
Competency
-
Professional
Status
-
Religious
Affiliation
-
Generational
Influences
-
Disability
Awareness
-
Gender
Differences
-
Personality
Style
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"Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make
me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can anyone deny
themselves the pleasure of
my company? It's beyond me."
- Zora Neale Hurston |
Of course there are many
more layers in some organizations, like Political Differences,
Musical
Tastes, etc.. We believe that workforce diversity and
cultural competency is dealt with
through the doorway of each unique personality style. (When
we deal specifically with Cultural Awareness, we address eleven
Symbols that impact every organization. Missionaries
need to be attuned to these aspects before venturing to any
field of service.)
Everyone approaches workforce diversity in their own style.
Some folks are more blustery in their approach while others
are more quiet and reserved. It's hard to know what they are
really thinking. Attitudes may be strongly felt, but are not
as readily accessible to co-workers. Still others deal with
diversity as a task to be accomplished.
Understanding diversity
begins by awakening the understanding our own "hot buttons" and
discovering how and perhaps why we behave the way we do.
People around us do not respond to our intentions. They
respond to our behavior. Regardless of our values, it is
paramount that co-workers treat each other with respect and
integrity.
Our initial focus is in
helping participants take an inward look, understanding more
about their own strengths and vulnerabilities. This is done
with a certain gentle artistry in which no one has his or
her dignity or self-respect stripped in the process.
Actually, it is a lot of fun.
Then we help participants
take an outward look -- how they interact with others around
them. Here we show participants how they can, not only
understand their co-workers, but also have the skills
necessary in exporting this knowledge to their other
relationships. People who are happier at home tend to be
happier and more productive at work and vice versa. |
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Working in a diverse
workforce stretches and challenges everyone's internal
world. Gender, race, generational issues and other layers
cause all of us to take a brand new look at personal
prejudices and narrow-mindedness. At the same time, each new
layer provides another wonderful opportunity to seek to
understand before seeking to be understood.
Training, education and skills determine the
"what" we do. Values are the "why" we do
things the way we do them. Behavior and emotions are the
"how" we do what we do. Co-workers do not respond
to intentions, they respond to behavior. That is why we
focus upon the "how" and what sponsors it from the
inside out.
* HOW: Determine Your Specific Approach to Diversity
* PROBLEMS - How you approach problems and
challenges
* PEOPLE - How you interact and attempt to
influence people
* PACE - How you respond to change and activities
* PROCEDURE - How you respond to rules and
regulations set by others
Civility in the workplace must be expected and is imposed
externally by any organization wishing to remain
competitive. But there is higher level of success that
emerges from harnessing the power of mutual respect and
cross-cultural understanding. Mutual
respect must spring from the internal structures of each
individual. For this to truly capture the culture of the
organization this must cascade down from the senior
leadership to every level of the organization -- enhancing
creativity, productivity and an emotionally safe environment.
With humor and out-of-the-box thinking this program will
offer each participant an introduction to a deeper
understanding of Diversity: The Value of Mutual Respect.
Return on Investment (R.O.I.):
Some futurists predict that by the year 2050 there will be
no clearly defined racial/cultural majority in the USA.
Demographic changes and shifting attitudes in the nation
result in a different face of the workforce. In work
environments where differences in gender, race, religion, or
other cultural aspects are not addressed, undue tension
results. Our diversity training approach moves beyond a
basic awareness of differences; we help people learn skills
to cope more effectively with the challenges of facing
diversity in a responsible and reflective manner. The
proactive implementation of the contents of this diversity
program can't help but usher in greater productivity and
creativity in any organization.
***************************************************
The KnowMe™
Game -- Based Upon the Johari Window
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Different
groups have different needs. The "Diversity: The
Value of Mutual Respect" seminar experience (see
program overview below) is meant to be an interactive
experience in a fun, non-threatening atmosphere. The
following interactive game is a proven option available to
interested organizations:
During the afternoon,
participants can experientially understand more about
diversity by playing the KnowMe™ game with any
number of groups of six -- with a debrief exercise after
everyone is finished. This highly-interactive game is based
on the Disclosure/Feedback model of awareness known as the Johari
Window (click to view more about the game), named after
Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham. This award-winning game has
been used in over 20 countries by a wide range of
organizations and is specifically designed for establishing
trust and building relationships in the workplace. The
larger the group, that harder it is to facilitate this game.
It can work with larger groups, but it works best with
groups consisting of between 6 to 18 participants.
Diversity Game -- This game
enables participants from different groups (whether defined
by culture, race, gender, status, or any other
criteria) to explore issues of diversity together. |
Workforce diversity is
like an iceberg. Because of busy schedules, it is easy to
interact with co-workers on the surface. Our diversity
programs help people, who may have even worked together for
years, connect at a deeper, richer level. |
SAMPLE
CARDS: |
TELL:
Light-hearted: Tell the group how your life has
been affected by people with physical disabilities." |
ASK:
Light-hearted: Ask the group how they think the
children in your family are being educated and how you feel
about this." |
| Serious: Tell the group about a
tradition or cultural value that is particularly important to
you. Why? |
Serious: Ask the group what
special days or public
holidays they think are most important to you. Why? |
In-depth: Tell the group what you
could do to
improve the attitude of family and friends toward members of
other cultural or race groups. |
In-depth: Ask the group members
how they think
you feel about belonging to your racial or ethnic group in
this country today. |
***************************************************
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and
narrow-mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on those
accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things
cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth
all one's lifetime." -- Mark Twain, 1867
"Managing diversity is the process of
creating and maintaining an environment that enables all
participants to contribute to their full potential in pursuit of
organizational objectives."
-- R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., D.B.A.
****************************************************
Cultural
Competency Program Specifically designed for Mental Health
Professional NEW!
SUCCEEDING IN YOUR ORGANIZATION WITH A DISABILITY
Take the time to
also read the e-publication
from DiversityInc.com
"Cultural Coaches: Help For Executives Who Don't Get It".
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~
Basic Thesis ~
Diversity
is everywhere! It's the spice of life! We all are different.
Some of us are thinkers, others are doers, some are passive,
and still others are aggressive. Mix in the different
categories of professional status, ethnicity, generations,
gender and it makes for an interesting melting pot begging for
mutual respect.
Most
people come to work with pretty good intentions, but we can
get on each other's nerves just by being ourselves. In the
every-day stress of a diverse work environment, the tiniest
issues can escalate. And soon we may fight about the way we
are fighting, instead of dealing with the real issues –
seeking to understand before we seek to be understood.
As
mentioned before, in a diverse work place co-workers do not
respond to our intentions. They respond to our behavior. By
focusing on behavior, employees are introduced to a deep
experience as they explore how individual behavior heats up or
cools down the emotional climate of the work environment.
For
the people within organizations, The
Freeman Institute™
provides skills and tools to learn how to agree and
disagree within the framework of mutual respect and commitment
to each other.
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~
UNIQUE DIVERSITY PROGRAM ~
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|
Telephone
-- Switch your long distance today. Choose from 4
great plans with rates as low as 3.9¢ per minute. |
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BOTTOM
LINE BENEFITS
Immediate
and long-lasting
1. Each participant has a better understanding of his or her respect
for workforce diversity.
2. Reduction of the potential for conflict or power struggles
(preventive maintenance vs.
crisis management).
3.
Higher morale and greater productivity.
4. Better listening and communication skills.
5. Greater sensitivity to work force diversity.
6. Tools for influencing an emotionally safe climate.
7. Working with diversity; not against it.
8. Knowing how to approach different people and situations.
9. Implementation of diversity in a win/win style.
10.Enhancing self-motivated work teams.
11.What works and what doesn't work in terms of motivation.
12.Dealing more effectively with difficult behavior in a
diverse workforce.
Determine
Your Specific Approach to Diversity
PROBLEMS - How you approach problems and challenges
PEOPLE - How you interact and attempt to influence people
PACE - How you respond to change and activities
PROCEDURE - How you respond to rules set by others
NEEDS
ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE HOW TO CUSTOMIZE PROGRAM
PROGRAM
OVERVIEW
75%
of the focus of this seminar will be on the internal world of the
participant.
25% of the focus will be on how participants interacts with others.
May
be viewed as a generic
full day version with appropriate breaks, half day or keynote
presentation.
*
Participants share the best part(s) and most challenging aspect(s)
of their jobs (if smaller group).
* Presenter introduces himself and the purpose of the
diversity program.
* Humorous concepts illustrating the reality that people are
different; predictably different.
* Explore the five contributing factors to one's approach to
diversity:
i. Heredity
ii. Childhood role models
iii. Birth order
iv. Physical characteristics
v. Experiences
* Emotional pain -- the great modifier of human behavior.
* Interpret the meaning of the Diversity Awareness Spectrum
* The differences between power and influence in diversity.
* Johari Window -- How trust and mutual respect are built up
or broken down in an organization.
* How personal Blind Spots and Mask effect leadership/
followership styles and diversity.
* Peeling the layers of the onionskin to get to the core
issues of workforce diversity:
i. Gender issues
ii. Cultural diversity iii.
Generational influences
iv. Professional status
v. Disability Awareness
vi. Personality style
* Administer personal profile material
* Overview of the universe of the four dominant communication
styles and how each style:
i. Responds to or reacts to emotional pain ii.
Seeks to control his or her environment
iii. Leads and
follows
iv. Makes decisions
v. Completes communication
vi. Deals with change
vii. Processes
information
vii. Handles "personal attacks"
viii. Deals with workforce diversity
* Three main areas where conflict generally erupts, combined
with concepts for preventive
maintenance
-- plus skills for managing oppositional
behavior after it has escalated. This is where communication
breaks down or is built up and where the value of
diversity is enhanced!
* In-depth study of each communication style
i. Major fears
ii. Natural and adaptive styles when
confronted by diversity, stress or change iii.
Dynamic drives
iv. Needs-motivated behavior and
communication language
v. Tools for working effectively with each style
vi. How personal dominant
and sub-dominant styles can compliment vs.
cause internal stress
vii. Drawing the best out of others
at work and at home -- lifestyle change
* Learning to "read" one's diversity graph.
* Now what do we do with the information?
* Play the KnowMe™ game, along with a debrief
exercise.
* Time for feedback, personal responses to the accuracy of the
information, and specific questions.
* Help to develop action and accountability plans for
harnessing the power of workforce diversity.
* Allowance for one-on-one time with instructor.
Contact us for a more
detailed and customized diversity program.
 100%
Satisfaction Guaranteed. Period.
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SOCIAL
SECURITY
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Dear
Dr. Freeman:
I
want you to know how pleased we were with your
presentation, Diversity: The Value of Mutual
Respect, which was presented at our
Multicultural Training Observance in Dallas, Texas
on May 22, 2002.
Employees
who participated in both sessions of your
presentation were nearly unanimous in their
assessment of its relevance and value. Your approach
to viewing diversity as a multi-layer phenomenon was
unique. And your ability to relate to a
multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-generational
audience, and keep the participants attentive
throughout your presentation was a major contributor
to your success. A major benefit of your
presentation is it offered to those in attendance a
unique framework for assessing their basic beliefs
about living and working in a multicultural society,
and provided us a point of departure for additional
discussions about the benefits of mutual respect in
the workplace and the larger community.
I
am happy we were able to bring you to Dallas as a
part of our Multicultural Training effort. Your
presentation was the "meat and potatoes"
of what we regarded as a very successful training.
Sincerely,
Emerson
Lattimore
Emerson
Lattimore
Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Manager
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To
Schedule Dr. Freeman's Diversity Presentation
410-729-7800
WFO Eastern North Dakota
Connects to NOAA Diversity Lecture Series
As part of
the Monthly Diversity Lecture Series, a group of WFO Eastern North
Dakota personnel participated in a talk on by Joel Freeman entitled
"Dealing with People Who Drive You Crazy."
The talk took place live in Washington, D.C., for NOAA
Headquarters personnel and was viewed live over the Internet via
Real Player on the PDW in the Training Room. The voice quality
ranged from good most of the time to a bit fuzzy at other
times.
The talk was quite interesting, as the expert (Dr. Joel
Freeman) spoke about various personality types that must interact in
the work setting. We all realize some of us are more "doers
than thinkers" and vice-versa. The point is that each of us
brings value into the workforce, although each in a different way
and further understanding of these personality variables will
increase each person's and then the overall offices
functioning.
He also spoke about differences relating to gender,
religious and ethnic backgrounds, age and others. Again, further
understanding of these differences in the workplace will enable all
of us to improve our work place relationships and could all make us
"feel better" about our contributions to the office and
agency mission. |
"Diversity transcends race and gender, affirmative action and Equal
Employment Opportunity.
It must encompass a fundamental
appreciation of one another and a respect for both our similarities
and our differences. It must include a heartfelt respect in attitude and
in behavior towards those of
different race, gender, age, sexual
orientation, ethnicity and those with disabilities.
All the facets that make each individual the unique and precious resource that each of us is."
-- Ronald Brown, Former Secretary of Commerce
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~ Managing Diversity, Equal Employment
Opportunity and Affirmative Action ~
Many organizations are beginning to implement
diversity initiatives. Despite the enormous popularity of
these initiatives, it has become increasingly clear that some
workers may be confused by the concept of managing diversity.
Employees sometimes confuse managing diversity with EEO and
affirmative action programs. Some people use the three terms
interchangeably.
Affirmative action programs are an outgrowth of
EEO laws, rules and regulations. Affirmative action is
government-initiated and mandated in certain circumstances. It
is compliance-based and relies on statistical comparisons of
various demographic groups. Affirmative action programs
contain goals and
timetables designed to bring the level of representation for
minority groups and women into parity with relevant and
available labor force indices. Affirmative action programs
seek limited bottom line results by changing the mix of women,
minorities, and persons with disabilities in a particular
agency.
Affirmative action programs generally cover those
groups protected by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Where appropriate, and subject to legal interpretation,
organizations may set affirmative employment goals to increase
the numbers of women, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians,
Native Americans, white males, and people with disabilities.
While affirmative action programs are mandated, managing
diversity initiatives are voluntary in nature.
While affirmative action programs are a reaction
to under representation, managing diversity initiatives are
proactive. Managing diversity seeks to address issues related
to human resources, internal communications, interpersonal
relationships, conflict resolution, quality, productivity, and
efficiency. Some of the human resource issues addressed by
properly managing diversity may be indirectly related to EEO
and affirmative action concerns. The main focus of managing
diversity is to find productivity gains through respecting,
valuing, and using the differences people bring to the
workplace. The idea is to find a
way to let everyone do what he or she does best in order to
gain a competitive edge. While affirmative action seeks an end
result, managing diversity is a long-term change process that
seeks to identify and actually change the organizational
culture of an agency.
In the short-term, organizations needs both an
affirmative action plan and a managing diversity strategy.
However, as legal restrictions on affirmative action programs
continue to tighten and organizations proceed with downsizing
and reengineering activities, long-term change strategies will
become essential.
Regardless of the changes affirmative action may undergo,
organizations will be far ahead of the curve by implementing a
Workplace Diversity Initiative early on. The sooner we all
learn the differences between managing diversity, EEO and
affirmative action, the more prepared we will be collectively
to meet the realities of our ever-shrinking planet. Note the differences
below. |
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EEO/AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION |
MANAGING DIVERSITY |
* Changes the way an
organization LOOKS
* Federally-mandated
* Social and moral justifications
* Legally-driven
* Focuses on race, gender, ethnicity
* Changes the mix of people
* Perception of preference
* Problem-focused
* Short-term and limited
* Grounded in assimilation
* Reactive
* Measured quantitatively |
* Changes the way an
organization WORKS
* Voluntary
* Efficiency, and quality
* Productivity-driven
* Focuses on all elements of diversity
* Changes the systems/operations
* Operational-focused
* Perception of equality
* Long-term and ongoing
* Grounded in individuality
* Proactive
* Measured qualitatively |
ASIAN-PACIFIC AMERICAN
HERITAGE MONTH
Delivered
at Program Service Center -- HHS
RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, MD, MPH
Deputy Surgeon General, 13 May 1999
Martin Luther King Day Event
Los Alamos
National Laboratory
January, 2003
Read
an overview of book Dr. Freeman co-authored
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Badagry,
Nigeria -- Slave Trade History
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if we could shrink the Earth's population
to a village of precisely 100 people...Click
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"Dealing
With People Who Drive You Crazy!"®
The
Freeman Institute™
Box 305, Gambrills, Maryland 21054
TEL 410-729-7800 CELL 410-991-9718 FAX
410-729-0353
EMAIL info@freemaninstitute.com
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