Over the past few months, I have been working with two businesses on a pilot training project created by the one company and utilized by the second. The goal is to increase awareness among the staff about different cultures ... how it may impact their role as they interact with those they come into contact with on a daily basis, bring to light any prejudices or personal opinions that might hinder their work, and broaden the way they might approach an interaction.
My role has been to act as facilitator of the discussion groups. We watch short video vignettes, designed to mimic real-life scenarios the employees may encounter during their work hours. We then talk about what we observed: What message was the body language sending? Was the person speaking really heard by the person listening? Who should have been addressed? How could the language barriers be overcome ... and how do they play into the interaction?
I tell everyone up front that what is said in the room stays in the room, with the hope that it will alleviate concerns of not being a "good" person or "good" employee. It is meant to be a learning experience; there are no right or wrong answers, and there is no pressure to respond in a specific manner.
Some of the conversations have been amazing. The groups of employees themselves have been a diverse group, some individuals having relocated to the U.S. on their own, with family still in the "old country"; some born and lived here their entire lives; and some who emigrated as part of a group. Along with discussing the videos, participants are also sharing personal stories and information about family traditions, elders, past history, and way of life.
One young woman told us about living near the Black Sea in Georgia as a young girl, where tanks thundered through her street on a daily basis and her home shook constantly. One day, when she was 12, soldiers came to her home and told her family they had two hours to pack what they wanted to take with them; they would be leaving forever. The family then spent three months living in the very bottom of a war ship with many other people, allowed topside for some sun and fresh air only once a day. Upon arrival in Russia, she and her siblings were separated from her parents for three years because her parents were Russian citizens but the children were not. Eventually, the family landed in the United States to start over with a new life, bringing with them many of the old, familiar traditions and beliefs that are still a part of their everyday activities. She now has bad dreams when she watches movies with a lot of violence. It is a also a part of her past that came with her.
What we have learned from our discussions is we all have history. It affects how we think, we look at things and how we act. It comes with us as it is a part of us, and influences our interactions with others. Sometimes we need to step away and open ourselves up to the possibilities of what others have to teach us.
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Remember...
The "theme" for this pilot project is simple: "Acknowledgement of someone's beliefs does not mean agreement or even understanding of those beliefs."
It means that it is ok for you to be different from me.
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