News from White Men as Full Diversity Partners

April 2011 | White Men as Full Diversity Partners

Courage is resistance

to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.

- Mark Twain

Public Events & Learning Labs

Women of Different Tribes

May 2-5 Shelbyville, MI

White Men and Allies

May 16-19 Tubac, AZ
June 6-9 Geneva, IL
Oct 17-20 Geneva, IL

White Men's Caucus for Senior Leaders

June 20-23 Geneva, IL

Register by calling 503-281-5585 or email info@wmfdp.com or visit wmfdp.com

Changing Behavior - Not Values or Beliefs

In the work of diversity and inclusion, white men can often feel they're being asked to change their values and beliefs, when what's required is a change in behavior. At work we ask each other to change behavior all the time as a way of working together. If people think they must change their beliefs and values, it makes it almost impossible to show up fully at work. Yet we can change behaviors: how we acknowledge difference, how we interact and partner with others. What we do has the biggest impact, not hiding or changing the core of who we are.

We wanted to share a particularly profound exchange Bill Proudman had with a white-male attendee from a White Men's Caucus. The Caucus is designed to help white men, often for the first time, more deeply understand the critical role they can take in successful diversity and inclusion efforts.

This email exchange happened the day after a recent Caucus.

Hi Bill. I just wanted to tell you that I think WMFDP is doing really great work. Your facilitation style was just perfect for this type of learning.

Ideologically I am very "conservative" so my perspective coming in was that you were going to try to change that. What is impressive about your "lab" is you allowed me to keep my conservative beliefs and grow as a diversity partner at the same time. For me, that was particularly impressive. I think you and your other facilitators could see that in me. Thanks ... and keep up the great work! - Neil Rongstad, Rockwell Automation

Neil, thanks for sharing this. You did great work. It was evident from the get go that you were vested and committed. I really appreciate this feedback. We work hard to do exactly that - meet you and other men where you are and NOT convince you that your beliefs and values need changing.

I appreciate how you have so wonderfully managed your own paradox of maintaining your beliefs and leaning into the possibilities of strengthening your diversity partnerships.

Keep us posted on how it is going. You are a wonderful model of the transformative mindset shift that is critical to this work.

In full partnership - Bill Proudman

Discovery and the Possibility of True Partnership

The use of "appreciative inquiry" increases our ability to examine what each of us brings to the work of engaging

Jo Ann Morris, Co-founder, White Men as Full Diversity Partners

others across many differences. It can also open us to discovery and the possibility of true partnership.

In each Learning Lab that I have had the honor to facilitate, I see people share their experiences, values and beliefs and receive respect for being who they are. This is the basis of how we approach learning together and why the Labs are so often described as transformative.

It is also the bedrock of our hope and belief that full partnership across wide, seemingly unbridgeable differences, is not only necessary when we are surrounded by such strong polarization - but it is also possible.

If you're interested in adult education and how values and beliefs impact learning, here are two articles from The Leadership Action Centre and the NCSALL (National Center for the Study of Adult Learning & Literacy).

Register Soon - A few seats are still available

Just a few seats are available in our upcoming Learning Labs:

White Men and Allies

May 16-19: Three seats are available for the Lab at the Tubac Golf & Spa Resort, Tubac, Arizona
June 6-9: Two seats are available in the Lab at the Herrington Inn & Spa just 35 miles outside of Chicago

White Men's Caucus for Senior Leaders

June 20-23: Four seats are open in this Caucus designed for senior leaders and to be held at the Herrington Inn & Spa outside of Chicago

We're grateful for our clients' courageous actions and persistence in doing the work that creates diversity partnerships and makes inclusive organizations a reality. Let us know your story. Tell us about the courageous leadership occurring right now in your organization.