Building Inclusive and Thriving Teams
The most productive work environments make space for everyone to contribute and for those unique contributions to be recognized as valuable. Research shows the importance of diversity to resilient, long-lived systems. Do you acknowledge the importance of diversity and work to create an atmosphere of respect and belonging for all your employees?
In this unit, managers will explore how they can take steps to foster diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in their workplaces. We know we cannot cover every aspect of this important topic here, but we hope this can be a starting point for managers as they build inclusive workplaces. Learn techniques for engaging in meaningful and productive conversations, identifying and addressing bias, and serving as an ally.
Learning Outcomes
- Discuss the impact of diversity, inclusion, and belonging on employee experience and unit/organizational goals.
- Learn techniques to create an environment in which all employees feel a sense of inclusion and belonging.
- Analyze how our unconscious biases influence our interactions with others and how to counter them.
- Develop skills to conduct meaningful conversations on potentially polarizing topics such as race, religion, gender, and cultural differences.
- Identify ways to encourage employees to be allies for one another.
1. Prepare by watching online learning pathway
For Managers: Building Inclusive and Thriving Teams LinkedIn Learning Pathway
- 1 hours, 45 minutes total; schedule time for this on your calendar now!
2. Attend a session to discuss ideas in more depth
JEDI Learning session
Thursday, March 30, 3-5 p.m., Education 123
Co-facilitated by the Director of Inclusive Excellence for Student Success and the Director of Equity, Empowerment, and Prevention, participants go beyond the buzzwords and discuss diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and anti-racism. The three forms of Microaggressions are defined, and participants will hear how peers are affected by these forms of identity-based violence. With the understanding that most participants are both offenders and targets of microaggressions, this learning session will suggest Ally action steps and provide resources for support.
3. Apply something you've learned
After the learning session, each participant will be asked to work on implementing something from the unit. You will also have a chance to discuss your plans with other cohort members to learn how they will apply the concepts from this unit, seek or share advice, and provide informal peer mentoring support.
Implement one of these suggestions for applying your online learning to your management work--or create your own application!
- Recommended: Review UM’s updated Diversity Plan and implement some suggested actions in your unit.
- All UM employees should take the Indian Education for All course in Moodle. Hold a discussion with your team about what you’ve learned through that course.
- Find a resource on Mansfield Library’s Resources Against Racism webpage that your team can read and discuss together afterward.
- Review the University’s accessibility website and UM's Reasonable Accommodation Procedure and encourage your employees to attend an electronic accessibility training.
- Have the members of your team completed UM Allies training? If not, sign up together for a session.
- Be prepared to interrupt bias or micro-aggressions by planning and practicing ways to respond.