Debunking Diversity

Pic credit

I am happy to announce I've added a new topic to my list of keynotes, conference break-outs and 1/2 day onsite seminars.  It's entitled - Debunking Diversity! 

I have needed to add this to my portfolio for a long time, but have resisted because I didn't want to do just any traditional diversity offering.

I decided to add it because I believe many offerings around this subject do take a traditional approach and in doing so minimize the impact desired.  I think sometimes approach matters, particularly with a popular and somewhat difficult topic and we certainly don't want attendees or employees saying again, "Oh no - not that topic!"  I hate when "training" is seen as torture and many times it is.

So what's the traditional approach you ask? Traditional in my view is when diversity is approached primarily through the lens of race and ethnicity and here's the irony -- reducing the view of diversity through this minimal criteria makes it -- well -- less diverse!

My view and experience with diversity is shaped growing up bi-racial. And so, it is my goal to make the understanding of diversity more diverse and in doing so, I believe people will begin to see they are way more accepting and more like those they otherwise would think they have little in common with. The topic/delivery is mind opening, heart opening, fun and entertaining.

Here's the elements covered - it includes 6 key areas:

• Diversity defined - a broader view
• The genesis of diversity - (a clue) it begins at birth
• The evolution of diversity in family conditioning
• The Story of Bias - how life experience shapes our individual customized bias and preferences in terms of how we view and interpret our everyday interaction with ourselves and others; also what it tells us about ourselves
• Diversity debunked - is so much broader and dimensional than the way it’s expressed and we are much more inclusive than we think!
• Diversity and inclusion the key to collective success

By the way, if you're looking for a fresh alternative to a traditional team building workshop -- this would be a great one! Also, like my creativity topic, it's a great topic addition to any conference type.

To chat about how this might fit into your conference offerings or onsite learning strategy for team development - feel free to connect here: joann@thehumansphere.com

For a full list of offerings - click here

The Best Topics For Your Next Event

Need help in eliminating the preverbal topic dilemma? Read on...

I have spent many years in the "event" industry.  How you ask?  Initially as an event coordinator. My largest was a 5,000 person event at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. I've also helped my sister cater events when she owned her restaurant, and I've sang at many a wedding...do those count?

The majority of my experience in the event industry has been as "the speaker" -- either as a keynoter, break-out presenter or on-site trainer / company event.

In the work that I do, I have several types of clients that typcially come in the following forms:
a. HR professionals or company leaders who book me to do onsite seminars or speak at their company event.
b. Meeting planners who are filling a conference agenda for a client / event.
c. Speaker bureau representatives
d. Event planning boards -- a group of colleagues designated to plan an event and select speakers.

Here's what I know -- no matter who is on that list, everyone has a lot on their plate -- a lot goes into planning any event. Additionally all, I believe, are conscientious about spending either their company's money or their client's.

I also know that in the initial planning (and here is where a lot of anguish and stress resides) it is not uncommon for this question to be posed, "Who should we book and what topics should we consider."  Planners and attendees want a great event experience with as much value as possible.  Speakers and topics have a lot to do with that. (Nothing is worse than going to a conference and having a bad speaker and/or not so relevant topic.)

So the purpose of this post is to offer some advice and resources regarding topics. If a planner is considering anything related to professional development, one of the best approaches for sourcing topics is considering business trends and how they impact workforce readiness.  Included in workforce readiness is what skills are needed for the success of a company and the career success of each employee.

I've had the privilege of attending the Chief Learning Officers breakfast in Atlanta for the past 2 years and have heard much discussion on trends and needs from a company's perspective. One of the sponsors -- the University of Phoenix provides ongoing research regarding relevant skill needs now and into the future.  I suggest that when considering topics, this is a great resource for choosing relevant content.

Here is a link to the executive summary provided at one of the events -- a study entitled Future Work Skills - 2020 Executive Summary. Enlarge the picture above and you'll get a what I consider to be a skills map.  Using this resource will help in the following ways:
> help in sourcing speakers with specialties in suggested areas
> help you feel more confident that you're making the best value choice
> help in making a credible case to other key decision-makers.

Another good trends resource is the Herman Trends Report - to which you can subscribe. Here is the website.  click here

Both of these resources provided above are bias free as it relates to meeting planning and can be of considerable value in your planning toolkit.
________________________________________________________________________________
JoAnn Corley is the Founder, CEO of The Human Sphere, a holistic talent management consultancy, which help individuals and companies increase revenue via best hire - best fit, and relevant skill development. She also speaks throughout North America and is a content contributor to various media outlets. She was recently named to the top 100 Most Social HR experts - Huffington Post.

To explore booking JoAnn for your next event or employee training initiative - click here for topic considerations | Twitter: @joanncorley |  Facebook  |  Google+  |  LinkedIn