Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Skills Certification Overview –
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), at its core, is about thinking and communicating. DEI is about decision making and judgment and overcoming bias is the common challenge associated with both. This DEI Skills Certification Course is designed to increase the learner’s ability to recognize and to overcome bias that may be getting in the way of better outcomes from a personal and business perspective. Content in this course
- Raises awareness of the meaning of and the potential impact of bias; and,
- Offers the importance of and tools for improving critical thinking agility and communication capabilities (listening as well as verbal/non-verbal) as fundamental to minimizing undesired results of conscious and unconscious bias
- Encourages the use of journaling throughout the course to examine and reinforce learning
- Provides an opportunity to test what you have learned on DEI scenarios
- Allows a chance to prove mastery of course content through a final knowledge assessment
What will you gain from doing this DEI Skills Certification Course?
Your life, your fortune, and your future are the sum of the decisions you make. This DEI Skills Certification program is designed with the goal of strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion and decision making and judgment capabilities in order to increase the potential for stronger outcomes from a business and personal perspective.
Module 1: Focus on Bias –
We are surrounded by an overwhelming amount of information and stimuli that is literally impossible for our minds to process. Therefore, our brains create and store these bits of data or knowledge into easily accessible categories. These storage areas or reservoirs in the brain are defined as conscious and unconscious. The need for quick access to the bits of data gives rise to bias or prejudgments that make it easier for us to make decisions. So, bias is normal for all of us. Bias makes decisions quick, but the decision making process may be lazy, and the decisions may be inaccurate. What we must remember is, once stored in the brain, using the data to make decisions without fact checking, seeking updates, and with diminished environmental and personal conditions leads to circumstances where our decisions making, and judgment:
- May not be at best levels,
- May be wrong, and/or
- May Affect our behavior in an inaccurate way regarding ourselves, other people, groups, places, and/or things.
We can get better. This module contains more information about how.
Module 2: Focus on Thinking Agility –
This module is about the benefits of voluntarily choosing to learn how to see our actions through the eyes of others by learning to spot and examine assumptions that underly our and others’ ideas and actions. Researchers have proposed that increasing critical thinking agility allows us to improve control over our choices, judgments, and decisions rather than giving that control to others. Using critical thinking to deal with problems faced in life isn’t generally taught in school. Yet, according to research, critical thinking is imperative to sustaining democracy and economic viability. And, as an adult, strong critical thinking skills certainly aid in our ability to demonstrate higher levels of maturity and to demonstrating stronger DEI capabilities.
In this module, information and aids are provided that, if learned and applied, may help to improve critical thinking skills.
Module 3: Focus on Listening
The objectives for this module include defining, identifying and applying key components of effective interpersonal communication skills with emphasis on discovering how mental “filters” or biases get in the way of our willingness and ability to understand others from within their frame-of-reference. Accordingly, the content of this module is focused on active listening and learning the art of asking the right questions. These concepts are important to building effective relationships to get optimal results. On the journey to getting better results, we have to get better at decision making and judgement not only about resources but about relationships. If we are to have better relationships, then we potentially need to get better at communicating. To get better at communicating, we potentially need to get better at listening and learning to ask the right questions in the right ways.
Module 4: Focus on Dialogue
The content in this module is focused on learning to identify, examine, reflect upon, and to consciously adjust our communication approach and behaviors using either debate or dialogue. These choices make a difference when the stakes of the communication process are high and the relationships are needed and valued. These choices are also fundamental when it comes to demonstrating strong DEI capabilities. Awareness of our communication behaviors allows us to make better choices and to demonstrate better decision making and judgment skills especially as we engage in difficult conversations. When we are successful at communicating, connecting with one another, and achieving a meeting of the minds, we will get better at co-creating outcomes that matter.
Module 5: Scenario Exercises
Content from modules 1, 2, 3, and 4 must be used to solve the problems in the DEI scenarios in this module.
Module 6: Knowledge Assessment
This module contains a final assessment for the course. The final assessment covers content from Modules 1, 2, 3, and 4.
