I remember the first course I took from Coursera. “ Inclusive Leadership: The Power of Workplace Diversity”. Diversity and inclusion have been hot topics…big ones actually ….and this course had made me think about even the small thing that we do each day.
Seek to understand the impact of your emotions and actions on others. Ask for feedback, and receive it with grace. Act upon feedback to improve yourself. Accept yourself as you are, even as you continue to work on self-improvement. Have empathy for yourself. If anyone tells you in person that you weren’t saying the right thing during discussion or you weren’t considering some people's opinion or you gave someone more importance compared to others, never try to defend your side on the face. Thank them for their feedback, tell them you are sorry to make them feel this way. Tell them you will look into it. Then take time and think. What u did wrong? Why is he/she feeling that way? Were that one of your inherited behavior?. Try to fit in their shoes. Try to understand.
Being a leader is a dynamic process. If you don't know how to handle some issue or what to do next, you can ask. You can always ask.” Leader” doesn’t implicitly mean a person who knows everything. You can ask for ideas from people in the group. Ask them what they expect you to do. You have to understand each person is different. You cannot analyze everyone according to one single criterion.
Microaggressions matter. Monitor how you talk to yourself about yourself. To decide whether and how to respond to a microaggression, use communication skills such as active listening and intrapersonal communication. Understand the power of positive micro-messages. These are much more than just some words. The course has wholesome content to put thoughts on.
Thanks to Brenda J.Allen for making such a course and for breaking down each small thing of the importance of being inclusive and for showing leadership is a dynamic process.
