This month we welcome guest blogger Tony Bennett. Tony is an international speaker, coach, facilitator, seminar leader, published author and an expert in training and staff development.

Moving Down the Road Less Traveled

Well, we did it. We elected our first black American to the highest office in the land. And many people didn’t think it could be done. Regardless of your party affiliation, you could really feel the air around election time energized with “cha, cha, cha change…” As a nation, irrespective of party, nearly everyone I spoke with unanimously said enough is enough and it was time for a change.
 
We’ve once again proven that we are ready to embrace the “melting pot” diversity our country was founded upon. Our new President-Elect, Barack Obama will do much to pave the way for more diversity and respect among many segments of our nation and the world, in business and our personal lives.

As an expert in helping individuals and organizations deal with improving effectiveness and change in a positive and diversity-inclusive manner, I was pleased to see President-Elect Obama remain poised and respectful during the bulk of the mud-slinging political contest.
 
I was also pleasantly surprised to see the avalanche of electoral votes in favor of a president who broke the long-standing mold. As a middle-aged white male, who has much in common with our new president, I can relate to being raised by prominent females in my life, namely my grandma, sister and mother, (two of the former having passed). Having never known my father, I understand what it’s like not to have a significant father figure or a traditional “nuclear family.”  Although at times I would have preferred just that. Also, for those of you who had the “Leave it to Beaver” upbringing, that is a wonderful experience to be cherished.
 
Having a diverse spiritual background, from being three-quarters Italian, one-fourth Jew raised in a Christian household to exploring different faiths, becoming a Muslim, exploring Buddhism and eventually leaving organized religion altogether for a more spiritual-based philosophy of life, I have come to appreciate the example each one of us can be within our families, communities, organizations, nation and world at large.
 
The USA continues to be a pioneer in moving the world towards accepting that diversity IS an advantage. Have we traveled far enough down the road to sound the trumpets that we’ve “made it?” No. Each of us has our work cut out for us to embrace diversity and respectful workplace behaviors and not just “tolerate” each other. When was the last time you received a verbal or non-verbal thank you when you held the door for someone or let someone in front you in traffic?
 
We need to come to a better understanding and respect each other’s opinions too, not just “tolerate political correctness.” How can the make-up of our nation, individuals and organizations alike, create workplaces respectful of diverse opinions, backgrounds, ethnicities, challenge the status quo, strengthen the bonds of working relationships to achieve common goals? We can start by embracing more diversity and respect in the workplace by treating each other as humans and not another cog in an EEO classification. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear someone say, 20 years down the road, “I can’t believe we actually NEEDED an organization that enforced diversity-inclusion in the workplace.”
 
Tony Bennett is Partner of EdgeOhio’s Columbus, OH office and Managing Partner of Make It Happen Through People, LLC, also based in Columbus, Ohio. Tony and his partners are experts in individual and organizational effectiveness, specializing in organizational culture, leadership, team performance, personal performance, coaching, employee engagement, customer service, managing change and diversity & inclusion training.

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Tags: diversity training, respect in the workplace, tony bennett, workplace culture