Diversity training with a focus on creating awareness of unconscious bias, is really about unlocking participants’ potential to expand their understanding of their own and others psychological makeup. Uncovering the impact of unconscious bias will certainly be interesting, but it can also be challenging and threatening.
Emotional Intelligence Unlocks Greater Possibilities
As with any learning or growth demanding situation, which requires individuals to see and accept uncomfortable “truths”, a high level of emotional maturity is beneficial. Emotional maturity, a component of emotional intelligence, enables acceptance by each person that they need to take personal ownership and change.
Attaining emotional maturity and intelligence propels us to self-regulate and sustains subsequent behavioural adjustment.
Diversity training therefore highlights the importance of building emotional intelligence within oneself, as complimentary to one’s general intelligence or IQ.
Emotional intelligence isone of the most powerful tools for attaining success in our lives, careers and relationships.It touches on the perspective that without reaching higher levels of emotional intelligence, we cannot become more self and socially aware. Emotional intelligence is the crucible that allows for better self and relationship management.
Emotional Intelligence Generates Wisdom
To really get value from unconscious bias training, participants will not only need to intellectually engage with the content, but most importantly emotionally connect with what is being shared as valid and important.
At the end of Diversity training, particularly on unconscious bias, it is to be hoped that participants are highly motivated. This is necessary to make the real effort and even struggle required to change what is deeply ingrained. Consistent focus, persistence and determination are key ingredients in taking on and overcoming this formidable battle.
Confronted with the facts of unconscious bias during Diversity training, we strengthen our ability to recognize an emotion as it “happens” which is a big part of self-awareness.
We become more “tuned in” to our true feelings, allowing for better evaluation and conscious management. We begin to recognize how we stereotype and make snap judgements that might be entirely inaccurate and baseless. We begin to self-check more frequently. We begin to recast situations and people based on current interactions. We are less impulsive. We become more attuned to signs of trustworthiness, integrity and honesty. Our standard repertoire expands to include more adaptability and flexibility.
With high levels of emotional intelligence,we are more inclined to take set-backs in our stride and be realistic. This leads to a stronger overall achievement drive and positivity as we move towards our own standards of excellence. With emotional intelligence we will always be on the lookout for improvement opportunities.
The empathy of the emotionally intelligent person goes beyond understanding and discerning the feelings, needs and wants of others. Better at reading emotional currents and power dynamics we become more skilful in the service of others and more importantly what is “good” and “right”. Through EQ we are simply better connected to ourselves and aim for a new trajectory in the future. We begin to march to the beat of our own drum aligned to meaningful endeavours.