If You Are Serious About DE&I, Do This

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. An important initiative that many organizations are focused on and are offering training and education on how to achieve a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture. But formal practices and policies are only part of the solution, to be the most effective we have to change individual behavior as well. The principles of emotional intelligence run directly in support of advancing DE&I and if you are serious about it, take the EQi assessment , published by MHS . This online tool, along with a one hour coaching session, offers insights into several skills that enable self and social awareness that leads to better understanding and tolerance.

Someone who takes this assessment receives an overall emotional intelligence score, as well as scores in 15 individual skills. Here are a few that support DE&I the most:

Emotional Self-Awareness: Recognizing and understanding one’s own emotions. This includes the ability to differentiate between subtleties in one’s own emotions while understanding the cause of these emotions and the impact they have on one’s own thoughts and actions and those of others.?

In practice, someone with high emotional self-awareness is more in tune with themselves. They are more self-reflective and can identify their own biases. They take ownership and accountability for their thoughts and reactions and can recognize how their emotions affect how they respond to others. Someone with higher self-awareness can also catch themselves if they have been caught up in group think, allowing them an opportunity to add a different or diverse viewpoint from the mainstream. ???

Empathy: Recognizing, understanding, and appreciating how other people feel. Empathy involves being able to articulate your understanding of another’s perspective and behaving in a way that respects others’ feelings.? ?

Empathy is a critical skill needed when attempting to create a level playing field in which people feel equally supported and heard. Someone with high empathy makes it safe for others to share differing thoughts and ideas. They seek to understand the world through the eyes of someone else, even if they have not had the same experience themselves. Empathy is what allows us to appreciate different viewpoints, even when (or especially when) we don’t agree with them.

Social Responsibility: Willingly contributing to society, to one’s social groups, and generally to the welfare of others. Social responsibility involves acting responsibly, having social consciousness, and showing concern for the greater community.?

This skill runs against any instincts to be selfish. It considers what is beneficial to the many, not just the few. It requires a realization that one person’s action can have great impact on others and that we are all part of a larger system that may require complex solutions. This is team thinking which is at the heart of inclusion vs individualism which seeds separatism. ?

Impulse Control: the ability to resist or delay an impulse, drive or temptation to act and involves avoiding rash behaviors and decision making.? ?

This skill provides the ability to think before speaking, increasing the odds that a dissenting opinion is said with tact. Someone with impulse control can consider multiple options before taking action. They consider consequences of their decisions. They don’t jump to conclusions about others and are patient with explanations. Balanced impulse control combined with assertiveness also helps someone speak up when they need to, instead of staying quiet or going along to get along.

In addition to these four skills, emotional intelligence also increases stress tolerance and flexibility, two more vital traits for managing through dynamic environments. Self-regard helps us to remain confident even after a setback, keeping us from sinking to a victim mindset.

Overall EQ helps us remember to not to take ourselves so seriously and be more self-deprecating. My EQ helps me understand that someone might not like my idea simply because it is not a good idea or I haven’t presented it well, not because they are overtly denying me inclusion. Having emotional intelligence results in not being easily offended or taking everything so personally.

If an organization is doing DE&I correctly, there will be more conflict. As people from all perspectives feel accepted and included, differences of opinion should be more common. By providing emotional intelligence development, you give people the tools they need to face uncomfortable conversations and address things they deem to be triggering before they escalate. In short, emotional intelligence supports the critical resiliency and coping skills we all badly need if we have any hope of realizing the benefits of true diversity, equity and inclusion.

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Jen Shirkani has been a certified provider of the EQi 2.0 published by MHS for 20 years. Having processed thousands of assessments she has seen first-hand the value emotional intelligence brings to the workplace. Learn more at www.penumbra.com .

?Multi Health Systems, All Rights Reserved