TMA World Viewpoint 36: How Equality And Diversity Training Can Shape The Borderless Workplace

How equality and diversity training
can shape the borderless workplace

2

How equality & diversity
training can shape the
borderless workplace
Yad yad acarati srestas…

If you’re sitting in my class and
these are the first words you hear
from me, what will you do?

Will it grab your attention?

Will you think you’re on the wrong
training programme or will it bring
upon a shy smile or discomfort?

© Transnational Management Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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How equality & diversity
training can shape the
borderless workplace
Well I’ve heard these plus other
more challenging responses from
my audience.

Of course, these words work well
on a diversity programme.

It’s diversity.
It’s an ice breaker.
It’s expected.


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And by now you’re
thinking this is another
rant on diversity.


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Before you leave the blog (and
for those who have
decided to stay, thank you)
allow me to share a few
thoughts on how diversity
training has changed and
needs to change to
facilitate our new work
environment or what we

refer to at TMA World,
a borderless workplace.


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For them I used to ask,
‘do you schedule meetings on
Friday lunchtime?’
What’s wrong with
I have noticed a big
change in the diversity
work I’ve delivered over
the last decade.


Friday lunch time?

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In 2003 my calendar was full,


delivering training on Religion


and Belief, an awareness of

What’s wrong with

faith in the workplace and

Friday lunch time?

believe it or not, sharing with
people that we all have
different reference points and
different religious or spiritual

practices was a surprise for
some.


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I observed that entering the
world of minority faiths


challenged the core of faith


itself. For others, though

What’s wrong with

Religion and Belief was
coming from an EU Directive

and with the fear of
discrimination and legal
battles, their corporate mind
didn’t perceive a natural
business case for looking at
Belief in the workplace.


Friday lunch time?

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In 2005, colleagues and I were
delivering a huge diversity
initiative at one of the world’s
leading pharmas.
This was generic diversity – we’re

all different.


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The question that I used to love
debating with my pharma audience
was ‘there’s a room full of white,
British, male scientists – do I have

diversity?’
Yes of course I do! I had age,

geography, education,
communication styles, interest,
hobbies and the list could
continue.


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I’m glad we conveyed a strong
message of diversity as real and

unique as every individual in the
workplace.
‘But we all get on, so why are we
here?’


12

I left them with hope that soon

their pharma site might just recruit
people different to them and that
they better keep notes from the

training close at hand.


13

But then, one of my
favourite areas of work was
cultural diversity.


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In 2006 and later in 2010, I was
involved with a massive oil
company who were delivering a
multi-million dollar off-shoring

programme in Bangalore.
It involved hundreds of project

managers, business analysts and
three Indian vendors, delivering
the software needs of the
companies trading arm.


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This was a fun project – working
with India is! However, the culture
gap was big.
The simplistic project manager
approach of taking a four-stage
project management process from
Chicago to Bangalore and
expecting the same results was at
best naive.


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Consideration for style, approaches
to leadership and decision making
had nothing to do with the
technical work of software
development, but it impacted what
was delivered and most

importantly for Chicago, when it
was delivered.


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I couldn’t help but

patronise a room full of
project managers by asking
them to reflect on two

questions.


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The first, ‘what is your job title?’
‘Project Manager!’
Now, what is your job title when
you’re working offshore with India?

‘Project Manager?’


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Well no! I thought I was going to
revolutionise the world of
offshoring when I told them ‘You’re

offshore project managers.’ I
didn’t.

But I did spend day on cultural
awareness in hope of filling that
‘offshore’ gap.


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So why is reflection on these
experiences necessary?
Are the approaches to diversity
I’ve shared no longer relevant or

did we get in wrong?


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Well, we didn’t get it wrong.
We responded to the need of the
time and it was a good business

fit.


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However, what’s happened, and
rapidly I might add, is that all of
the above has converged into a
daily reality for thousands of
employees around the world.
Rarely do I find a novice to crosscultural working.


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I think we’ve gone beyond
awareness and appreciating

diversity as a good thing.
The juncture we’ve now arrived at

is living diversity.


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And the more and more the

workplace continues to change,
the more we have to live this
diversity.
We have to make it happen on
every conference call, in every
email and through all of our
deliverables.
Diversity training now has to be

more personalised.


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We can do this by
developing two areas:
1. Cooperation
2. Communication


1. Cooperation

It’s more than just getting on.

It’s about peeling back all layers of
assumptions and perceptions and
working with the individual.

Let’s consider building relationships
and getting to know team
colleagues as an investment rather
than a luxury.


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1. Cooperation

This is not just about introductions
but about sharing insight on our
preferences, styles, working
patterns – even figuring out what
things bother us in working life.

We can take it deeper with
appreciating and recognizing the
unique contributions and talents
colleagues bring to the team.


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1. Cooperation

It’s about hitting the ground
running with trust.

Given most of us in the borderless
world don’t get to see each other
face to face, transcending an email address and diving deep into
cooperation is paramount for high
performance.


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2. Communication

One of John Maxwell’s recent
books has a great title and I think
it sums up the challenges of our
borderless life: ‘Many
communicate, very few connect.’

For those of us working remotely
and in virtual teams we know that
communication is a crucial thread
weaving through and holding the
team together.


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2. Communication

Connection is not just the phone
line or the internet connection.

It’s the shared understanding we
create between colleagues,
keeping us on the same page,
keeping roles well defined and
finding time to invest in all the
cooperation points shared above.


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2. Communication

When we consider the lack of nonverbal cues, communication asks
of us to appreciate the use of
language, accent, time zones and
appropriate technology.

As members of diverse teams we
just have to keep trying to
connect.


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To conclude, the borderless
workplace is upon us all.
We no longer have to worry about
intrusions and stepping on toes if
we’re going to live in this
borderless world.


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We’re going to naturally get close

to colleagues, have better
understanding of each other and
the reward of that will be reflected

in the reality of our diverse world.


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So back to my opening,

yad yad acarti.

This is Sanskrit and comes
from India’s spiritual text
called the Gita.

Let me leave you with
this:

“

Whatever action a leader
performs,
others emulate.

Whatever standards a leader
sets,
the world will pursue.


”

About Us

35

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Viewpoints
and articles

Publications

Written by Terence Brake, Director of Learning &
Innovation at TMA World.

Visit
www.tmaworld.com/insights

to discover the latest
thinking from our experts
on global, collaborative,
cross-cultural and virtual
working.

Our new Borderless Working e-book series


36

About Us
Visit
www.tmaworld.com/insights

to discover the latest
thinking from our experts
on global, collaborative,

Above all we’d like to hear from you
directly, so please don’t hesitate to send
any comments, questions or feedback
to us at: enquiries@tmaworld.com

cross-cultural and virtual
working.


Or visit our website:
www.tmaworld.com

TMA World Viewpoint 36: How Equality And Diversity Training Can Shape The Borderless Workplace

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