Opinion: A willingness to change nurtured new relationships
The
Building Cultural Competence program provided by the Cincinnati USA
Regional Chamber was a life-changing experience for me. As a diversity
and inclusion professional and leader, working in this space is not only
my profession, it is also something that I feel I consciously live
every day.
Entering this cohort, I
had no preconceived notions. I truly was excited about seeing what this
had to offer or teach me about myself, others and globally as it related
to my personal cultural competence. Needless to say, I was amazed at
how this class revealed new opportunities for personal and professional
growth each week.
In addition, I learned about my
fellow classmates’ growth opportunities very transparently. Seeing the
level of vulnerability, honesty and willingness to change that was
exuded during our sessions, helped us to nurture and develop new,
life-long relationships that would have not otherwise been established.
To
that end, I’ve personally committed to take what I’ve learned about
myself and others and apply it every interaction that I have with
intention. With the goal being to pause to ensure that I am not taking
for granted the fact that I work in this space daily and could be
potentially be making unreasonable assumptions that aren’t as inclusive
as they should be. I will also be encouraging others to take this
journey to hopefully create the same or a better experience for them.
Comments
Post a Comment