Creating Safe Spaces for Tough Conversations at Work
By External Provider
About this course
Tough conversations are exactly that: tough. They might involve topics that include heated opinions, arguments, or even biases. But having these conversations doesn't have to be negative, and can instead be a great way to improve your company culture. Join Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Expert Sterling de Sutter Summerville as he discusses how you can allow space to have challenging conversations within your team or organization. Sterling first reviews his tips for creating an environment that has built-in safety for all employees, then builds on this to review the elements of environments that strive for inclusion. With this foundation in place, Sterling then dives into the why conversations like this can get so heated, and what you can do during one of these conversations to maintain a safe space for all parties to express themselves. Finally, Sterling covers concepts that support safe spaces, including company culture, a sense of trust, and collective buy-in. After finishing this course, you'll be able to engage more meaningfully with those around you and help others do the same.
What you will learn
- Identify what makes a space psychologically safe and design a plan to build one at your workplace.
- Recognize systems of injustice, microaggressions, and cultural norms that block safe space creation.
- Apply leadership, policy, and accountability strategies to sustain inclusive environments long-term.