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So far Sanchez / Tennis has created 36 blog entries.
9 03, 2012

Leading Diversity Discussions with Young People

By |2012-03-09T20:57:24-07:00March 9th, 2012|Tags: , , , , |

Our schools and community groups are routinely faced with the challenge of leading youth in discussions of diversity and discrimination.  Many approach these topics with a focus on what is wrong  and how discrimination permeates our society.  While I think that we shouldn’t shy away from age-appropriate discussions of these problems,  I believe that we can have a greater impact by spending the majority of our effort in facilitating children to be eager for relationships across difference.

One of the best ways is to lead with an element of positive experience with diversity. In this way, we can reinforce the idea that each of them already knows how to succeed in interacting with difference. A classic appreciative inquiry approach ise to have them split into pairs to answer the question “Tell me about a time when you got to know and became friends with someone who was different from you. How did it happen? What did you do, what did they do that helped create the friendship? What good things came from your friendship?”

From this initial conversation, we can draw out key lessons, and then build on them toward larger topics. For instance, we might follow with asking them about a time when they felt excluded or devalued, and what they would like to have happened differently, building on the group discoveries on positive relationships across difference.

At this point, they will be ready for application of these insights to whatever diversity topic is up in the community, race, culture, gender, religion, socioeconomics, etc. They can connect their personal experiences to the experiences of others, suggesting ways in which they could make others feel included, valued, and extend friendship. We can even lead them to make commitments on how they will make a special effort to be great new friends to others who seem different.

In the long run, our aim should be to create a society where friendships across difference are the foundation of a culture of mutual respect and support.  For me, working with children in laying that foundation should come first, then we can help them deconstruct the    problems of discrimination and ill-treatment in the larger community.

9 03, 2012

How Do We Move Beyond Stereotypes?

By |2012-03-09T20:36:58-07:00March 9th, 2012|

All humans inherit stereotypes from our families, friends, teachers, media and more. We absorb them from a very early age, when we are utterly permeable,. and then they are reinforced by continuing messages from those around us. Getting rid of stereotypes can be the work of a lifetime, although the single fastest way to break through these oversimplified, dogmatic beliefs about a group of people is to live in the midst of them, so that we garner a wide range of friends and acquaintances that utterly belie the idea that “they” are all the same in some way. We are, after all, most susceptible to stereotyping about people we have little or no authentic personal experience with.

A simple popular model, which engages individuals on specific instances of stereotypical thinking, is below. The real work is in recognizing and owning to ourselves when stereotypes turn up in our thinking, then examining those thoughts/ideas, considering where in our environment and history they came from and how they affect our interactions and attitudes toward others. Having established that our initial reaction was a stereotype, we can then work see the actual individual(s) in front of us, without the judgements in the stereotype, and proactively discover how we can interact with them authentically for a positive outcome. Over time, we can largely extinguish the stereotype that is stuck in our mind, with enough opportunities for dealing with real people. We may never be perfect, but we can get better and better over time.

Moving Past Stereotypes – A Six Step Approach

1. Acknowledge that stereotypes exist.

2. Identify any stereotypes that you’ve internalized; recognize stereotypical thoughts.

3. Pause and take a second look.

4. Suspend pre-judgment; describe the behavior.

5. Be curious, learn more about the individual or group.

6. Choose behavior that enhances relationships.

9 03, 2012

Observers believe that those who don’t act to stop bullying and discrimination support that behavior.

By |2017-01-11T21:14:23-07:00March 9th, 2012|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Observers believe that those who don’t act to stop bullying and discrimination support that behavior. From the point of view of the victim, particularly, inaction is interpreted as agreement. Otherwise, any decent person would intervene, they say.

Do bullies also  believe that passivity on the part of observers denotes acceptance or approval of their behavior?  That is exactly what we found over and over in industries (e.g., oil, chemicals, manufacturing, +) where women were entering “non-traditional” jobs and received intense bullying, hazing and disrespect from a few men. The other, observing but not interceding, men were often horrified to learn that they were tarred with the same brush– that the women believed that they were fully in support of the ugly behavior. Once that conversation was opened up, the rules of engagement rapidly changed. The observers now stood to be personally blamed for what they allowed to go down.

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9 03, 2012

Getting Started: Bridging Generation Gaps

By |2012-03-09T20:03:26-07:00March 9th, 2012|

There are often very real disconnects across generations in the workplace.  People don’t see the mission the same way, they have radically different approaches to doing the work, they don’t even know how to speak to each other in ways that communicate respect to the other.  It’s not going away, and ignoring these differences is potentially a recipe for misalignment, disengagement, and outright conflict.  So, what to do?

I believe we do best when we take the time to directly discuss our similarities, differences and desires. We naturally fall into parochial mindsets that lead us to believe that everyone else experiences the world the way that we do. When we learn otherwise, it’s an “aha” moment that can lead to very productive conversations, cross-coaching, and deepened relationships.

An exercise to bridge the gaps can be as simple as having people separate by generation and answer, then report out on, questions like “What are the special skills and perspectives that my group brings to the workplace? How can others best draw out the gifts of my group? What I’d love people to do to best engage me or my group at work is… What we know about or see in the workplace that could help others includes…” Of course, each of these can be standalone icebreaker questions. The real key is facilitating a healthy discussion of the answers–giving time and really helping people listen, learn, and deepen relationships. There is enormous potential for multigenerational synergy. It’s a tragedy to waste it.

9 03, 2012

Rising to the Expectations of Gen X & Y Employees

By |2012-03-09T19:47:58-07:00March 9th, 2012|

 I believe that Gen X and Gen Y employees challenge us to raise our game. They have higher standards for management and expect their supervisors and the organization to earn their loyalty through professionalism and human-scale flexibility. If we can do this, we receive enthusiasm, intense attention, innovative contribution, and yes, loyalty. Think what we might have gotten out of their predecessors if our organizations had been more inviting. 

The fondly-held image of us boomers as the paragons of commitment, concentration, and contribution have their exemplars, but that story doesn’t begin to encompass the millions of cynical, bruised, angry and resistant boomers who’ve been treated like expendable resources by U.S. business and industry. They are proof, to me, that expecting employees to “be good soldiers” like the Traditionals and Boomers of old is a self-defeating strategy. 

Of course, the best alternative is a well-integrated, multigenerational workforce that continuously learns from its wealth of different experiences and perspectives. Lacking that, I personally would rather have the opportunity to meet the challenges of working with younger employees who demand some stretch in my style — this old dog might still learn some new tricks.

28 02, 2012

Leading Multicultural Teams: Authenticity+ Permeability+ Contingency+ Consistency

By |2017-01-13T11:27:51-07:00February 28th, 2012|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I recently came across a question in LinkedIn about leaders adjusting their style to work with different cultures.  What is raised for me is the dilemma of authenticity + permeability + contingency + consistency. As our teams grow increasingly diverse, we are all challenged to find a way of colleagueship and leadership that is open to other ways of seeing the world, approaching problems, and formulating solutions. At the same time, we also need to be true to ourselves and the strengths we bring to the party. This argues for an openness to growing through our daily interactions, generally through an action/reflection learning cycle where we are openly engaged in considering how we manifest our own cultural set and exploring with others their alternative values and approaches. If we engage in this collaborative exploration with our colleagues, we can move toward greater understanding of each other’s styles, as well as how we each can draw on the other’s strengths and perspectives for team and organizational success.

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26 11, 2011

2012 Will Be a Big Year for the Pachamama Alliance

By |2017-01-13T11:28:01-07:00November 26th, 2011|Tags: , , , , , , |

Many of you know that Anita and I are deeply involved in supporting the efforts of the Pachamama Alliance around the world. Here’s a short glimpse of the extraordinary work of the Alliance in the past year and the truly exciting plans for the coming year. If you’d like to know the what/why/who/where of our “second life”, take a moment to watch these excerpts from the annual luncheon broadcast last week. We’re also leading a Pachamama trip to the Achuar territory deep in the roadless Amazon rainforests of Ecuador this June. Would you like to join us in a life-changing experience? less

Our 2011 Annual Luncheon Fundraiserpachamama.orgBring Forth a Thriving, Just, and Sustainable World.   Thousands of people around the world joined us in person and live online for this year’s Luncheon, investing their time, love, and money to answer a call from the rainforest and its indigenous guardians.

Our Mission

To empower indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest to preserve their lands and culture

and, using insights gained
from that work,

to educate and inspire individuals everywhere to bring forth a thriving, just and sustainable world.

.

23 03, 2011

Extraordinary free environmental sustainability and social justice program

By |2017-01-13T11:28:09-07:00March 23rd, 2011|Tags: , , , , , , , |

In 2009 and 2010, an exquisitely crafted program on sustainability and social justice was presented at the Academy of Management.  I’ve just found out that it is available, free, for downloading and presentation.  Since I heard from many faculty that they had conflicts with attending the programs, and/or attending the trainings in their area, this is good news.  I can tell you, there has been quite a debate about turning this loose in this manner, but the creators at the NGO, the Pachamama Alliance, have decided that the urgency of the global crisis demands that they give it out, without insisting on pre-training, and rely on the innate integrity of the design to carry the day.

This program has been presented to more than 200,000 people in 52 countries worldwide, and has 3000+ trained facilitators.  It contains a wealth of exercises, information, and 85 minutes of beautiful and powerful video.  It’s being used in universities, companies, governments and NGO’s around the world.  It is not political, nor religious, and contains no orthodoxy, prescriptions, or enrollment.  It does report on and draw on the finest minds, from Paul Hawken to Bishop Tutu, from Hunter Lovins to Brian Swimme, from Julia Butterfly Hill to Van Jones and Robert Reich.  It is sobering and inspiring, thought-provoking and motivating and community-building.  All that and more.

Here is the link to the front page, where the short video gives you a taste of this delicious program.  www.AwakeningtheDreamer.org 

After you’ve seen the trailer, I think you’ll want to know more about how to either attend a Symposium or how you can access the materials.  This link will take you to the downloadable material.  http://awakeningthedreamer.org/get-involved/presenters-kit/

Here is all that I ask of my colleagues:  that you use this material with high integrity, seriously considering bringing the entire program into your classes or community groups, so that the real power of the experience comes to bear.      In addition, if you are willing, I would very much appreciate hearing from you if you download the material and how you are using it, so that I can bring that information back to the larger volunteer community.

I’m eager to support you with this.  Contact me with any questions!

Kit Tennis
Kit@SanchezTennisAssociates.com
+1-303-449-5921

12 03, 2011

Why I Fear Fear-Mongering About Muslims

By |2017-01-13T11:28:19-07:00March 12th, 2011|Tags: , , , , |

My cousin recently forwarded me a really nasty piece of business fomenting fear about a radical Muslim takeover of America, where women will be treated as they are by the sickest of the Taliban, as the law of the land.  My first reaction was sheer disgust and anger.  Knowing that I had something to learn here, I walked away from it for a bit, then sat down and looked at my cousin’s fearful reaction AND my desire to lash out.

We’re most susceptible to fear and nasty stereotyping when we know very little about the people in question. In this case, we simply don’t know enough regular, peace-loving Muslims to see that they make up at least as big a majority of their population as peaceful folks do in ours. I think that extreme radicals are definitely scary.  For instance, I firmly believe that the bombing in Oklahoma City demonstrated that the U.S. could be bombed. Without that, I would argue that it would have been many more years before outsiders would have felt confident that they could successfully attack the U.S.  We were undone by radical Christians who showed others what could be done.

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16 10, 2009

People are our most important assets?

By |2017-01-13T11:28:28-07:00October 16th, 2009|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I’ve been following a discussion about the miserable treatment of “our most important assets” in most organizations today.  Some argue HR isn’t doing its job, others blame execs.

The question of whether HR should step up its game or executives should lead really raises the point that they should be a team. Yes, I’d like to see HR stand for the vision of employees as appreciating assets. And, I’d like to see executive leaders hire and champion HR leaders who challenge them and articulate a powerful vision of developing and retaining vital employee contribution.

Unfortunately, I’m seeing CEO’s and COO’s hiring HR chiefs for their subservience, their acquiesence, their grooming of executive egos, and their ruthless willingness to sacrifice any employee, and their own HR staff, in order to please the boss and advance their career. Since HR professionals from inside the company are more likely to stand up for employees, executives seem to be hiring HR carpetbaggers who sweep in, make big noise about cleaning up, and sweep off to the next post when their short-term strategies begin to fail.

I think we need a series of changes:
in the presentation of HR philosophy, practice and value in our business schools, especially at the MBA level;
in focusing the business press on the great stories of sustained appreciation of human assets and the payoffs for the bottom line;
in the lecture circuit of management and leadership gurus to include voices that actually have managed for development of the best in employees and the best for employees; and
in the selection of corporate board members for their commitment to the long-term success of the business and the employees, rather than for self-promotion and short-term gains.

I was a Personnel Director once in the dark past, and I argued to change the name to Human Resources to encourage valuing people as “our most important asset”. I’ve been enormously chastened by the seeming result that employees are seen similarly to natural resources– extract what you can and dump them in a ravine. Even so, I still hold out hope that, as we discover in so many ways that our heedless consumption of essential natural  resources is coming back to haunt us, we can make real progress toward valuing the genius and the effort of our producers at least as much as what they produce.