Use Your Difference to Make a Difference

How to Connect and Communicate in a Cross-Cultural World

Wiley, 2019

15 min read

8 take-aways

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What's inside?

Become a better diversity and inclusion leader by learning to connect across differences.

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Visionary
Inspiring

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Business leaders increasingly are appreciating the value of diversity to innovation, decision-making and bottom lines. Alas, cultural programming still gets in the way, even for well-intentioned leaders. Diversity consultant and brand strategist Tayo Rockson offers an inspiring set of tools to help leaders demolish internal and cultural barriers to change. Not for the fainthearted, Rockson pushes readers to confront their personal biases, act against injustice and reach across cultural divides. His brief read is packed with skills and authentic vision.

Summary

Learning to connect across differences will enhance your leadership of diverse organizations and help you contribute to a better world.

Every human being longs for connection. When people who hail from diverse backgrounds and who hold differing beliefs and perspectives find ways to connect, they can transform the world with empathy, accountability and compassion. Alas, binary thinking, fear and intolerance often exacerbate societal divisions.

Today, humanity’s advancement requires people to go beyond being bystanders and embrace difference with courage. Rather than try to erase difference, people should celebrate it as a means to arrive at new shared understandings and expand perspectives. When you learn to connect across difference, you become a better leader; you are able to establish inclusive environments where people feel safe bringing their full selves. People who develop skills in connecting across cultures can change the world. To learn to connect, you’ll need to educate yourself about your own biases and about the world around you. Connecting with people across differences requires that you refuse to perpetuate oppression and that you make a choice to communicate...

About the Author

Tayo Rockson is a diversity, inclusion and antiracism consultant. He heads the strategic leadership and consulting firm UYD Management.

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M. A. 1 month ago

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