Aspirall was engaged by a professional services firm to develop and implement a program to propel a cultural change regarding diversity and inclusion. They were the leaders, they had done everything, they had won awards and accolades; and still people felt excluded, left out, powerless and less than. This was confronting and quite frankly sad.
We set about having profound conversations with the Chair, CEO and key Executive team members to ‘get under the bonnet’ and understand the underlying dynamics and true intentions. Our integral design process and systems uncovered the key outcomes, dynamics, blockers and enablers so we together with our client could deliver a powerful, real and heartfelt experience that got to the heart of the matter.
Some core outcomes were to:
Take on the challenge and face the ‘hard’ stuff of prejudice that can derail the economic, commercial and humanitarian requirements of diversity and inclusion
More deeply and authentically create a place of real safety and trust in the face of the inherent dynamics of diversity
The program was designed taking into account the deeply personal paradigm shifts required for cultural change. Conversations and witnessing occurred that supported the combination of rational minds and intuitive hearts.
Listening, understanding and acceptance deepened. Clear next actions were identified as experiments to a new way, an uncharted and untested path! All this leading to something more successful and sustainable, more respectful of our shared accountability. The Executives experienced a consciousness and sense of presence regarding humility and respect that was transformational on personal, group, cognitive and emotional levels.