Situation or Challenge
Facilitating trainings is one of our key areas of expertise. Our client, Envirospec, engaged us for a 10-week training based on the book Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving and other readings on systemic racism in America. The trainings were led by our founder and CEO, Kathleen McLean, who was charged with paving the way to identify trends and understanding how racial attitudes impact business culture through understanding white privilege and its role in the everyday lives of white people. Participants also completed 2.5 days of training after the book study was completed.
Process
The eight employees in this group were assigned chapters of the book for each of the 10 weeks, along with other relevant materials. They kept journals during the process to reflect on the readings and answer discussion questions included in the book at the end of each chapter. Group sessions involved breakout discussions of these questions, followed by large group discussion about the breakout conversations and larger themes from the book, media, current political context, and personal experiences.
Throughout the process, three racial attitude assessments were administered to the group, with the purpose of tracking how responses to these questions changed during the 10-week engagement.
Solution
Through observation and conversation, participants shared they were able to view the world from a different lens. They shared how self (individuality), other (environment) and system were all interconnected in a way they never realized. The consensus within the group was, “Once you see it, you cannot unsee it.” The CEO remarked through The Embracing Equity Journey they felt their level of team trust and commitment to one another deepened allowing them to work more efficiently as a team to achieve better results as a firm. Several team members also shared they felt empowered to have conversations that they shied away from previously and the skills they learned were life skills they could use in all facets of both personal and professional life.
The other benefit(s) were some participants joined boards to be a voice in the community and they attributed that to the work they did with The McLean Collective.
Results
· Over the 10 weeks, we observed changes in participant responses and group dynamics during assessments.
· Towards the end, initially reserved individuals became more vocal, leading to a noticeable shift in the group dynamic.
· As the sessions progressed, participants skillfully referenced each other’s insights, recalling themes from previous meetings and sharing personal reflections.
· Importantly, a supportive environment emerged, enabling participants to openly discuss challenges and experiences.
· This collaborative atmosphere fostered a conducive learning environment, encouraging individuals to share thoughts and offer constructive critiques.
· Notably, two participants engaged in in-depth conversations, initially marked by differing viewpoints. By the final session, these discussions evolved, finding more common ground.
The graphs below indicate the changes reported by the group of employees over our 10-week engagement:
