What's Different about Compassionate Diversity®?

We live in a world of polarization. It’s easy to think, “If I’m right, then you’re wrong.” We try to convince each other with facts and figures and “logical” arguments. Yet, we tend to judge our beliefs with our gut - how we feel about them.

I have found that, while there have been a few adjustments here and there, we tend to teach diversity and inclusion the same way we did years ago - through logic and facts. There have been a lot of articles written about why diversity training doesn’t work, but after 20 years in the field, I know why:

• We force people through classes that pile on guilt for some while leaving others feeling justified. 
• We don’t teach a subject that is all about people in a way that actually connects with people. We teach to the head, and not to the heart.
• We fail to make connections for people about the personal benefits of things like self-awareness and understanding others.

This is where Compassionate Diversity® comes in. Compassionate Diversity® is a comprehensive approach to
   -  seeing different perspectives,
   -  understanding others, and
   -  building bridges in understanding
that incorporates both the head and the heart. We develop compassion and affect change through understanding what others truly need from their perspective - not what we think they need.

Science shows that the electromagnetic field of the heart is 60 times stronger than that of the brain. When we can connect with each other at the heart level, then we can see each other as we are - human beings with similar and different perspectives. It’s much easier to agree with someone with a similar perspective. The differences, though, are another story. Those are what we judge as right or wrong. And it’s in those judgments that we get caught up in conflict.

But, what if we could see those differences as interesting rather than threatening? What if we could find curiosity instead of create conflict?

Only when we connect at the heart level can we genuinely understand one another.

I’m really excited about this new approach, and I’ll be revealing more about it over the next few weeks. In the meantime, join me on social media to let me know how you can benefit from Compassionate Diversity® .

© 2017, Susan McCuistion