Episode 79:
Leading Up in Cultural Competence
About Sara Taylor
Sara Taylor earned a master’s degree in Diversity and Organizational Development from the University of Minnesota. She served as a leadership and diversity specialist at the University of Minnesota for five years and as director of diversity and inclusion for Ramsey County, Minnesota for three years.
Sara is the founder and president of deepSEE Consulting and has worked with companies as large as Coca-Cola, General Mills, 3M Company, AARP, and numerous others. She has a new book, “Filter Shift: How Effective People See the World,” that explores how our unconscious is actually making choices and decisions for us, all without our knowing — and how to change that.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Why adapting and responding to others’ filters is one way to communicate and interact across the stages of development
- Why responding to stage-appropriate development is crucial, and why leading up in cultural competence is important for communicating effectively across stages
- Sara cites an example of Polarization and offers how to communicate with someone in Polarization by focusing on commonalities
- Why it is important to use the developmental strategy for each stage to move conversations into a more effective place
- How to use the developmental strategy for minimization, by “seeing self” and understanding your own filters without judgment
- Why it is important to avoid moving into the Polarization stage along with the person you’re interacting with, and how you can move the conversation beyond Minimization
- Why it is important to be patient and understanding toward people who are operating from lower stages of development
- Sara shares an analogy of a teacher working with a student struggling with fundamental skills and explains how this relates to communicating across stages of development
How to Connect with Sara Taylor:
- Website: www.deepseeconsulting.com
- Twitter: @deepseesara