For training to be internalised, it needs to be meaningful to us.
Diversity and inclusion online courses take cognizance of this in addition to the fact that individual participants must often go through a journey of personal transformation to truly benefit from the training.
Online diversity and inclusion training must peel back the layers of many years of learning to get to the core of why we think, feel and behave in a particular way concerning others.
During the training, we will no doubt acquire many insights that ignite our desire to change and improve.
However, sustaining good intentions after the training will not be that easy. We all know habits are hard to break, and our perceptions are deeply rooted. There is always the potential to regress.
Winding paths
If we think that we will experience a revolution after full organisational exposure to online diversity and inclusion training, we would be dismally disappointed.
People will embrace the training to different degrees and they will often take time to internalise key concepts and principles.
The movement towards change is never a straight line and there will be a need for reinforcement interventions and regular dialogue to keep the conversation going around diversity and inclusion.
Leadership skills training courses online will support this effort proactively.
To achieve optimal internalisation that feeds longevity in change, people will need to pass this knowledge through their filters. They will need to attach personal value to aspects of the training that speak most profoundly to them as unique individuals.
Different parts of the training or learning events will touch people differently. When light switches start going on in people’s heads, it will be easier for them to envision how to do things differently going forward; not because they have to, but because they want to.
Diversity and inclusion online courses will encourage people to actively commit to new thinking and behaviour. Often when we write things down it enhances commitment and initiates focused thinking on what could be changed to align with who we are.
It is better not to have a shopping list of challenges, but instead to start small and build on an increasingly solid base, to avoid disappointment.
This could be as simple as promising ourselves to learn something new about those within our team each week so that our relationships become more personal.
There are endless possibilities that will spring to mind during and after diversity and inclusion online courses. We need to find ways to embed these in our thought processes so that we can return to them time and again for more mature reflection.
We need to teach ourselves the art of persistence, not forgetting that it could take many months of consistent application for even tiny habits to change.
Staying the course
A good way to measure whether we have internalised training and are meeting our commitments to change is to hold ourselves accountable through feedback from others.
For example, if we know we are somewhat autocratic in our views we can proactively seek input on whether we are becoming more participative in meetings. This needs to be set at regular intervals to measure progress.
Awareness and reflection are key in internalising learning.
We will need to learn to reward ourselves when we get positive feedback and remember to return to elements of online diversity and inclusion training to ensure the essence is not lost.
Continuous improvement is the goal and this involves a cycle of planning, doing and reviewing that is both robust and profoundly intimate. Becoming a better human being is an acculturation of internal adjustments over time in the right direction through active choice.