![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/wcala-clyde-ford-300x170.png\" "\\"wcala")
<\/a>"We Can All Get Along, 50 Steps You Can Take To End Raciscm" is an excellent resource by author \/ speaker Clyde W. Ford<\/p><\/div>\n
Webster\u2019s dictionary defines stereotyping as \u201cforming a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion.\u201d That includes denying the individuality of a person and jumping to conclusions about them.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, as a white male in the US, I rarely am a personal victim of stereotyping. That does sometimes make it hard to teach about something painful that I may not experience often myself. But very recently I was a victim of being stereotyped, and it hurt.<\/p>\n
I will speak in generalities since I do not wish to divulge the identity of the offending party. It began as I was trying to reach out to a regional leader of an organization I am involved with and a member of. One of the concerns I wanted to express is that a number of simple questions that I had called in or e-mailed to the organizational headquarters had gone unanswered.<\/p>\n
When my request for contact got to the correct person, their initial reply to me was a curtly worded e-mail about how the organization is unable to promote the services of one consultant over another. When I received the e-mail, I was shocked! The person assumed that because I was a private consultant, that I was a cut-throat, aggressive operative who was only interested in how the organization could promote my business. And this was an organization I pay dues to and had performed community service with on multiple occasions. No \u201cthank you,\u201d no \u201chow are you;\u201d instead just an attack based upon a stereotypical view of me as a consultant. I truly felt insulted and minimalized as a person and as a professional.<\/p>\n
The good news is that I shared my feelings with the offending party and we cleared up the misunderstanding.<\/p>\n
Two recommendations:
\n\u2022\tDo not stereotype. View each person you interact with as a unique individual.
\n\u2022\tDon\u2019t jump to conclusions about someone\u2019s agenda based on their demographics. Ask first before responding or interacting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I don\u2019t often share personal experiences in my blogs but this time I will. I often provide workshops on diversity and sensitivity training, and one of the modules explores stereotyping. I use an exercise called \u201cRelease the Stereotype You Have … Continue reading