Being aware of the multicultural differences within our diverse workforce and learning how to be respectful and embrace those differences has been an ongoing focus for us. We recognize that we have an inclusion gap that has impacted our ability to actively recruit and retain a higher percentage of diverse talent throughout our organization. We want to close that inclusion gap within every department across our organization.

Children’s MN is in the process of providing Inclusive Leadership Training to key and influential leaders across many departments throughout our organization. The training is a four-part cohort training series designed by our non-profit partner, The Wilder Foundation. The Wilder Foundation fosters a training environment that allows participants to adapt their thinking and behavior to see and accept differences that exist because of the varied life experiences that each person brings; challenge and grow in awareness about their own social groups and biases, handle intercultural conflict and address insensitive behaviors; and communicate with trust and respect toward others.

The desired outcome is to improve the ability of our leaders to create a more inclusive environment for Children’s Minnesota staff by increasing individual effectiveness in identifying and navigating cultural difference, developing inclusive leadership habits and practices and creating an action plan with practical steps for leaders to begin to increase the ways they leverage diverse talent and maximize the contributions of diverse teams. These learnings and habits will also be cascaded to their direct reports increasing the integration and overall impact as well. We believe this will contribute to our success in retaining and recruiting diverse talent while enjoying an inclusive culture where a sense of belonging is felt by every employee.