Honoring lived experiences is essential for fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). However, as Dr. Jonathan Ashong-Lamptey and I discussed briefly in a recent LinkedIn exchange, it’s crucial to navigate this concept with a nuanced understanding of its inherent subjectivity. As Dr. Ashong-Lamptey wrote, “Your ‘lived experience’ comes at a cost. It literally makes you less objective.” He challenges the notion that lived experience is synonymous with objective truth, demonstrating how our upbringing, culture, and values shape our interpretations. Not surprisingly, these can lead to diverse perspectives on the same information. Yet we seem to forget this.
As I shared in response to Dr. Ashong-Lamptey’s brilliant insights, “When I am mediating, advising clients, and training professionals, I am informed by my lived experiences, yet I must also be on the lookout for the biases they create.” Let’s review some of the ways you can do this, too.
From Subjective Response to Effective Action
Honoring lived experiences is important. It’s how we show other people we respect and care about them. Yet, we must not allow those subjective views to overshadow objective analysis and evidence-based practices. Here’s how you can effectively navigate this delicate balance in your workplace:
Acknowledge the Subjectivity
Recognize that lived experiences are inherently subjective. You will never fully understand how another person processes a situation, and it will change over time, as new experiences are accumulated. Encourage open discussions about this, acknowledging how different perspectives can lead to varying interpretations that all have some validity.
Embrace Evidence-Based Inclusion
Supplement personal narratives with data, research, and objective analysis to inform DEI initiatives. As Dr. Ashong-Lamptey’s puts it, “Lived experience plus high-quality evidence moves you from opinions to outcomes.” For example, if an employee’s lived experience alleges limited advancement opportunities in your workplace, review recent promotions and compare demographics. Make sure you’re fixing the right problems.
Cultivate Critical Thinking
Encourage employees to question their own assumptions and biases. You can do this through training on critical thinking and bias awareness, but knowledge alone will be insufficient for change. Provide ongoing support to help employees recognize when their emotional response is triggered. This will require you to learn your own triggers and how to manage them.
Promote Active Listening and Empathy
Train managers and leaders on active listening and empathetic communication, so the workplace is a safe space for employees to share their experiences without punishment. Help them understand that empathy does not require agreement. We can listen and understand another’s feelings without condoning harmful behavior.
Establish Clear Dispute Resolution Processes
Develop transparent and fair processes for addressing workplace conflicts, ensuring that these processes account for the influence of lived experiences and potential biases. However, do not let one party’s subjective responses–no matter how understandable–overshadow others’ participation. Prioritize repairing relationships, fostering understanding, and creating a culture of collaboration.
Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning
Provide ongoing DEI training and education, even if you have to call it something else. Your workplace is already diverse in many ways. If you don’t balance inequities and include the workers you hire, you aren’t going to benefit from their talents. Despite recent bans on DEI programs, you will still need to train employees to recognize and mitigate personal bias. When your training is based on data from your workplace and focused on resolving specific conflicts, it will probably avoid criminal investigation and transform your workplace in the ways most DEI professionals desire.
Moving Forward Together
Create a culture where acknowledging bias is not seen as weakness but as a step towards greater understanding. Commit to self-awareness, critical thinking, and a willingness to challenge your own assumptions. This allows us to honor lived experiences and still address the harmful influence of some biases, allowing inclusion to become a lived reality. At work and beyond.