It's on Us: How Leader Intervention Shapes Workplace Culture and Drives Inclusion

Much has been written about the need to train our employees in bystander intervention, equipping them with the skills to speak up and take action if they see harassing behaviors like microaggressions or safety or ethics violations at work. HR and other organizational leaders are also witnesses to these culture failures, but often feel ill-equipped to speak up, particularly when the perpetrator is one of their colleagues, superiors, or clients. In this session, we will 1) explore how HR and company leaders' behaviors play a unique and critical role in shaping workplace culture and 2) investigate the critical, but ofttimes missed, connection between diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and harassment prevention and compliance in shaping a healthy and inclusive workplace. The session will outline how bystander intervention skills are a fundamental leadership competency, and how leaders can overcome personal barriers and biases that may inhibit them from speaking up when they see pending harm. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Gain an understanding of data about attitudes, misperceptions, and barriers related to bystander intervention from empirical research and surveys from nationally implemented harassment and discrimination prevention courses. 

• Understand how leaders can mitigate the effect of their personal biases and other impediments to being an effective ally, and help stop concerning behavior at work. 

• Learn actionable steps for developing the leadership competency of bystander intervention for ourselves and the leaders with whom we work.