Tough one?
Indeed.

And this was just one of the many thought-provoking questions I had the pleasure of exploring last week at a course on Depolarizing Dialogue, expertly conducted by Maja Nenadovic, PhD and organized by Institute for Developing Across Differences (IDD) and the University of Groningen.

I enrolled in this course to become even more attuned to the needs raised by my clients, who have noticed increasing polarization around DEI initiatives in their workplaces.

As a trainer I also ask myself often another question: “How to hold space for unpopular voices, and let people be heard in their needs, without neglecting standing up for marginalized groups?”

This course has been an incredible journey to untangle this question through: methods, experiences, listening but also a journey to the inside: my deeper understanding what kind of trainer I am and what I want kind of impact I want to make (thank you Maja for being an incredible companion on that!).

💡 But I want to open up this maybe a bit uncomfortable realization to all of us:

The way we approach DEI, especially in Poland where these topics are relatively new, will significantly influence whether we experience widespread backlash in the coming years.

We need to start depolarizing conversations within our organizations now, inviting everyone to engage in dialogue and build inclusive spaces where all voices, even the unpopular ones, are welcomed as part of our cultural development and change.

Questioning our standpoint, regardless of where we stand, is the first step toward opening up this conversation.