7 Principles of Compassionate Diversity: Building an Organization with Heart
Not withstanding a few adjustments here and there, we tend to teach diversity and inclusion (D&I) the same way we did years ago – through logic and facts. Many articles have been written and many theories floated about why diversity training doesn’t work, but here are the real reasons why:
- First, we force people through classes that pile on guilt for some, while leaving others feeling justified.
- Second, we don’t teach a subject that is about people in a way that actually connects with people. We teach to the head, and not to the heart.
- Third, we fail to bring to life the personal benefits of things like self awareness and understanding others.
One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over again while expecting different results. In D&I work, we have done the same thing for over 30 years – expecting better representation, retention and engagement – to no avail.
This is where Compassionate Diversity® comes in. Compassionate Diversity® is a comprehensive approach to:
- seeing different perspectives,
- understanding others, and
- building bridges in understanding
that incorporates both the head and the heart. We develop compassion and affect change through understanding what others truly need from their perspective – not what we think they need.
Compassionate Diversity® is based on 7 Principles that are grounded in concepts and research from the fields of intercultural communication, emotional intelligence, leadership, neuroscience and more. Through embracing these principles, we can learn to better connect at the heart and lead more productive, engaging and innovative organizations.
Program objectives:
- Understand the science of compassion and its role within organizations
- Introduce the 7 Principles of Compassionate Diversity® and discuss why they are important to building a more inclusive workplace
- Give practical tips for practicing the 7 Principles at work
- Develop/Brainstorm applicability to systems, and ways to implement, within your organization
Speaker Biography:
Susan McCuistion is a cultural practitioner and creator of Compassionate Diversity®, which integrates concepts from the fields of intercultural competence, emotional intelligence, leadership, neuroscience, and more into powerful tools for change. Compassionate Diversity® uses three different, interrelated concepts - Comprehension, Connection, and Compassion - to help build empathy and create an action plan for addressing the historic and systemic issues that are a part of our current world.
Susan offers 25 years of human resources consulting, training, and outsourcing experience, together with specialty skills in national culture and subculture and diversity best practices. In addition to helping many Fortune-500 clients hone their diversity and inclusion strategy, curriculum, and measurement, she has:
● Designed and built diversity and inclusion learning solutions and strategies for global organizations;
● Provided intercultural competency coaching to C-suite and senior leaders, helping them improve business efficiency and effectiveness through a better understanding of their approach to cultural commonalities and differences;
● Developed and facilitated enterprise-wide cross-cultural competency training in North America, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Throughout her career Susan has amassed a variety of credentials. She is a:
● HeartMath® Certified Resilience Coach
● Senior Qualified Administrator and former faculty member for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)TM;
● Certified facilitator of Cultural Transformation ToolsTM;
● Certified provider of Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire™ (CWQ);
● Certified instructor for the suite of Cultural Detective® courses.
Susan has presented at conferences and on webinars for The Conference Board and Human Capital Institute. Her quotes and insights have appeared in articles in The New York Times and for publications by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM). She has written about Compassionate Diversity® and related topics on her blog, Beginning at daiOne.
Susan holds an M.S. in Statistics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a registered member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.
This session is pending approval for SHRM Professional Development Credits (PDCs) and HRCI recertification credits.

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