With Forbes Magazine calling empathy 'the most important leadership skill', and Workplace environments have been left reeling from the triple threat of Covid, WFH and the digital migration of the workforce to jobs that better align to workers' long-frustrated personal, as well as professional goals. Within this context, EdTech entrepreneur Kate Mortenson launched iPondr@Work, to re-make how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) competency is learned in the age of Upskilling. "This a moment of huge opportunity for breakthroughs in attracting and retaining top talent in a rapidly changing world. Digital technology provides scalability for massively improved learning approaches to address the interplay of culture and identity and the hybrid workplace and global business landscape." Learning what works best was a process of beginning with the evidence and research from academia, where Mortenson found that many existing training-type practices entrenched in the workplace, are ineffective and can even do harm by causing backlash against marginalized groups or businesses that use outdated DEI learning. So what does work best? Studies in brain science show that Empathy skill, called 'the most important leadership skill' by Forbes magazine, is a key to unlocking new ways of thinking about different life experiences and identities. As a trained journalist, Mortenson pairs empathy skill with another key element for learning that sticks, namely real, personal stories; in rich audio, video, narrative and photography. Just a little dose of iPondr@Work learning goes a long way -- experts say as little as 10 minutes per week of committed exposure to immersive true-life stories can yield results that impact everything from employee retention, to innovation, to customer service. iPondr@Work's software analytics can pin-point where within organizations a specific topic -- such as all gender bathrooms -- might create friction, so businesses can prepare teams to embrace new cultural norms in the workplace.
TMP participants are welcome to check out the content that shapes a better workplace with a FREE course credential for iPondr@Work . Yes, Mortenson does want to shape a better culture with her Public Benefit Corporation, but the business case for DEI learning is real, and now solutions have caught up to the digital, mobile and streaming era.