“To be culturally humble mean that I am willing to learn.” – Joe Gallagher, CEO, First Nations Health Authority, British Columbia***
We cannot always look to others to help us become more inclusive and prompt us to embrace diversity. Diversity and Inclusion efforts and initiatives help us and they should continue, but there will be little change without personal development. It is a lifelong process. It includes self-assessment and the identification of needed skills and abilities and ways to obtain it. Personal development is the process of developing one’s self. The reality check, however is… we have to do the work.
Last week’s post addressed reasons people deny the existence of discrimination. We talked about three reasons people might be inclined to think that way. While most of us know this is erred thinking we still have to interact with that person who has erred in their thinking; and as enlightened as we may see ourselves, we continue to have to further develop our own skills when serving, working with, living with and interacting with people who are different than ourselves.
Many of us say we want to be more inclusive… we’re not racist… we want to know more… learn more… do more. Well, here’s an opportunity to add to our own continuum of personal growth. It might be painful for some and a great experience for others. What will it be for you?
Improving Our Cultural Competence
We have previously discussed cultural competence which is a model that necessitates the development of skills, knowledge and self-awareness that enables us to be more effective in working with populations different from our own. There are psychological studies, research and teachings that speak to the reality that we can actually go deeper in developing our cultural interactions with others.
One Powerful Method to Boost Your Cultural Competence
It can only help if we move from actionable skills to thinking differently and more deeply when approaching the diversity of others. Cultural competence is a demonstration of cultural sensitivity which is also a form of humility. In examining cultural humility, researchers emphasize the importance of both intrapersonal humility and interpersonal humility. To understand the depth of this concept and the potential impact it can have on today’s approach to diversity and inclusion, and social justice we have to consider the importance of developing our own humility. We also have to understand exactly what that requires.
Intrapersonal Humility
Intrapersonal humility, defines the way a person relates to self; the healthy level of comfort one has in caring for and accepting oneself and their limitations. How we relate to self is a development that results from the manner in which we are treated in our earlier years. This obviously includes the formative years, or the early stages of childhood (ages 0-8) when we learn more quickly than any other stage of life, but also adolescence and early adulthood. The formative years are when we experience the greatest cognitive (intellectual), emotional, social, and physical development. The adolescent and young adult years remain sensitive development periods in life and thus impact the way in which we view self.
It is during all of these stages that our neurobiological development takes place. Neurobiology is the biology of the nervous system. The brain is where our DNA and the environment meet – where nature and nurture interact. Our social settings, however, can affect our brain circuitry and biochemistry, which are also influenced by genetic controls. These neurobiological components can, in turn, affect behavior.
Neurobiological development is molded by early relationships. This area of development tells us whether the world is a good place that we can trust, or the world is not trustworthy and we view ourselves as bad in the scheme of that world. Healthy neurobiological development means we are able to let go of ego and the urge or desire to be over controlling. We are also comfortable with our uniqueness and are selfless in relation to others.
When a child is ignored emotionally, psychologically and ultimately physically and is raised with the constant expectation to conform and obey regardless of those ignored needs, they are likely to exhibit self-rejection, a lack of self-respect and a lack of self-acceptance. There may then be little or no humility towards self, derailing the development and possibility of interpersonal humility.
Interpersonal Humility
In understanding the neurobiological development of intrapersonal humility we incorporate the foundational development of Interpersonal or social-relational humility, which we just covered. Again, it is formed by the social experiences one has had during the more sensitive periods in life.
A humble neurobiology means one is not hyper-threat-reactive (or over reactive) in social situations, which otherwise would make a person self-focused and self-protective. The humble neurobiology is also able to relationally exhibit nonverbal methods of selflessness, is respectfully aware of and is sensitive to people’s movements and nonverbal signals. In regards to interpersonal emotion, one exhibits an acceptance of their own emotions and the emotions of others; the person is empathic and sympathetic towards others (selflessness); they are also respectful, self-monitoring, and able to resist emotional detachment and ego inflation in social settings. There is an expression of hospitality and the ability to welcome differences and respect the existence of variation in the lives of others.
In order to be culturally sensitive and exude cultural humility, we must have an accurate and healthy view of ourselves and a respect for others without an attitude of supremacy or superiority. I think we can make the leap to say that one who believes they are superior to another, based on any biological or cultural factors could be assumed to have a less than health neurobiological development.
Cultural humility is a never ending continuum that requires an inward self-awareness, an outward valuing of others and ongoing education and growth about others and the lives they live, cultures and more.
Steps You Can Take to Develop Cultural Humility
1. Self Reflection
Take a walk down memory lane. Give some in depth thought to your upbringing. This might be a type of reflection that you have engaged in or discussed regularly with family or friends but be honest with yourself. I talked with a leader who was being accused of discrimination in his workplace. He was honest in his reflection and in conveying that reflection to me. He said he honestly was not sure if he might not have allowed the racist viewpoint of his father to infiltrate his own thinking. He often tried to dismiss those memories because he wanted to be different, but he really wasn’t sure if he hadn’t let the harmful attitude and teachings of his dad dictate some of the decision making that had negatively impacted others under his leadership. He humbled himself enough in his reflection to acknowledge that even if he had not actively done something harmful, he may have turned his head while others did, making him just as guilty.
2. Value Others
Learn more about others. Ask questions being careful not to put the burden of your learning about their culture on them but simply, humbly ask people about their experiences within their culture as opposed to asking them to teach you about their culture. It’s not their responsibility to teach, it is your responsibility to learn. Most people are happy to share the richness and the depth of their beliefs and culture. Ask without judgement and without assumptions. In addition, be mindful of what tends to be culturally offensive overall, then put it into practice. While every individual may not share in the offense, you have valued the culture enough and incorporated a little common sense to avoid offenses that are widely known and understood. In your self reflection and in valuing others, ask yourself and answer the question, “Do I think I am superior to others?” If you are too politically correct to answer that question in the affirmative because you know what that says about you, then ask yourself the other half of that question, “Do I believe any group or culture is inferior to my own?”
3. Expect to Learn Daily
Expect to learn more about others every day. The process of development and growth is a marathon not a sprint. We never get to a point of knowing everything and we will make mistakes. When our past assumptions and biases rise up and people challenge our biases with truth, it gets uncomfortable. That discomfort can drive us to greater learning so, we keep trying, self-monitoring as we go. Keep asking, keep growing, keep learning. Learn enough to challenge yourself. That’s even better.
Closing Thoughts
We cannot always look to others to help us become more inclusive and prompt us to embrace diversity. We can however take advantage of every opportunity to add to our own continuum of personal growth. The fact that cultural competence and cultural humility are not easy challenges our stated desire for change but nothing changes if we don’t put forth the effort… We have to do the work.