In This Moment - A New Perspective on DEI

Courageous Conversations: Navigating Workplace Communication in Polarized Times

Oct 21, 2025
Dr. Allison Schlobohm, a clinical associate professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler, shares her expertise on navigating difficult conversations in polarized workplaces. She highlights the importance of courageous communication and critiques superficial organizational approaches to belonging. Discussing incivility and microaggressions, Allison explains how trust is eroded in turbulent times. She offers a structured model for courageous conversations and emphasizes the need for leaders to cultivate understanding and embrace generational shifts in workplace dynamics.
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INSIGHT

Incivility Versus Microaggressions

  • Incivility are rude, antisocial comments while microaggressions target someone's social identity.
  • Both harm belonging, but microaggressions uniquely sap identity-related energy and cause imposter feelings.
ADVICE

Rebuild Belonging With Micro-Affirmations

  • Use micro-affirmations and micro-self-affirmations to counteract microaggressions.
  • Find communities outside work where you feel embraced to replenish belonging and resilience.
INSIGHT

Belonging Is Deep, Not A Soft Fix

  • Belonging is a universal human desire and key to mental health, not a corporate checkbox.
  • True belonging requires hard, sometimes political systemic change, not just fuzzy programs.
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