CLIENT CASE 

Cultural Awareness workshop experience - Bram Segijn, RWS  

26 February 2024 | Mazzi-Inc.

 

Bram Segijn is the department head at Rijkswaterstaat. He is responsible for, among other things, the transfer of knowledge regarding environmental regulations from the IPLO (Informatiepunt Leefomgeving) to governmental authorities and companies. In addition, as D&I program manager, Bram is also responsible for the vision and implementation of diversity and inclusion in the department of Water, Traffic and Environmental Services.

Alongside 40 colleagues, Bram attended a 4-hour Cultural Awareness workshop run by Language Partners and Mazzi-Inc. and led by Marjoleine Havik. We spoke to Bram after the workshop.

"After just 5 minutes, I was able to apply what I'd learnt to a case study with 2 team members." 

Hi Bram, great that you attended a Cultural Awareness workshop! How would you describe your overall experience?

Marjoleine Havik's interactive approach meant that we, as a department, were able to experience first-hand how it feels to have to adapt. It feels strange, takes a lot of energy, and it's also frustrating that you can't just do things well and in the way you're used to doing. This experience helped us to feel what it's like to be part of a minority group, who often feel pressured to adapt to the majority. What's also useful is that this awareness and knowledge can be broadly applied to other situations (i.e. not just that of cultural differences), like dealing with people whose behaviour is very different from your own. After just 5 minutes, I was able to apply what I'd learnt to a case study with 2 team members.

 

What were the most valuable insights you gained from the workshop?

Cultures - and coming from different walks of life - shape our experiences and make us act the way we do. I could write a book on it (which I'm actually doing). Yet the quote that stayed with me after the workshop, and the one I constantly repeat to my team leaders and members is: “Be curious and try and find out what the positive intent is behind others' behaviour.” 

Taking this idea as the foundation encourages us to have a positive attitude towards behaviour that is different from the majority. By acknowledging a minority's behaviour we can stop doing things 'the way we normally do it', and start seeing the intention behind someone's behaviour and how we can get added value from it. We all know that adapting takes effort, but this is the reality for minority groups. With this knowledge we as a department now not only have that shared experience but also a common language, and this gives us a good basis for adopting a positive attitude towards others' behaviour. 

How do you think these insights will contribute to your role as department head and D&I program manager at Rijkswaterstaat?

My vision and intention both as department head and D&I program manager is to raise the level of employee's awareness and knowledge of inclusive behavior. This makes every employee responsible for fostering and reinforcing inclusive behavior within their immediate work environment, and based on their experiences and interactions with other team members. While team leaders and managers in positions of power certainly play a key role in shaping an inclusive culture, they should not be the sole custodians of it. When you empower employees to intervene and lead by example, making disclosures often become unnecessary. As leaders, you can also start to enjoy working with teams who can leverage diversity through their inclusive behaviour! This in turn leads to high-performing teams and greater employee satisfaction (as well as lower absenteeism). All of which you as a department head are responsible for.

 

Thanks, Bram!

Do you want to know more about our Cultural Awareness workshop? 

Read more about the course or contact us for more information.