A series of Reflection Point sessions designed to break down barriers and advance an inclusion initiative grounded in science and focused on belonging.
The client is an academic medical center (AMC) committed to nurturing an open and respectful trust-based culture marked by core values of empathy and inclusion. AMC piloted Reflection Point to support this commitment, bringing together a small group of leaders from across the organization for six one-hour sessions, each around a single short story.
Reflection Point facilitated discussions to break down the barriers that prevent healthy, inclusive teams and organizations. Through carefully chosen stories, our program offered colleagues at all levels a chance to practice questioning assumptions, listening to different voices, and connecting to new ideas and perspectives.
Sessions were facilitated by a professor of sociology from a local university, recruited and coached by the Reflection Point team.
Stories Read
-Chinua Achebe, “Dead Men's Path”
-Camille Acker, “All the Things You'll Never Do”
-Jhumpa Lahiri “The Third and Final Continent”
-Karen Russell, “St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”
-ZZ Packer, “Brownies”
-Nat Newman, “The Death of Margaret Roe”
Discussion Themes
In the 60-minute sessions, participants discussed the short stories in the context of issues they face as caregivers, such as:
-Racial and cultural disparities
-Gender orientations and dynamics
-Stark distinctions between clinical and non-clinical staff
Reflection Point program results
Participant surveys and interviews confirm that Reflection Point created a fresh venue to surface and explore biases and compare personal experience. Participants expressed surprise at the power of the program to permit them to have deeper and more personal conversations around topics they do not currently have the outlets to discuss.
In addition, several participants reported that Reflection Point created opportunities for reflecting and building deeper community with colleagues—some they knew and others they had never met.
Despite the program’s short duration, participants responding both to entry and exit surveys reported significant improvements in selected markers of psychological safety, especially in their willingness to take a risk and to speak up. Studies repeatedly confirm that effective teams and cultures of belonging and inclusion are grounded in these critical metrics.
"Reflection Point provides a safe environment to explore perspectives regarding complex topics. The topics often help us realize any conscious or unconscious biases that we have, then those in the room help us grow to overcome these biases."
Selected social outcomes
Identical participants show marked shifts in social and work-related outcomes before and after Reflection Point.
