Identify your biases. Image courtesy Alex Gruber
@moco1384
Our unconscious biases and adverse attitudes regarding specific groups can debilitate the workplace, significantly when those prejudices go unimpeded.
You’ve likely heard this joke: HOW MANY THERAPISTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?
The answer: JUST ONE, BUT THE LIGHT BULB HAS TO WANT TO CHANGE!
Research indicates that these tacit biases can be changed, but individuals must recognize that they have them first and, more importantly, want to change.
These five strategies can help you mitigate your own implicit biases:
Reflection: Explore and identify your prejudices by taking implicit association tests or through other means of self-analysis.
Increase Mindfulness: Since you’re more likely to give in to your biases when under duress, put into practice ways to reduce stress and increase mindfulness, such as focused breathing.
See Other’s Point of View: Consider experiences from the person's point of view being stereotyped. Try reading or watching content that discusses those experiences or directly interacting with people from those groups.
Consider Positive Examples: Before you interact with people from specific groups, pause and reflect to reduce reflexive actions. Think about the positive examples of people from that stereotyped group, such as public figures or personal friends.
Be Cognizant of Your Language: Rather than say, “we don’t see color,” use statements that welcome and embrace multiculturalism or other differences.
Resisting our implicit biases requires constant effort. As a black man I discovered in my later years my biases towards other blacks. We have to continually restart the process and look for new ways to improve.