It’s so easy to be mentally lazy, stereotype and label people we don’t know well. We listen to what other people tell us, default to stereotypes. This takes the work out of having to interact in meaningful ways or experience discomfort with people who are different. We don’t have to make decisions for ourselves or take the time to understand…
Bias can be broken if you take the right steps. How do we deconstruct bias beyond awareness? How do we “break bias?” We have a filter in our brain that helps us interpret what we see and hear. It filters out information that is not threatening, not important and not in our perceived reality. We form our biases based on…
Whether we like it or not, everyone has bias. As much as many of us want to think of ourselves as unbiased, we are products of our personal history, messages we’ve received growing up from people around us, the media, peers and people in authority. We’ve also learned to interpret events based on our experiences and individual perspectives. Because we…
We can’t leverage diversity and create inclusive workplaces if we don’t examine our own biases and learn how to filter them out. 1- Become aware that we all have biases. Some biases are unconscious.. We don’t realize we’re thinking a certain way. In other situations people are aware of their judgments of other groups and think those judgements are facts….
Here is an action you can take to leverage diversity and prevent biased thinking. Inclusionist Leadership Action #1 Be conscious of your visceral reaction or any thoughts or judgements you have about the next 3 people you see. What story immediately comes to mind without a second thought? Notice their age, clothing, skin color, age and any other visible characteristics at…
I’ve found ten key ways to raise your Cultural IQ. Here are the first five. 1- Decide to be curious and interested in learning about other cultures, and really understanding diversity in new ways. This means you’re willing to take a risk, observe other people’s behaviors and ask questions in appropriate ways. If you’re not interested or willing to view…
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