MANAGEMENT JANUARY 2020
Let me give you an example.
Imagine that you have inherited
a new team and are getting to
know your new direct reports.
You are excited to learn
that one team member,
Sam, went to the same
university as you, and
previously worked for
the same employer.
You also share a
mutual interest in
marathon running.
In your next team
meeting, you run a
brainstorm and capture
several ideas. The majority
come from Sam. This is
similarity bias at play – because
you naturally gel with Sam, you
are listening to and recognising
his ideas above and beyond
those of other team members
that are diff erent to you. It’s a
natural human response, but it
could be both diminishing the
confi dence and self-worth of
others and meaning that other
strong ideas are lost.
‘Similarity bias’ is just one
of several types of unconscious
bias or prejudice that are at play
in the workplace every day. You
might also identify with ‘halo’,
‘horn’ and ‘confi rmation’ biases:
in other words, letting a shining
moment or a past mistake sway
your opinion of an individual.
Perhaps you have a team
member who early on in their
tenure struggled to juggle
workloads and priorities but
who, over the last few years, has
worked hard and has managed
to exceed your expectations.
When a new global assignment
comes up, do you defer to
this individual’s ongoing
performance or the fact they
struggled with workloads and
deadlines in the past? Do you
even consider this individual for
the development opportunity?
Equally, you may have a
natural tendency to defer to
the oldest person in a meeting,
assuming they are best qualifi ed
and most experienced when
in fact their younger
counterpart is far better
equipped to answer
your questions.
unconscious bias,
Whatever the
recognising its
potential impact
is a very important
step and the natural
gateway to positively
changing your
behaviour. In short, we
need to know when mental
shortcuts and blind spots are
harming others, and then change
the way we behave. But how?
Taking action
A big part of successfully
tackling unconscious bias is
recognising the little things that
make a big diff erence. These
can largely be summarised
as ‘microaggressions’ and
‘microaffi rmations’.
Microaggressions are subtle
verbal and non-verbal slights,
insults, indignities and belittling
messages that are directed at
an individual who is perceived
to be diff erent. They can be
anything from checking emails
or texting during a face-to-face
conversation, through to only
making eye contact with certain
individuals or mentioning some
people’s achievements but not
recognising those of others that
are equally relevant.
Microaffi rmations, by
contrast, are small gestures
of inclusion – listening and
caring in a subtle way, but with
high-impact words and actions
that affi rm another’s value. This
could be as simple as nodding,
smiling and saying hello, asking
someone’s opinion who has not
yet been able to contribute in
a group setting or being inquisitive to learn more
about another person. It all matters.
At Air Products, as well as specifi c training for
managers, we have issued all our employees with
a seven-point action plan that translates theory
into practice. This is a useful starting point for
any manufacturing or engineering business looking
to tackle the very real diversity and inclusion
challenges our sector faces. These seven steps are:
Step 1: Question your assumptions – pay
attention to how you view those who think or
look diff erently. Ask yourself if you would be
thinking in the same way if the person had a
diff erent gender ethnicity, age, personality type,
culture or parental status.
Step 2: Scrutinise your decision-making
criteria – establish your criteria ahead of
making a decision and ask yourself whether
those criteria are right for the decision or if they
unintentionally screen out certain individuals.
Step 3: Focus on facts – stop and check your
thought process for potential bias. Consider the
facts instead of relying on intuition and hearsay,
and avoid emotional decision making.
Step 4: Intentionally engage others – actively
invite other people to share diff erent approaches
and opposing viewpoints. Intentionally involve
your whole team rather than having ‘go-to’
people, just because you are more comfortable
with the way they work or communicate.
Step 5: Actively listen – listen intently and
without judgement. Allow people to fi nish their
point, without interruption, and ask questions
to show interest.
Step 6: Step outside your comfort zone –
be fl exible and adapt to diff erent work styles,
cultures and organisational norms. Consider
fi nding a mentor from a diff erent demographic.
Step 7: Hold yourself accountable – continually
analyse your own thoughts and behaviours for
potential bias and speak up when you hear or
see bias in the workplace, suggesting alternative
ways of thinking.
Ultimately, change can’t and won’t happen
overnight but if each of us can take individual
responsibility for recognising the unconscious
prejudice aff ecting our own behaviour then we
will have made positive progress.
So much of our sector’s diversity focus has been
on encouraging more women into the workplace,
and rightly so. But diversity is about more than
gender, and inclusion is about more than simply
inviting people in. People must be listened to,
valued and respected regardless of where they
come from, their beliefs, age, or parental or marital
status. It’s not enough to simply give people a seat
at the table – we must give them a voice too.
If we’re going to tackle diversity and inclusion,
let’s really tackle it and not just tick boxes. Change
has to start with the individual. In the months and
years ahead, remember the key golden behavioural
rules: stop, think, challenge and change.
Kelly Paul is a
team leader at
industrial gas
manufacturer,
Air Products
“If we’re going to tackle diversity,
let’s not just tick boxes. Change
has to start with the individual.”
Kelly Paul, team leader, Air Products
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