Impact of Assumptions and Unconscious Bias in your Team Presented by Darlene MacKinnon Pat Brensinger 1
Air Products is A world-leading industrial gases company Supplying atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemicals, metals, electronics, food and beverage World s leading supplier of helium and liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment Fiscal 2015 sales of $9.9 billion and current market capitalization of more than $30 billion Approximately 19,000 employees in 50 countries striving to make Air Products the world s safest and best-performing industrial gases company A company recognized for sustainability leadership 2
Diversity and Inclusion at Air Products Our Goal: To be the most diverse industrial gas company in the world We need to create an atmosphere of respect for everybody, no matter where they come from. If you hire people who look like you, talk like you, and think like you, how do you find the unique perspective? How do you challenge the status quo if everyone on the team sees the world the same? Seifi Ghasemi Chairman, President and CEO 3
Workshop Objectives Recognize how assumptions can get in the way of empowering team members, developing strong interpersonal relationships, and maximizing work productivity. Understand how biases can impact or distort our decisionmaking. Know what purposeful actions one can take to manage assumptions and be more objective in decision-making. Realize ways to avoid being underestimated. 4
Respect for Inclusive Leadership* Cultivating an environment where all people are treated with dignity, encouraged to confidently express their viewpoints and know they will be heard. Empowerment Adaptability Courage Humility Enabling others to develop/excel by encouraging appropriate risk-taking and decision making, providing actionable feedback, and giving timely recognition. Flexing your style, being mindful of differences related to gender, culture, generation, etc., particularly when communicating and coaching. Setting personal agenda aside to achieve what needs to be done. Championing change and challenging status quo; advocating for capable women and minorities. Admitting mistakes, taking advice, learning from feedback, and sharing credit. *Adapted from Catalyst and Center for Talent and Innovation 5
Unleashing People and Ideas Giving EVERYONE an opportunity to do meaningful work and develop Being open to different ways of thinking and different styles Flexing our own style Embracing everyone s uniqueness Being objective as we make decisions The Challenge Biases can impact or distort our decision-making about people and ideas. Assumptions can influence our behaviors and the decisions we make, and unintentionally hinder interpersonal communications, relationships, team dynamics, and individual performance. 6
Is it Gender Bias? Three-time Olympian, Corey Cogdell-Unrein, won the bronze medal in women's trap shooting, yet no mention of her name in this Chicago Tribune tweet. 7
Is it Gender Bias? In a year in which the role of first spouse will go to either a former president or a woman who is open about employing a personal chef, asking candidates' spouses to prove their homemaking bona fides makes even less sense. But even now that she's the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton can't escape it. 8 Air Products Internal Use Only
Is it Gender Bias? The image: Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and U.K. Labour MP Liz Kendall standing around a crib with a ballot box in it. The headline: The motherhood trap, asked Why are so many successful women childless? A subject that never seems to entangle men 9 Air Products Internal Use Only
A D&I Thinking Moment Why are highly successful women defined or cast by their domestic lives versus their professional lives in these media examples? What is the implication of these stories for us in our own classrooms or workplaces? 10
Avoiding Artificial Limits & Boundaries Research reveals the female = family, male = career bias is a widely held unconscious bias. These media examples illustrate how readily that bias can creep into our daily lives and interactions. Without being aware of it, our normal patterns of behavior can: - create artificial boundaries for the people around us; - limit our ability to see new/different ideas or ways of doing things; - influence the decisions we make. Awareness of bias and purposeful action can help avoid the negative consequences. 11 Air Products Internal Use Only
IAT Provides Insights Pervasive Unconscious Biases in Society 75% of males and 80% of females who take the Gender IAT, show an automatic gender association for: male = career female = family 80% of Age IAT test takers have an automatic preference for young people, demonstrating a stronger young = good than old = good association Nearly 75% of those who take the Race IAT reveal automatic white preference even among those who describe themselves as having no conscious racial preference. 76% of those who completed the Abled-Disabled IAT show some degree of automatic preference for abled persons compared to disabled persons. Take the IAT @ https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ Air Products Internal Use Only
Understanding Unconscious Bias Each of us looks at the world through our own lens, based on the experiences we ve had, people we ve met, organizational norms around us. Without us even being aware of it, all of these factors influence who we are...how we think how we prefer to do things. This is the root of unconscious bias.
A Little Experiment What is each person s view on protecting the environment, (for example, recycling, global warming, energy saving, etc.) Do they recycle? Do they spend money on more expensive products because they are environmentally friendly? On a scale of 1 10, how would you rate each person s environmental concern? 1 = not at all concerned 10 = extremely concerned
Ladder of Inference I take Actions based on my beliefs I draw Conclusions I make Assumptions based on the meanings I added I add Meaning (cultural and personal) I select Data from what I observe Observable Data and Experiences (as a video recorder might capture it) 15 Adapted from Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline
We don t see things as they are, we see them as we are. Anais Nin
Finding the Key to Managing the Impact of Our Assumptions Intentional action Mindset Attitude Behaviors Results (ideas, values and beliefs) (how we view others and the world) Longer term sustained change 17
Model in Action From Observation > Assumptions > Behavior > Results Observation Mindset/Attitudes (Assumptions) Behaviors Results A new teammate is quiet, reserved, and unassertive. (ideas, values and beliefs) So that means she won t be a good source of innovative ideas (how we view others and the world) for the project. So let s not ask her for input on the project, let s just assign her a data-gathering task. New teammate doesn t offer ideas even though she may have valuable insights needed to assure a successful outcome. Reinforces original mindset. How might we change our behavior to unleash our new teammate s ideas? 18
How is Bias a Factor in Decision-making? Research/Analysis/Information + Insight/Judgment = Decision Bias is an inclination or preference for or against someone or something; A mindset or attitude that drives behavior. Conscious or unconscious Our biases act as mental short-cuts as we process information. Those mental short-cuts can impact or distort our decision-making about people and ideas. Everyone has bias. Acknowledging and addressing our biases is what makes the difference. 19
Biases to Watch For Types of Bias that can impact the decisions we make: Confirmation Bias The tendency to seek out evidence that confirms our beliefs and assumptions while ignoring or discounting information that supports a differing conclusion. Affiliation or In Group Bias The tendency to give people favorable or preferential treatment when they are members of our own group. Projection Bias The tendency to assume other people think like us. Halo Effect The tendency to ascribe a person s overt positive or negative characteristics are amplified and applied to all situations; i.e.. the perception that if someone performs well at one thing, they will do so regardless of the situation or task. 20
Manage Assumptions Cultivate Inclusion Reflect on how your personal assumptions might be impacting your treatment of others. Pay attention to how you treat those who are different or think differently. Realize that how you view the world (and approach your work) is through your unique reality. It is not necessarily right or superior to others. Consider your own behavior. What results are being generated as a reaction to the way you are treating others? Are you appropriately flexing your style to adapt to different work styles, cultures, and organizational backgrounds and norms? Could you generate a more positive outcome by adjusting your behavior? Modify your behavior to positively impact results. Actively invite teammates to share different approaches/opposing viewpoints. Intentionally involve the entire team; avoid creating go-to people because of your own comfort level with their communications and/or work style. Allow people to finish without interrupting them. Listen intently and non-judgmentally. 21
Be Objective in Decision-making Cultivate Inclusion Educate yourself, and decision makers, on bias. Raising awareness can reduce risk of bias acting as mental short-cuts. Check your thought processes and decisions for possible bias. Objectively and deliberatively consider the facts at hand instead of relying on intuition and hearsay; step outside your comfort zone. Avoid emotional decision making. Establish clear criteria in advance of making decisions. Scrutinize the criteria being used. Is it the right criteria for the decision? Or, does it unintentionally screen out certain kinds of people and/or ideas? 22
Exploring Impacts Think about a time when you felt someone underestimated you or your abilities -- or alternatively, a time when you underestimated someone else. Why do you think this happened? What could you do to avoid this in the future? 23
How to Avoid Being Underestimated Be courageous Communicate your ideas in a clear and compelling way Showcase strength and resolve even if you re not feeling it Manage your reactions Control your immediate responses Be resilient; step up to challenges; don t give up Perform Build Credibility Sell yourself and talk about your accomplishments Build and leverage strategic support networks Be authentic Know your true values and strengths; be your true self Don t be bullied out of being who you are 24
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