By Gale Mote / Guest Column
We know teams make better, faster decisions. When a group creates an environment that respects the diverse skills, talents and viewpoints of its members, great outcomes can happen.
Simply respecting diverse members, however, is not enough. Each of these voices must be heard, considered and understood to build commitment and ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes time to execute. Diversity and inclusion are not the same thing.
Unconscious bias frequently prevents team members from being truly open to the ideas and perspectives of others. It occurs when we make spontaneous judgments about people or situations based on our past experiences, culture, background or exposure to social media.
Say you are sitting in a meeting when the newest member of the team offers a unique idea to resolve a recent customer complaint. She is a twenty-something who came from the retail industry, a world away from hydraulics engineering. You think to yourself as she enthusiastically expresses her solution, “She is so naïve. She thinks that because she spent time checking out customers at a dress shop she can solve this complex technical customer issue. How did she get on this team anyway?”
The question is not whether we have biases – we do. But where do they hide? We instinctively categorize people based on criteria such as age, gender, race, cultural background, personality, title, education or experience.
How do you feel about people who own a handgun? Don’t attend church? Wear a nose ring? Speak Hindu? Can you feel yourself taking a position and putting people into boxes? It’s natural. We feel safe when we are surrounded with the familiar and try to distance ourselves from what is not.
For teams to be extraordinary, we must overcome our unconscious biases and create an inclusive space for everyone to contribute the best of themselves to the team.
Own it – admit that you have biases. You will be more inclined to pay attention to the assumptions you make and the conclusions you draw based on what others say and do.
Next, ask yourself, is the bias really true? How do I know? Engage in a healthy dose of reality testing to confirm or deny what you think and feel to be true. Just because someone is young doesn’t mean she can’t be technically oriented. A background in retail doesn’t mean that problem-solving techniques don’t apply in the world of engineering.
Lastly, work to set your biases aside. In the 1980s, orchestras initiated blind auditions where the musicians would play behind a curtain so the judges could only hear the music, not see the person. As a result, the number of women invited to join has increased fivefold. What if you could see beyond the person’s appearance, background, title or age?
In a team setting, it is important to turn off the part of your brain that says “no,” “we’ve tried that before” or “it can’t be done.” Stoke ideas before you soak them. In the world of improvisation, actors are taught to say “yes and” not “yes, but!”
Really listen to the ideas of others wherever they come from and ask questions. This shows that you are truly interested in what the other person has to say and sends a message of inclusion. You also gain valuable information to better understand the other person’s point of view.
Probe for examples or explore how the idea might work. Is there a way to test the idea? Discuss the pros and cons of all ideas and alternatives, keeping a strong focus on the shared goal or problem statement. How will this help us to accomplish our goal?
Be sure to speak up – your colleagues are not mind readers. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. “I hear your desire to close the deal quickly and I also feel we need to ensure we have included all the appropriate parties to be sure we can deliver what we promise.” Engage a devil’s advocate to test all assumptions. Invite others to challenge your position – “What am I missing? Who has a different idea? Make me smarter – what else needs to be taken into consideration?”
Making exceptional team decisions requires that all team members weight in so they can buy in. Overcoming unconscious bias and developing a culture of inclusion is foundational for success.
Gale Mote is a trainer, organizational development catalyst and coach in Cedar Rapids. Contact her at galemote@galemoteassociates.com.
