Leadership Is a Behavior Not a Title by DDS Dobson-Smith

Author:DDS Dobson-Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Published: 2022-09-02T19:14:13+00:00

Increased Awareness of Unconscious Biases Contributes to a Culture of Belonging

I was once facilitating a group of senior people at an off-site, and during a breakout session I was moving among the three groups, each of which was standing by a flip chart. I walked up to one of the groups and I started to give them a pen so they could record their discussion on the flip chart. I caught myself about to hand the pen to the only woman in the group. I stopped myself and instead handed it to the most senior man in the group.

I prevented myself from playing into the tropes and stereotypes that either the most junior person or the woman should be taking notes. Fortunately, I caught myself in that moment so I could stop, but it made me wonder how many times I haven’t caught or stopped that behavior. How many times have I, as a result of my own unconscious biases, played into the stereotypes or the social conditioning we receive as being part of the dominant culture—to put it bluntly, the cishet, white patriarchy?

Leaders must become increasingly aware of their unconscious biases, and the only way to do so is to do the work of understanding what those biases are, so they become conscious, and you can be aware of that influence when making decisions.

It can be very tempting, if we are not careful, to surround ourselves with like-minded others—those with similar skills, backgrounds, and experiences to us. After all, it feels safe, warm, and comforting to be with “people like us.” However, this unconscious bias can cause leaders to build a team in their own likeness—the antithesis of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

If your organization has not had this focus on creating a culture of belonging, enacting these changes may be uncomfortable. (Even if it has, creating these changes in yourself may be uncomfortable as well.) We know that change is necessary for growth, however, and so what becomes important is that a leader worth following manages that change, for themselves and for their team.

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