Everyone has biases (except me)

You’re quick to pick out and point out the cognitive biases and prejudices of your colleagues… but what about your own? Biases are often unconscious: there’s a good chance you’ll genuinely be unaware of them and perpetuate discriminatory behaviors.

Give yourself a helping hand by asking the following questions:

Do you treat all your co-workers the same way?

Do you have stereotypes about certain types of people?

Is your circle of colleagues, friends and relations made up of people who are clones of you?

How do you see people with a different background to your own?

Do you try to put yourself in other people’s shoes?

If so, put this introspective approach behind you – go and talk to colleagues who aren’t like you:

How do they see you?

Do you ever hurt their feelings?

If your co-worker alludes to a bias or micro-aggression you have, don’t adopt a defensive attitude or try to justify yourself: see it more as a positive intention and try to learn from the experience. Although it’s an uncomfortable exercise, it is helpful if you make the effort to really listen and dig deeper for other possible incidents.
Identifying your own biases and shaking them off means really working on yourself; but it will also help you improve your management style vastly.

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