P2P

11 I L T A N E T . O R G did, people who look like us or act like us, or people who otherwise feel "similar" to us. As Harvard professor Dr Mahzarin Banaji explains in her book "Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People": "We do not harm people who are different from us; rather, we help those who are like us. This is harmful, but we don't recognize it as such, because helping seems like such a good thing." There's a valuable lesson here, which is that you don't need to be a "discriminatory" person to engage in discriminatory behavior. You can be an entirely good- intentioned person who is simply seeking to help another person, but inadvertently winds up hurting countless other people – not to mention your organization – by automatically excluding parts of the population that seem "different". So, how can organizations counter implicit bias? The good news is that while different forms of implicit bias might lurk within all of us, recognizing that bias is a very learnable skill. Put another way, once people are aware of implicit bias, they should feel empowered to change their behaviors. Recognizing implicit bias is not an easy skill – it takes hard work and introspection. A useful exercise here is for individuals to ask themselves some probing questions. Questions like: Have the people you reported to in the workplace looked similar to you, or different? Do you have a diverse group of friends – or does everyone largely look the same and have a similar background? Are the people in the neighborhood you live in or the social networks you belong to different from you, or largely the same as you? Really reflecting on the answers to these questions can be useful in helping leaders uncover their own biases in order to successfully manage those biases. While it's important for the entire organization to undertake this exercise, the tone is really set by the top – and seeing leadership taking a thoughtful approach to implicit bias and doing the hard work can be an encouraging sign for those who are wondering if the organization actually takes DEI seriously or just views it as a "check the box" exercise. Creating better business outcomes If an organization has done the work and taken the right steps, what does inclusive leadership look like? Certain hallmarks are immediately apparent. In addition to modeling inclusive behavior, leaders are conscious of their biases and avoid decisions based on "gut feelings" or "fit". They challenge assumptions and support taking conversations to a deeper level, including listening so that they can truly understand different perspectives. Further, they care about the development of every team member. They rotate opportunities among the team so that everyone can reach their full potential. When it comes to critical moments like hiring, providing work opportunities, and promotion, they slow down their "Once people are aware of implicit bias, they should feel empowered to change their behaviors."

• Cover