Confronting Bias In The Workplace

People like to think they are unbiased, especially leaders. And why not? Bias connotes prejudice, discrimination, and antagonism—none of which look good on a job application or dating profile, and definitely, have no place in leadership.

Nobody wants to think they are biased. Everyone wants to believe that their decisions are based on irrefutable facts, but it’s not so easy to draw the line between subjective and objective when you are in the middle of it.

What can you do about it?

Confronting an issue that exists in the subconscious can seem like an impossible task, but it’s not. The first step to confronting unconscious bias is to admit to yourself that you can be harboring these biases. When you remove the barrier of denial, you can effectively examine your own judgments. Are your likes and dislikes based on objective fact or your own subjective experience?

At FranklinCovey, we are especially focused on confronting bias in the workplace because bias, in all its forms, wreaks havoc on engagement. Just imagine being passed over for a promotion because of bias. How engaged will you be going forward? Just imagine being marginalized based on your education. How engaged will you be?

If you want to build a culture of inclusion, one with high engagement, and one that reaps the rewards of true diversity, you’ve got to seek out bias and address it. If you can’t spot bias in your workplace, maybe someone you work with can. Ask them if they have seen bias or experienced bias.

Sharpen your habit of examining your own decisions, judgments, and conclusions, through practice. Making a conscious effort to improve is the first step toward confronting bias.

Download our guide, Manage Your Biases to Better Manage Your Team, to learn some strategies for identifying your biases as a leader and what you can do to manage them.

Scratching The Surface Of Unconscious Bias

Gender and race aren’t the only areas where people commonly harbor unconscious (and conscious) biases. Here...

Common Causes Of Bias

Everyone has biases, whether they are conscious or conscious, but where do they come from? Bias is often tr...

6 Ways to Help Your Team Handle Stress During Times of Change

Download Guide

Return to Home

We enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere.

Confronting Bias In The Workplace

Previous Article

Next Article

Confronting Bias In The Workplace

Previous Article

Next Article

Most Recent Articles

FranklinCovey’s mission of enabling greatness in people and organizations everywhere is essentially a mission about change.

We have identified the four most common pitfalls impacting leaders in transition and provide strategies for leaders to successfully navigate these potential pitfalls.

There is a lot of research about leaders failing to transition into an organization and/or up into a new role. It is important to understand you are on a journey through transition.

Based on our data, we have created a formula for helping new leaders work through the top four reasons for failure.

There are several things you can do to keep remote workers engaged. Look over this list and see if there are some you can implement.

Skilled leaders understand that change is a disruptive force and an opportunity. By understanding the predictable pattern of change, leaders can reframe hybrid work as a catalyst for growth.

Most of us fear failure and try to avoid it at all costs, becoming stressed out and risk-averse. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s how to change your mind about failure.

So you’ve got extremely talented people on your team and you have them aligned with appropriate tasks where they should really excel. But your results aren’t matching your expectations. What now?

What do you do when your team starts to falter or produce less than stellar results—how do you turn things around and recover?

Project management is now the work and competitive edge of the twenty-first century, even for workers without that phrase in their title or job description. Master these 4 skills to excel.

Creating behavior change requires three learning and development components that drive lasting impact. Read this article to learn more.

Leaders have an opportunity to facilitate smooth sailing on projects. Learn how keeping open lines of communication, inspiring enthusiasm, and cultivating an agile approach contribute to success.

Want to be smart about your L&D program budget? Align your learning outcomes with broader business goals for ultimate success. Learn more in this article.

When HR leaders invest in application-driven learning and development solutions, they provide ongoing learning opportunities that lead to lasting impact for their organization.

You’re in a unique position to solve problems your people can’t solve on their own and to obtain resources they don’t have access to.

Leaders can support their project teams by taking time to build frameworks for collaboration and cultivating a healthy team culture built on trust and clear communication.

How can you determine if you should change how you work, or if you should look for something different? Ask yourself these questions:

When projects are tied to business value, grounded in effective collaboration, and driven by healthy processes, leaders can help their teams achieve their goals.

Change is an ever-present part of running an organization. Today, rapid changes in technology, market dynamics, staffing, and consumer preferences have accelerated the need for upskilling.