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Prejudice Distorts Communication
How can limit the negative effects of prejudice in your organization? A beginning is to realize that bias is happening all the time. We all have biases that filter much of what we hear, see and think. This hurts, because biases distort communication reality.
History of Prejudice
Here is a case about how distorted reality bias as reported by a Executive Coaching my clients. As CEO of a large agency, received a letter from the Board saying he needed to improve some behavior. One of them was that they said was overly aggressive and hostile.
I asked him if he knew what it was. "No." I suggested that I interview some of its Governing Council to find out what he meant. Bravely interviewed them for feedback. One of them said: "In the meeting X, and another man got into a lengthy discussion. You too crazy in front of us. Then, some board members complained they're too hostile. "
Now my client at least knew of a case that generated the label, "too aggressive and hostile." He complained to me that it was A bias was not expected. He said it was a bias against black men like him. He said: "The whites are afraid of angry black men. I was fired fear. It ignores the fact that the man was arguing with was also black and both were able to fix the end in front of everyone. "This was a conversation in which both strong show of passion. Black people feel comfortable with being angry and show it. "
Cut more slack
He added: "Another fact that they probably do not know is that my predecessor was furious at times. I saw a lot more angry than he was. And nobody on the Board never He said nothing, in my opinion, because he was white. Cut more slack for whites. "
This is the bias in action, cutting more slack to a than others. Here's a good image for the operation of prejudice. It's like having a shooting range with two goals. One of the objectives has a porthole that is 6 inches diameter, the whites of the eyes of others is 12 inches in diameter. A group of people who receive the largest center of the target and the group of the smallest minority. As a minority person, you gotta be a better chance to succeed. That is the bias. And that bias distorts perceptions and communication.
Increased Awareness
To limit this tendency, must increase their knowledge of when operating on you or your organization. Namely difficult to do. One way is to ask the people of minorities to give feedback and be willing to change their perceptions.
What if the target Board members had discussed this matter with my client ahead of you sent your letter? They have heard his reply as I do. Perhaps it would have caused them to return to review its conclusion about the aggression too. Perhaps he remembered the moments of anger of my client's predecessor and realize they were using a small porthole to my client black.
How can you raise awareness, seek feedback and create a dialogue in your organization?
Copyright © 2009 by William R. Murray, President of Eagle Alliance Executive Coaching, LLC. Reprint rights granted to all venues so long as this article and by line-is printed intact with all links made live.
About the Author
William R. Murray, MBA (Harvard), M.Div. (Yale), Master Certified Coach, founder of Eagle Alliance Executive Coaching, LLC in 1993, is a seasoned leader, executive coach, and corporate trainer
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