Working with a Lazy Brain

Now
the question is why does your brain love patterns so much??? You brain is stuck
in a more primitive time; therefore it is always reserved for flight or fight. How
does have an impact in business? Well I wrote an post about something similar about a month ago ("Race in the Workplace-July 11, 2013). This post was a discussion on race and unconscious bias. There
are some ways that you may be missing out on the best talent and people within
your organization with the power of impression. There are several ways that our
brain unconsciously makes decisions for us, and until you are conscious or
aware about what is going on you may be allowing your brain to make decisions
that you are unconsciously aware of.
Horn
Effect: This is a
cognitive bias in which a person’s judgment is clouded by a negative trait of a
person. The exact opposite of the Halo Effect. When you are so focused on a
perceived negative trait you are able to make an accurate assessment of the
person. An example of this would be you are running a meeting and have been asked to invite a new
member that you have never met before, however, this new team member has a
large tattoo. You “hate” tattoos. Now you have ignored that new teammate and
not taking into account their new and possibility accurate assessments of the
situation you are attempting to solve for because you are so distracted by the tattoo.
Similar
to Me: Our natural
tendencies to be drawn to people who are “like me.” For example me and my social
friends have a superficially diverse appearance but we all have similar
perspectives on life. They may have different ethnicity's but we all see the world similarly and gravitate towards each other because of that.
Micro-Inequities: The unconscious formation of small
judgments usually resulting in an inaccurate assessments of situations or
events and are unrecognized by the perpetrator. Usually creating an unequal
environment for a person or group of people. This is usually taking something
that is small and creating an inequity because of it.
Micro-Affirmations: This is the opposite of micro-inequities;
affirmations are subtle or apparently small acknowledgements of a person's
value and accomplishments.
This
post was meant to be an extension of my “Race in the Workplace” post from July 11, 2013. This is
true diversity and inclusion and the meaning of intentional career development,
intentional recruiting, and other intentional employment practices. Many people may say, “Well, I would never do
that. I would never make an assumption about someone’s qualifications based on
their appearance.” However, in all honesty we do it because it is in our very
nature to have biases. And to have our biases created and enforced by our brain unconsciously.
So the next time you are walking around the mall do not make a single judgment about a single person’s capabilities while out shopping. Avoid making assuming because of their race, clothing choices, tattoos, piercings, ect. But so long as you are aware of those behaviors you are capable of asserting some control over them to ensure that you make decisions based solely on qualifications and capabilities and not preferences.
So the next time you are walking around the mall do not make a single judgment about a single person’s capabilities while out shopping. Avoid making assuming because of their race, clothing choices, tattoos, piercings, ect. But so long as you are aware of those behaviors you are capable of asserting some control over them to ensure that you make decisions based solely on qualifications and capabilities and not preferences.
Be a part of a team. Lead with integrity. Remain committed to your core values.
Sincerely,
The Young &
Professional Gal
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