Are We All Biased? Yes- Unconscious Bias in the Organization
By Neal Goodman, Ph.D.
 
Prejudice and discrimination are detrimental to the success of any public organization yet the best available research demonstrates that we all harbor prejudices which can unconsciously. Influence how we act toward one another in our organizations. http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2014-implicit-bias.pdf.   Many of these prejudices are deeply held in our unconscious.  Since many of these prejudices exist beyond the conscious level and are a result of being brought up in a culture that harbors biases we must first acknowledge that they in fact exist.  You do not have to be a racist, or sexist to implicitly support racism or sexism.  These unconscious biases are not restricted to any one group and they differ significantly from open and legislated forms of prejudice and discrimination such as usage of a derogatory name. 
 
Multiple studies have shown that resumes with names that are related to under-represented groups are not as likely to be invited for an interview as identical resumes with “dominant” group names.  So for example, in the US a resume submitted with the name Leroy is less likely to be interviewed for a job than a resume submitted by Jonathan.  In the UK, Ali is less welcome than Edward.  Resumes submitted by Jennifer also received fewer requests than John.  In meetings opinions expressed by women are taken less seriously than the same opinions expressed by men of the same status.  Doctors are less likely to do medical tests for people of color etc. One of the paradoxes of such unconscious bias is that those who are discriminated against are also likely to discriminate against their own kind since they have been brought up with the same prejudice as everyone else in the society. 
 
The implications of unconscious bias are clearly that the best and brightest talent is often made to feel unwelcome, invisible and not important for the success of the organization.  This results in employees who are detached and likely to take their talents elsewhere. 
Organizations are slowly recognizing that they must provide training on unconscious bias to create a more inclusive culture but they often go down the wrong path.  There are some positive training considerations that can improve the likelihood that a training initiative can succeed.
 
What can your organization do ?
Set realistic expectations.  Do not over promise and under deliver.  Raising expectations that unconscious bias training will eliminate all bias would be disingenuous. The goal is to be conscious of our biases not to pretend to be blind to differences that exist.
Provide appropriate time for the training.  It has taken a lifetime to develop our biases; they cannot be overcome in a 2 hour session. Ideally several short sessions or one full day is a minimum.
Provide the training in-person.  This topic requires interaction, trust and the opportunity for people to meet in a safe environment.  Unconscious bias training is not appropriate for eLearning or webinars.  While it may seem cost effective to cover this topic in eLearning or via webinars the sessions there will be very little measurable change.
Be extremely judicious in selecting the right facilitator. Do not select a trainer based only because they took a course on diversity, see this topic as “their passion” or are from an underrepresented group.  Trainers should be highly qualified and well versed in the social psychology of attitude formation, be excellent and empathetic facilitators, and have a non-threatening and inclusive style which avoids guilt trips.
Incorporate unconscious bias assessment tools such as those provided by Project Implicit.  This tool which helps to uncover hidden biases on many criteria including, race, gender, disabilities, and age has been used by over a million times to uncover hidden biases (http://projectimplicit.net/index.html).  Trainers must also know the pitfalls of this test and the way people interpret the outputs from the Project Implicit web site. Trainers must check that the trainees are not misinterpreting results and have support as required.
Unconscious bias training is most effective when focusing on specific real situations such as reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, responding to customers etc.  It has been used in the education of judges and potential jurors, in healthcare and in virtually all commercial and governmental organizations. An example of an outcome is asking how to correctly pronounce someone’s name is a micro-affirmation while not using someone’s name because you are afraid of embarrassing yourself is a micro-inequity.
Address the topic on in-group favoritism and how it operates in the organization.  Research shows that a lack of diversity creates group think while diverse viewpoints result in more creativity and innovation.
The training should help to identify those situations in which our implicit biases run contrary to our organizations’ explicit values.
Use proven successful simulations, role plays and other interactive exercises that help people take the perspective of others.   Many standard tools used in diversity training are inappropriate.
Have groups discuss the word, phrases, symbols, jokes and other symbolic representations of their group which they find offensive and why.
Provide debiasing counter-stereotyping activities such as making associations which go counter to existing stereotypes (male nurses, female scientists, elderly athletes).
Learning about our hidden biases is not sufficient.  Successful training must also help the participants to identify and build skills to overcome these biases.  There must be an expectation that there will be measurable behavioral changes and that those in the training will support each other in implementing these changes.  It is unrealistic to expect that our unconscious biases which have taken years to develop will melt away after a single training program.  Follow-up training and or coaching will help to reinforce the original training.  Metrics that demonstrate changes in behavior such as the percentages of underrepresented candidates selected for development programs should be a part of any follow-up to demonstrate the commitment to take action.
 
If organizations want to hire and retain the best and the brightest, increase employee engagement create a culture of inclusiveness that generates innovative then their leaders and employees must learn to identify their hidden biases and make conscious decisions to try to eliminate them in the workplace.

Neal Goodman, PhD is president of Global Dynamics Inc. the leading provider of Cultural Competence, Global Leadership, Virtual Workforce Effectiveness and Diversity and Inclusion solutions to over 200 Global Fortune 500 companies. 

Global Virtual Teams - Are We Preparing Our Workforce?
By Neal Goodman and Sue Bray
 
In the late 1980’s, one of the authors of this article was director of the distance learning program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy NY.  This was before the term “online learning” had even been used, and RPI’s graduate programs were shared with industry via TV-like production facilities and satellite broadcast.   A faculty member who taught in this program wanted to use a new and exotic piece of hardware in the classroom that took some time to figure out and integrate.  That device?   A Mouse! 
One cannot overestimate the impact that technological advances, the emergence of the Internet, and the realities of a global economy have had on learning and working over a few short decades. In fact, we refer to this profound and pervasive change as a “new sociology of work.”   Today’s workers find themselves in global enterprises and on teams that are cross-cultural in nature and interact in virtual, technology-driven environments.    It seems appropriate to ask if we are adequately preparing both leaders and team members with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in this environment.
The cost of not asking this question is great.   Failed mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures due to cultural misunderstanding result in the loss of billions of dollars.   Cross-cultural communication breakdowns, fueled by the lack of context and connection that can characterize virtual communication approaches, contribute to breakdown of trust and failed projects.   And yet research indicates that fewer than 16 percent of employees in multinational organizations, who work virtually, have had any specific preparation or training for this work. 
The good news is that a body of knowledge for successfully leading and performing effectively on Global Virtual Teams is emerging.     We are beginning to identify the Best Practices of high performing global virtual teams and the attributes of those who can lead them successfully across the demanding virtual, cross-cultural terrain they navigate.    We also know that the payoffs can be great.   Those who can harness the inherent creativity of varying cultural perspectives have the opportunity to lead through innovation. 
One champion of this notion is Unilever’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Commutations, Fiona Laird. “Organizations that remove the artificial boundaries around how, where, and when work gets done are those that are winning in today’s marketplace,” Laird said.  “They are more flexible, more efficient, and better able to respond to rapid change.”
A recently developed training program Leading Global Virtual Teams has identified what we consider to be the “Top Success Factors for Global Virtual Teams.”  These success factors draw on a meta-analysis review of the literature and the examination of hundreds of cases with global virtual teams in corporate environments.   The program is based on a model that considers those factors that relate to the fact that the work is carried out virtually; those factors that relate to the fact that the work is often carried out across cultural difference and the fact that these two phenomena interact in interesting ways.    The model further depicts the critical role of trust and leadership in tying all of this together for productive team outcomes.   Emerging from this model are some very practical and useful tips for team leaders and members to apply.
 
A couple examples of these tips are:
A.     Emphasize strong team start-up with the goal of alignment and building of relationships. 
We all know that first impressions matter, but this is especially critical in the case of global virtual teams.  So a critical role of the team leader is to ensure a robust team beginning where the seeds of connection, purpose and mutual accountability are sown.    Leaders consider the kinds of activities that must be undertaken in the Preparation Stage and the Launch Stage to gain the commitment of far-flung team members.  The goal is to consciously build a form of “Swift Trust” that will sustain the team through challenging times ahead.    In this context we consider the critical role of a Team Charter, which answers the question: Why does this team exist? Likewise, a Team Operating Agreement is critical and must answer the question: How will this team go about conducting its work?  
 
B.     Stress mindful use of collaboration technologies.  
Mindfulness is actually a term that has its roots in Zen Buddhist meditation but has entered the American mainstream in recent years.  It relates to bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience or the present moment.  We find it a very useful concept for cross-cultural and virtual work.  It is the opposite of the “knee-jerk” response in which we act instinctively without considering the context of the moment.  Those who navigate successfully across cultures are mindful of their own cultural approaches and how they might impact others.  In applying this concept to the use of collaboration technologies, we are calling upon people to consciously create and construct the cyber-space environment of their team to support the required communication tasks.   In brick-and-mortar places we often take care to design the space to support and enhance work.  “Cyber space” is the equivalent for global virtual teams—and yet we often just grab the technologies at hand without careful thought to the nature of the space we are creating.  
The tips noted above are just a couple examples of the many very concrete and practical things that can be taught to improve the effectiveness of global virtual teams.  It is critical that team leaders devote the necessary time for team-building and training throughout the life of their teams.  The ties that bind virtual teams together can be fragile across time, distance and culture.  But we are firm believers that virtual environments can be humanized and that connection, creativity and true collaboration can be accomplished in global virtual teams.
If you have any best practices for training Global Virtual Teams, questions, or cases to share please send them to

Developing Global Leadership Competence
 
By Neal Goodman Ph.D.
 
The geographically dispersed, culturally diverse workforce and marketplace is the new reality.  Yet most organizations lack a clear roadmap on how to best develop global leaders for this new reality.
 
“I was selected to be the new President of our operations in Japan with the expectation that upon the completion of this assignment I would become one of the top leaders in the company.  As soon as I arrived I thought to myself “everything they are doing here is stupid”.  Was this potential leader going to fail?
 
If you could design the perfect global leadership development program (GLDP) what would it look like? Having worked on the GLDPs of scores of Global Fortune 1000 companies it is hard to identify any one that has it perfectly right but here are a few modest suggestions:
 
Understand the cultural underpinnings of your assumptions regarding what a good leader is.  Variations include giving more or less emphasis on focusing on the community/society/shareholder value.
 
Most Global Leadership Development Programs fail primarily due to the lack of a systematic internal process to create astute, flexible and visionary leaders who can hold multiple perspectives simultaneously.
 
Create a GLDP curriculum that is unique to your organization; one that encompasses your vision, mission and leadership competencies.  Relying on a canned University program is not an effective solution. The curriculum should be multi faceted and with clear milestones and metrics. A global leadership curriculum must be a progressive process of training, coaching, immersion and reflection
 
Understand and address the competencies which are critical for global leaders.
Most research on global leadership identifies competencies such as: having a global business mindset;; cultural intelligence (CQ); collaborative leadership skills, creativity, innovation and vision and, teambuilding and partnering as being key factors for success.
 
One of the best ways to guarantee the success of senior global leaders is to put them into an extended immersion into a new culture. A global stretch assignment should be a part of the development program.  The assignees must be provided with the cultural coaching and support from both the sending and receiving sponsors.  In The Innovator’s DNA, Jeff Dyer and  Clay Christensen report that business people are 35% more likely to conceive new ideas if they have lived in a foreign country. Such assignments when combined with training and coaching can help the assignee to make the most of such assignments. A hallmark of a successful global leader is the ability to view the same situation from multiple perspectives. Living and working in more that one cultural setting helps to develop such a perspective. International travel is not a substitute.This is one of the most effective, yet least utilized, opportunities for the training and development of global leaders. Most organizations see international assignments simply as a requirement to achieve a functional need.
 
There are a number of organizations that do include an international assignment as a prerequisite for global leadership positions but then do not measure whether these people have gained the core competencies as a result of their assignments. One executive I interviewed after a 5 year assignment in Taiwan, boasted how he did just great without ever learning to speak more than 50 words of Chinese.  On the other extreme another executive (the one described above who had a negative first impression of Japan) said he was coached to spend his first six months in Japan learning Japanese and carefully observing and noting the relationship building that took place in the office. Neither of these executives was given any structured training or development program but one came back to the US ready to take on global responsibilities while the other did not.  Though there may be a cultural training component to the assignment, there is usually no training and development plan to develop the skills needed to become a future leader of the organization. As a result, some people return from an international assignment with very few of the competencies mentioned above.
 
Executive Coaching for Global Leadership – While executive coaching has become the norm in many organizations there are very few Executive Coaches who have the competency and experience to provide guidance to achieve the qualities of a global leader. An effective Global Executive Coaching program will target the specific issues associated with global work. Much of this is focused on the hidden cultural dimensions that are not “seen” by either the executive or the coach if they have not been trained in the field of intercultural interactions..
 
For example, one VP of Marketing for Latin America received an extensive Executive Coaching program that focused on his leadership, communications, and teambuilding styles and how they were to be adjusted for the various counties in Latin America for which he had responsibility. As a result of the coaching the executive and his direct reports in the region reported significant improvements in his interactions.  The more he learned the more he wanted to know and the assignment which was staring to fail ended up successfully and with a new global position for the VP.
 
 
Global collaboration and project team leadership must be an inherent part of a GLLDP.  Ideally this would allow the potential leaders to work on joint global projects and have the opportunity to meet face to face for as long as it takes to get the project going and then work virtually across time zones and cultures. Global leaders must be “Masters of Collaboration”.  This goes far beyond knowing how to use the latest collaborative technologies. Collaborative Dexterity is needed. In this global interconnected world, global opportunities and problems can be most successfully dealt with by seeking out perspectives representing a cross section of experiences, cultures, and thinking styles. 
 
When the new American leader for Asia Pacific of a highly respected global company met with for the first time with their most important client in China, he started the meeting by discussing the new payment terms.  The client saw this as a serious lack of trust and the multimillion dollar arrangement which had been secure for many years went out to bid.  Had the new leader included divergent perspectives in planning the meeting, he would have been informed that discussing new terms is NOT the way to sustain a good business relationship in China.
 
Inclusiveness in Global Leadership Development Programs. Innovation and creativity often comes from intentional disruptions of the “normal way of thinking” at HQ”. There must be a deliberate effort to include participants who represent your current and future client base.  If over 50%of your revenues come from outside your boarders so should your future leaders. This diversity of perspectives is critical.  Whenever possible, select participants who have shown a proclivity to see things from different perspectives. They may have been involved with multicultural affairs at home or may have studied abroad or hosted people from abroad.  It is much easier to training a leader with a global mindset to develop functional expertise then the opposite. 
 
If organizations wish to succeed in the global marketplace they will need to do a better job at training and developing their global leaders.  The current hit or miss approach is much too costly and inefficient.  Creative approaches to build the competence of global leaders must be developed and integrated across the organization.
 
Dr. Neal Goodman is the President of Global Dynamics Inc, a leading Training and Development firm specializing in Globalization, Cultural Intelligence, Effective Virtual Workplaces and Diversity & Inclusion.