“Iwasjustthrownoffbythelackofyecontact;notrealizingitwascultural,”Tiffanysays.“Imissedout,butwillnotmissthatopportunityagain.”
Manyofushavehadsimilarencounterswithbehaviorsweperceiveasdifferent.Astheworldbecomessmallerandourworkplacesmorediverse,itisbecomingessentialtoexpandourunder-standingofothersandtoreexaminesomeofourfalseassumptions.
Atatimewhenhiringqualifiedpeopleisbecomingmoredifficult,employerswhocaneliminateinvalidbiases(偏爱)fromtheprocesshaveadistinctadvantage.Mycompany,MindsetsLLC,helpsorganizationsandindividualsseetheirownblindspots.Arealestaterecruiterweworkedwithillustratesthepositivedifferencesuchtrainingcanmake.
“DuringmyMindsetscoachingsession,Iwastaughthowtorecruitadiversifiedworkforce.Irecruitedpeoplefromdifferentculturesandskillsets.Theagentswereabletoutilizetheirfullpotentialandexperiencestobuildupthecompany.Whentherealestatemarketbegantochange,itwasbecausewehadadiverseagentpoolthatwewereabletostayintherealestatemarketmuchlongerthanothersinthesameprofession.”
Daleisanaccountexecutivewhoattendedoneofmyworkshopsonsupervisingadiverseworkforce.“Throughoneofthesessions,Idiscoveredmypersonalbias,”herecalls.“IlearnedIhadnotbeenlookingatapersonasawholeperson,andbeingopentodifferences.”Inhiscase,theblindnesswasnotaboutculturebutrathergender.
“Ihadamanagementpositionopeninmydepartment;andthetwofinalistswereamanandawoman.HadInotattendedthisworkshop,Iwouldhaveautomaticallyassumedthemanwasthebestcandidatebecausethepositionrequiredquiteabitofextensivetravel.Myreasoningwouldhavebeenthateventhoughbothcandidatesweregreatandcouldhavebeensuccessfulintheposition,Iassumedthewomanwouldhavewantedtobehomewithherchildrenandnottravel.”Dale’sassumptionsareanotherexampleofthewell-intentionedbutincorrectthinkingthatlimitsanorganization’sabilitytotapintothefullpotentialofadiverseworkforce.
“Ilearnedfromtheclassthatinsteadofimposingmygenderbiasesintothesituation,Ineededtopresentthefullrangeofduties,responsibilitiesandexpectationstoallcandidatesandallowthemtomakeaninformeddecision.”Dalecreditstheworkshop,“becauseithelpedmemakedecisionsbasedonfairness.”
Dougisanothersupervisorwhoattendedoneofmyworkshops.Herecallsamajorlessonlearnedfromhisownemployee.
“OneofmymostembarrassingmomentswaswhenIhadaChinese-AmericanemployeeputinarequesttotaketimeofftocelebrateChineseNewYear.Inmyignorance,Iassumedhehadhisdateswrong,asthefirstofJanuaryhadjustpassed.WhenIadvisedhimofthis,Igavehimalongtalking-toaboutturninginrequestsearlywiththeproperdates.
“Hepatientlywaited,thenwhenIwasdone,hesaidhewouldlikeChineseNewYeardidnotbeginJanuaryfirst,andthatChineseNewYear,whichistiedtothelunarcycle,isoneofthemostcelebratedholidaysontheChinesecalendar.Needlesstosay,Ifeltveryembarrassedinassuminghehadhisdatesmixedup.ButIlearnedagreatdealaboutassumptions,andthatthetimingofholidaysvariesconsiderablyfromculturetoculture.
