Corporate Leadership: Understanding Your Own Bias

Published On : 06/16/2022

By Cornelia Shipley Bearyman, MBA, PCC, ELI-MP,a strategist and leadership development expert, is founder & CEO of 3C Consulting

Whether you manage a corporate office of strategic advisors, a team of banking, investment or accounting professionals, or an administrative or sales organization — how well you lead will influence how well your team and ultimately your company performs. With employee resignations and burnout at an all-time high, financial product and service companies are challenged with positioning themselves as a true employer of choice. Given that people don’t leave companies, they leave companies that tolerate bad managers and toxic work environments – investing in your leadership team capabilities to effectively lead cross-culturally and create environments of inclusion and belonging, must be a top priority.

Recognizing that everyone (including you) has bias is the first step. Even if you are in a workplace where the majority of employees share the same demographics, diversity across your workforce still exists. That means your managers, supervisors, and department heads will be leading teams that likely hold divergent views and approaches to creating the innovative solutions necessary to win in the marketplace. 

Here are three questions (and answers) identifying ways bias can show up and strategies for creating a more inclusive environment where even the most historically marginalized can thrive.  

1.  What Story Do You Hold About People Who Are Different? We understand life through story. When leaders are trained on bias, it is critical to discuss the childhood stories that were told about people who were “different” from them. Examining those stories help leaders begin to see the origins of their bias and the bias of others. They also help explain some of the “natural” preferences based on age, race, nationality, and veteran status, as well as perceptions of communities like the LGBTQ+ and the other abled. Too often, these “preferences” influence how we communicate and lead. What can you do to shift your story? Challenge the assumptions you make based on your childhood stories and determine if they are accurate based on what you know today. Increase your exposure to those with diverse experiences, adjust your perspective and begin to focus on the individual instead of the story you have in your head about them.  
2. What Workstyle Preference Do You Have? Everyone has a way they like to work from peak productivity hours to frequency of email, text, or calls, to in-person or virtual meetings, and more. As a result, everyone is inherently biased to their own preferences. For example, if you are available 24/7, you may expect your team to do the same. Failure to do so might be reflected in performance evaluations and promotions (your bias in action). Conduct an audit of pay and promotion to see how bias may be affecting performance ratings and salary increases. Take actions necessary to correct the inequities. Additionally, review cultural standards like timeliness, wardrobe, text messages/email/DMs, use of slang and emojis and determine what is appropriate today and incorporate the expectations of historically excluded communities. Are your workplace communications inclusive in nature or do they prevent you from recruiting and retaining talent based on evolving employee expectations? If not, adjust accordingly.
3. How Do You View Change? Leaders are most comfortable doing things the way they have always done things which is why change and transformation isn’t easy and can get in the way of creativity and innovation. The status quo prevents the full lift possible with diverse and inclusive teams. Practice curiosity, step out of your comfort zone, and lead from a place of not knowing vs. already knowing. Reward those who foster curiosity and cultivate innovation in your workplace. Invest in training and support to unlock the innate confidence and capability of your entire healthcare or medical business organization.

Corporate leaders, department supervisors, and any level manager with direct reports must seek out innovative ways to best leverage the power of their company values, processes, and culture to create accelerated growth for the entire employee population and the bottom line. The time is now!  

About The Author:

Cornelia Shipley Bearyman, MBA, PCC, ELI-MP, a strategist and leadership development expert, is founder & CEO of 3C Consulting, a boutique consulting firm specializing in the retention and advancement of mission critical talent. The firm works across multiple industries including the full spectrum of the financial industry (banking, technology and and investment companies). By using a designed approach to development that is aligned to the desired outcomes and objectives of the organization, 3C Consulting strengthens leadership teams through the three C’s of clarity, capability and capacity and unlocks the innate leadership potential and knowledge of the organization to create and take designed action that will ultimately lead them to their desired outcomes. Reach out to Cornelia Shipley Bearyman on LinkedIn.

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