How Bias Affects Team Productivity

UNDERSTAND ACCEPT LEVERAGE
October 2014 | Los Angeles, California
Sharon Donald Associate Director of Strategic Systems

Outline
• Objectives of this Presentation
• Diversity, Inclusion & Bias
• Test Cases, Team Activities
• Making a Difference
• Wrap Up and Questions
2

Objectives
• What can you expect to get out of this presentation?
– Insight: into how unrecognized bias can affect your team
– Curiosity: on what are people’s perceptions based?; what are your own biases?
– Determination: to be open to alternative perceptions
– Beginning toolkit: recognizing and overcoming bias in yourself and others
• What benefits can you expect by understanding how
bias can affect the workplace?
– Better team leadership skills
– Ability to work effectively with diverse teams
– Mutual respect of co-workers
3

The Four Layers of Diversity*
4
Layer 1:
Organizational Dimensions
Layer 2:
External Dimensions
Layer 3:
Internal Dimensions
Layer 4:
Cognitive Dimensions
Self
*Adapted from Marilyn Loden and Julie Rosener,
“Workforce America!” (Business One Irwin, 1991)

The Four Layers of Diversity* - Self
SELF:
Cognitive
Dimensions
Conflict-handling Mode
• Competing
• Collaborating
• Compromising
• Avoiding
• Accommodating
MBTI Type
• Extroversion/Introversion
• Sensing/Intuition
• Thinking/Feeling
• Judging/Perceiving
Learning Styles
• By doing?
• By watching?
• By listening?
Communication Style
• Think before speaking?
• Think while speaking?
• Comfortable with interruptions?
*Adapted from Marilyn Loden and Julie Rosener,
“Workforce America!” (Business One Irwin, 1991)

Diversity & Inclusion
Why Do We Care?
Why is Diversity important and what role does Inclusion play?
– A diverse workforce provides the best
opportunity for innovation and the flexibility
required to overcome complex challenges
– Inclusion is important because it helps us
get the most out of our diverse resources
6

Why is Diversity Hard?
Why is It Important to Understand Bias?
While diversity of thought & experience provide valuable insights which we
can leverage as a team,
Differences can also cause Anxiety, Misunderstanding and Lack of Trust
Recognizing our own and others’ biases can help us understand team
dynamics, effectively address issues, and ultimately achieve our goals by
building strong teams
7

What is Inclusion
and Why is It Important?
8
• Inclusion is the process by
which we effectively
integrate diverse
resources into a whole that
is more than the sum of its
parts.
• We do this by recognizing
and leveraging our
differences rather than
seeking to minimize or
ignore them.

Diversity Past & Present
9
Hide identity
to conform
OK to look
different, but
conform to
behavioral norms
Subtle bias still
exists, often
unacknowledged
Everyone is
accepted for who
they are and what
they can
contribute…

Where Are We Now?
Demographic %Population %Board Room
White Male 36% 66%
Women 50% 20%
Minorities 37% 16%
What’s going on?
Data is composite from CBS News Report, Wiki-Answers
10

Examples of Subtle Bias
• Second Generation Gender Discrimination1
– One common gender-biased dynamic is the way in
which leadership tends to be judged in the workplace
– "Good" leaders are expected to be strong, confident, and
assertive.
• Yet, when women act strong, confident, and assertive, they're
often perceived and judged as uncaring, self-promoting, and
aggressive
• And when they act in more collaborative ways, they're
viewed as not possessing "good" leadership skills.
1The Invisible Barrier: Second Generation Gender Discrimination; http://www.simmons.edu/som/docs/insights_32_v6.pdf
11

12
• Protective Hesitation1
– If a mentor or manager is more comfortable with one person than
another, he/she is likely to give that person more critical
feedback, thereby enhancing their chances of success, all quite
unwittingly!
– This in turn can lead to the perception that ‘even when given the
same opportunities, this group does not achieve at the same
level’, reinforcing stereotypes and impeding forward progress,
despite the best intentions all around!
1http://www.mentoringgroup.com/html/mentor_12.htm

• Avoidance of the Appearance of ‘Favoritism’
– If a manager is concerned that he/she may be perceived as
biased toward a minority employee, he/she may fail to give equal
access to resources and opportunities to this employee, thereby
actually putting them at a disadvantage
• May be in response to concerns from majority employees about
‘unfair advantage’ given to a minority
• May be very difficult to recognize by the manager, and a difficult
subject to broach by the affected employee
• Similar to protective hesitation, this can lead to the perception that
‘even when given the same opportunities, this group does not
achieve at the same level’, because the opportunity imbalance is
not recognized
13

Why Can’t We Just Eliminate Bias?
• Bias is based on our life experiences, and can be a
14
protective mechanism
• We often do not even recognize our own bias
• It is easy to misinterpret others’ bias
• It is very difficult to understand all possible perspectives,
and despite our best efforts, we still base our assumptions
on perceived ‘truths’

So, What Can We Do?
• Be open to question our own and others’ perspectives
• Be open to discussion about bias or perceived bias
– Don’t get defensive, get to the bottom of
15
misunderstandings!
– Facilitate discussion with others who may have difficulty
• Work with allies to effect change
• The following case studies will provide an opportunity to think
about possible bias in different scenarios
but first ….

Let’s Look at Some Attributes
Behavioral
Attribute
Positive
Interpretation
Negative
Interpretation
Neutral
Interpretation
Loud Voice Assertive Pushy Hard of Hearing
Soft Voice
Thoughtful,
Introspective
Timid Sore Throat
Outgoing,
Engaging
Motivational Unprofessional Friendly
16

Attribute
Western Cultural
Interpretation
Loud Voice
Squeaky wheel gets
the grease
Eastern Cultural
Interpretation
The loudest duck gets
shot
Self-Advocation
You have to learn to
toot your own horn!
The nail that sticks up
gets hammered down
Outgoing, Engaging Friendly Too familiar
17

Generational Attributes
Traditional Boomer Gen X Millennial
Work Traits Like structure Results driven Learn quickly
18
Embrace
diversity
Communication
Style
Formal, memo In person Direct, casual
Email, texting,
motivational
Feedback
No news is
good news
Once/yr., lots of
documentation
Sorry to
interrupt but
how am I doing?
Whenever I
want at push of
a button
Work/Life
Balance
Do what you
gotta do
Workaholics Need it Need it

Developer Project Manager
There are still unexplained phenomena, we
aren’t done yet!
It meets performance, and I have
customers waiting. Ship it!
Who needs documentation? It’s self-explanatory!
We need to support this for several years in
the future; more documentation is better.
It’s somebody else’s job to worry about the
schedule.
We review the schedule every week, why
don’t my developers take it seriously?
There are an infinite number of ways we can sort ourselves,
and just as many ways to misunderstand each other …
19

Let’s Look at Some Test Cases
20

Lucy & Rob: Being Heard
Setting
• Brainstorming meeting for ideas on how to promote
diversity & inclusion throughout the organization
21

Lucy & Rob: Being Heard
Event
• Lucy suggests an approach; no one responds
• A few minutes later someone else makes the same
suggestion
• Rob, a well respected leader exclaims: “That’s a
great idea!”
• That idea is then taken forward with the second
proponent as lead
22

Mary & Joe: Advocating for Self & Others
Perceptions and Assertions
23
• Mary
– Technically excellent, strong writing skills, gets along well with team
members, fairly quiet
• Perception of Mary
– Excellent technical contributor but lacks leadership potential, the latter
largely because she is perceived as someone who wants to avoid conflict
and ‘please’ everyone
• Joe
– Outgoing, assertive, decisive and vocally willing to take on leadership
opportunities. Good, but not great technically
• Perception of Joe
– Has great leadership potential, is seen as a rising star

Setting
24
• Joe is the technical lead on a
complex project. He is
working with management to
identify a new team lead for
this project so that he can
pursue a new opportunity.

Situation
• Joe feels that Mary is the obvious choice to replace him, but,
knowing management’s perception of her, is hesitant to ‘stick
his neck out’ too far to advocate for her, in part because he
assumes management may have better insight than he in these
matters.
• Mary feels she is the obvious choice, but also feels it’s
management’s job to recognize it, and that if they don’t,
perhaps they recognize something lacking in her that she does
not see.
• Management is very worried; they want to give Joe this new
opportunity, but don’t want to risk the current project.
25

Yolanda: An Assertive Woman
Situation
• Yolanda is a new hire at her company. She has many
years experience in her field and has led numerous
projects, managing both technical and programmatic
aspects.
• She is very out-spoken, decisive and assertive.
• She is a first-generation immigrant. English is a second
language for her, and she has a strong accent.
26

Yolanda: An Assertive Woman
Situation
• Yolanda has been assigned to lead a large project staffed with long-term
employees. The current project lead has been in place for many years, but he is
retiring. It is a large, multi-disciplinary team with many long-term members.
• Some of her teammates are uncomfortable around her. They feel she is pushy
and too aggressive.
• Some of her co-workers have trouble understanding her when she speaks due to
her strong accent.
• Yolanda has a sense that she is not well accepted, but cannot understand why. She
was very successful at her last company, and cannot understand what might be
different here.
• Management has made the work assignment and feels their work is done. They are
disappointed over Yolanda’s lack of acceptance and suggest to her that she find a
way to ‘be a team player’.
27

Harold & Ryan: The Age Divide
Setting & People
28
• The setting:
– A meeting to discuss decline in sales revenue causes &
solutions
• The people:
– Harold is in his late 50’s, and leader of the organization,
who has spent his career in sales
– Ryan is in his 20’s, a new hire with a background in
communications and computer science, not sales
– Other team members who have been working with Harold
for several years

Harold & Ryan: The Age Divide
Situation
• Harold puts an agenda up on the overhead projector and
methodically begins going around the room to query each
team member about recent sales calls, existing customer
feedback, and gathering observations from around the
room
• Ryan seems distracted and keeps checking his phone,
seemingly not paying attention to others in the room
• When called on for his turn, Ryan answers concisely, and
responds to others’ inputs, but Harold is noticeably
perturbed at Ryan’s behavior
29

Team Workshop & Personal Reflection
• At each table you will find handouts regarding the test
cases discussed
• Each table should work as a team on the case studies,
then spend some time individually on personal reflection
• Select a spokesperson for each test case
• Each table will out-brief their team responses
• Remember, there are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers!
Our goal is to understand what goes into our own
and others’ perceptions.
30

Let’s Look at Some Test Cases
31
Lucy makes a suggestion, but
no one responds. A few
minutes later someone else
makes the same suggestion,
which is embraced by the
leader. The idea is taken
forward with this second
proponent as lead.
Joe is a project lead who will be
graduating and transitioning to
a new job. He feels Mary will
make a great replacement for
him, but knowing leadership
has concerns, is unsure of
whether or how to advocate for
her.
Yolanda has many years experience in
her field, but being a first-generation
immigrant, some of her co-workers at
her new job have difficulty
understanding her strong accent. As
an out-spoken, decisive and assertive
person, some new teammates feel she
is too aggressive. Management is
disappointed over Yolanda’s lack of
acceptance and suggest that she find a
way to ‘be a team player’.
Harold, organizational leader in
his late 50s, and Ryan, new hire
in his 20s, have different areas
of expertise and seemingly
conflicting approaches to
successful business practices.

Making a Difference
32
• Be willing to question your own
assumptions, and share this with
others
– Personal examples help others recognize
similar situations of their own
– Start small and local within your team,
cultivate like-minded advocates and
branch out!
– You will continue to increase your own
sensitivity, and your own ‘Diversity &
Inclusion Toolbox’ for dealing with
sensitive situations

Making a Difference
• When you see misunderstanding or injustice
speak up!
– Be careful not to make assumptions about others’
motivations or perceptions
– Help others recognize when they make this mistake
33

Summary
• Recognize that Diversity is not just about Gender
and Ethnicity
34
Question
Assumptions
Embrace
Diversity!
Be open to
alternative
perspectives
Don’t jump to
conclusions!
• Recognizing bias helps us leverage diversity to
build strong, flexible, creative teams

Feedback
Your Thoughts on the Workshop
35
• Feedback on this workshop
- Do you think this type of workshop is useful?
- What did you like best about it?
- What did you like least about it?
- Who do you feel would benefit from this type of workshop?
- How might we improve the workshop?
- Please send feedback to sdonald@draper.com with WORKSHOP
FEEDBACK in the subject line

How Bias Affects Team Productivity

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