I remember reading an interesting article about ‘Unconscious bias and its effect on healthcare leadership’ that mentioned a growing body of scientific evidence in support of the notion of unconscious bias, and how this has an impact on our interactions with others. Specifically, it says we are more likely to attribute positive characteristics and therefore have better relationships with those who appear to be more similar to us. As a leader this can have a detrimental effect on how we communicate with others and therefore it’s important to understand and then recognise when this happens, subsequently allowing you to take more positive control of such impulses.
This article got me thinking… well this doesn’t apply to me, does it? And as I started to think more about it, memories began to resurface…
One particular day I had around ten people in my team come to see me, one after another with numerous queries and referrals. I had queries from other teams too, from external business contacts, and from customers, all wanting urgent information. It was one of those days where interruptions were consistent and plentiful. The phone rang, emails increased and I was up against a tight deadline to report monthly stats and insight to the Exec team. It was at this exact moment another member of my team came over and said “Can I ask a quick question?” to which I snapped “IS IT URGENT?!”
She blushed, apologised and scuttled off.
What had I just done?
I had made an assumption that the query I was about to be asked was trivial and not worthy of my immediate attention. I’d quickly decided that I had better things to do as well as assuming that the person asking, knew how busy I'd been and how many questions I'd already been asked that day! So, I had, without thought, embarrassed and basically dismissed her importance.
The values I promoted to my team were of respect, integrity, professionalism and flexibility, to name but a few, and what had I just demonstrated? It certainly wasn’t respect, professionalism or flexibility and therefore integrity was thrown right out of the window.
So, what can we do, as leaders?
· Take a moment each day to think about your unconscious bias impulses. Becoming aware of it is the first step to reducing it.
· Cast aside what you think you know about someone. Park your subconscious assumptions and mind-reads and reign in the temptation to express off-the-cuff negative communication.
· If you're inundated with queries all day long and it’s disruptive (and you're aware this is when unconscious bias is more likely to come into play) think about another way of managing it. In my own situation I decided to set up a designated ‘question time’ each afternoon and asked my team to hold their queries until then, unless it was urgent. When they did bring their queries, no matter how busy I was, I’d stop, listen, and give them my full attention and support.
· Treat people with compassion and respect. If someone wants your help, it must be because they recognise you have a skill or knowledge that they can learn from. What a compliment! So smile and take the time to listen.
· Learn from past mistakes. If you can think of a time you haven't dealt with something so well, consider how you WILL deal with it more positively in future!
I think back to that day, which must be around 10 years ago now, and whilst I still wish I hadn’t done that, I learned a valuable lesson, and can hand-on-heart say I’ve never reacted in the same way since.
For that lesson, I’m forever grateful.
Anna x