The greatest threat to inclusion is this

Welcome to Simply Diversity. This bimonthly letter breaks down key diversity concepts and explains how you can apply them... simply. There are plenty of terms heard ‘round the Internet as we prioritize diversity, inclusion and belonging in everything we do. This newsletter explains what these concepts are, why they’re important, and how to practice them. 

The greatest threat to inclusion is your gut feelings. 

Wait, what!? That might sound strange. Isn’t it a good thing to trust your gut? 

Sometimes, sure: when you’re making a decision for yourself about a job or relationship, it helps to listen to your gut.

But what about when your decisions affect others? What about when you’re hiring or networking or socializing?

The truth is, our gut feelings are steeped in bias. They come from the years we’ve spent living in a world that taught us its biases without our consent. Our brain makes countless, instantaneous judgments that inform how we act. So when we trust our gut — those judgments result in inevitably biased decisions. It means we often unconsciously exclude people who seem different from us. 

Break it down:

Let’s be clear: it’s not always bad to be exclusive. When you’re building a team or hiring, you have to choose some people and not others. Even when you’re having people over for dinner (pre Covid!), you only have so many seats at your table. You can’t invite everyone. 

Exclusion is a natural part of life — but so is bias. If we don’t slow down and get intentional about our decisions, bias WILL come through in whom we include or exclude from our teams, our companies, and our dining rooms.

The antidote is being deliberate in our decisions. Unfortunately, this is not our default mode! Instead, there are three scenarios where we usually rely on “gut feel” to make decisions:

1. When we’re in a hurry
2. When we’re tired
3. When we’re under stress

These scenarios have a common denominator: urgency. 

We want to get the decision over with, so we fall back on our gut feeling. The result? Unintended exclusion. 

Urgency is deeply embedded in our culture and our companies. It came up recently with a client who engaged us to help them. We started the conversation as we often do, by asking them, “what do you value?” 

They said they value “getting things done quickly,” “being first to market,” and “being fast.” 

Those are not wholly bad, but you can see how they would be part of the problem for a company that also values (or wants to value!) inclusion. If urgency is one of your values, you can be confident your employees are making biased decisions.

Do Something Different:

To create inclusion and avoid biased decisions, we must let go of that sense of urgency. 

For example, build more time into your recruiting process. Have a consistent, measurable rubric for making new hires. Rather than a six week go-to-market process, give your team eight weeks to build in evaluation time to be deliberate. 

In my book UNBIAS, I share a ton of examples of how processes and procedures can change to promote inclusion and allow for unbiased decision-making.

You’re not deliberate when you’re in a hurry. And when your decisions affect others (and most do), being deliberate is how you ensure you’re not relying on bias. 

So for the next decision you make today, take a moment to pause. Slow down. Realize this decision is important! Give it the respect it’s due. 

And let me know in the comments what you discover about your decision-making process. I’ve shared an example of my own, and I’d love to hear from you.

I wrote a book! UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias At Work is a tool to create healthy, inclusive, and equitable workplaces. Preorder your copy here.