Purple hair - Don't care

The night before traveling 1,000 miles to spend a week caring for my aging parents, I arrived early for my massage. I was waiting in the lobby when I saw the woman who would soon pummel my back into quietude. My first thought was "Purple hair? This should be interesting!”

 As a director of recruiting and talent acquisition, you’d think by now I would be aware of my own unconscious bias. But, there it was, right in front of me. I was judging someone based on the color of her hair.

I’m glad I could make a shift and open my mind. We started talking and within a few minutes, I learned that she is studying reflexology, is an avid learner, and a  committed massage therapy student. She described how after reading three books on the use of essential oils with massage that she made a recommendation to her professor about a book that was a better resource on the subject for the class.

I was in the hands of a student committed to mastery. Then, she shared something profound:

"When a person gets to the point where they're no longer interested in learning anything new, that’s the time they should get out of whatever business they are in.”

Had I not already been lying down, it would have stopped me in my tracks -- growth- minded people go forward. They’re not stuck in outdated mentality.

Growth-minded people see beyond purple hair. My massage therapist is committed to her craft, committed to her profession and committed to being the best that she could be. By now, you’ve probably figured out that once I opened my mind, the purple hair was inconsequential.

Here's the thing. We all have unconscious bias, even those of us who study bias and train others to prevent bias. We have biases as individuals, as consumers, as people walking on this planet.  The important thing is that we're willing to admit it; to look at our own unconscious bias and learn to keep an open mind; to be objective; to give others equal opportunity. It’s not only the right thing to do, but the thing that allows us to see the greatest in others around us. And, we all benefit.