New hire thinks pushback is due to implicit bias

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are good leaders and bad leaders.

There are qualities and behaviors that both objectively exhibit.

Is the work getting done? Is the leader inspiring confidence and trust? Are their employees happy?

No?

Then it’s the leaders job to fix it. Why should your company suffer because you hired an inflexible leader with no humility? That is what it sounds like at least. You don’t storm the castle and then get to say everyone’s just mad at you because of how you look.

Isn't OP the leader and the employee a manager?

Sure, but managers are leaders too. Or they should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I’m looking for some advice about handling a tricky workplace situation. We recently hired a new senior manager, who is a black woman. She is supervising a diverse team, and has been breaking a lot china in her first few months on the job, leading to a lot of unhappiness and complaints from her staff. She has also been ignoring various institutional processes. She is very smart and very capable, but she tends to spend a lot of time telling everyone else how important and smart she is, and not a lot of time listening.

As her supervisor, I finally had to have a hard conversation with her, a very similar conversation to one I have had over the years with many others, in which I told her she’s great, and has a wonderful ideas, but that we need her to do a little bit more listening and checking in with people before she charges ahead on things. She did not take this well, and responded with a long email saying that she thinks the pushback she is getting, both from her staff, and from me, is due to the implicit bias people have about working with a black woman in a leadership position. (I am a white woman.)

I don’t for a moment dispute the fact that black women face all kinds of micro aggression and bias that white men or women would not. And, of course, telling someone their behavior is affected by implicit unconscious bias is a non-rebuttable proposition. However, this woman is doing what I have seen many other people, black, white, male, and female, do over the years, which is alienating everyone around her by grandstanding and being heavy-handed, instead of turning her staff into her allies and supporters.

Any thoughts on how to respond to her? On the one hand, I don’t want to do anything that further convinces her that all criticism is coming out of unconscious racial bias on the other hand, I don’t think the existence of racism in the world should be a free pass for anyone to be a jerk in the workplace, which is frankly what she is doing. Advice?

The problem most people have in this situation is that they don’t stick to their guns because they are afraid of being accused of racism, and in bending over backwards to try to work with the person they create the record that establishes a potential discrimination lawsuit later: they soft pedal concerns, don’t respond to this kind of allegation and it just sits there, etc. etc. If it were me I’d say something like: “I recognize your concerns but don’t see it the same way. In my organization we do things differently. [add specific examples] Please try to manage in that manner in the future. If you have concerns about bias, let’s set up a meeting with HR to discuss those concerns.”

[Anonymous]

I find bias is sometimes created by the people afraid of bias. My last hire a lovely African American women literally her family in country since slave days spun out of control so quickly our black CEO, black head of HR and her black supervisor had her fired after 8 weeks. Everything was racist and we were all out to get her.

My company is at least 30-40 percent black and 50 percent of senior mgt is black but did not stop her with racist card

Move on she is cray cray

[Anonymous]

Ok if some people are saying black women need to double down and be too assertive - as a supervisee I don’t want that type of supervisor. Being tough for the sake of being tough is not helpful.

[Anonymous]

She's a terrible hire and employee who'll cause a mass exodus from your company.


This is what happens when idiot companies use DEI rather than qualifications for hiring people.

Newsflash: people can be terrible employees no matter what race they are. There are terrible employees who are white, black, Asian, Indian, Hispanic.....people cannot use their race to hide behind when they're performing terribly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is if she was a white man she would be considered assertive.

We do judge women, especially black women, differently when they are assertive.

Men use direct language and women use collaborative language. When a woman uses direct language they are called aggressive.

She is right, your feedback is based on unconscious bias. So now what do you do?

Also listing the thing she does to support your unconscious bias is called confirmation bias.

Everybody has bias. It’s fine, relax.

This article may help.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-women-called-aggressive-while-men-assertive-limor-bergman-nfmfc#:~:text=Stereotypes%20and%20Gender%20Norms%3A&text=Meanwhile%2C%20men%20are%20expected%20to,being%20labeled%20as%20%22aggressive.%22

She needs to be aware that her communication has intention and impact and because of unconscious bias people don’t receive her message as she intends. Her intention and impact do not line up. Sure it’s not fair that people are emotionally traumatized when women are assertive but you can’t change that.

As for the staff. They sound like they are simply going through storming and norming process. This happens to every new team. She is making changes and people are acting like babies. Obviously you can’t say that.

If you are unaware of what storming forming norming performing is this explains it.

https://www.mindtools.com/abyj5fi/forming-storming-norming-and-performing

Take the emotion out of the conversation.

She wants them to do X they want to do Y. Unless they can show value at not doing it her way they need to suck it up.

You also need to manage the storming stage better I’m sure you can google it.

Yes. all of this.

And also yes, involve HR and legal because she make the claim of bias

[Anonymous]

Accusing someone of racism with no evidence is an egregious accusation and I would force her to show her hand or be fired.

[Anonymous]

Immediate hr.

We had this situation recently. The manager is asking to have the report moved to a new manager

[Anonymous]

This woman sounds like really bad news. The fact that her first reaction is to cry "bias" is telling. Most people would make at least a few good faith attempts to talk about the issues without resorting to that.

There is racism. There are also crappy, obnoxious people of all races, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any black folks out here on this board with suggestions?

This.

I’m Black and am not here to fix your problems.

So don't post. No one's making you do anything. OP is asking for help. You don't have to give it.

It’s not difficult to read and educate yourself. It’s not the job of black or old to educate white people. It’s exhausting, they’d literally be educating 24x7.

We have enough resources that we can’t expect black peoples to constantly educate.

I'm sorry, this "it's not my job to educate you" business is such crap. What exactly is your theory of change?

We're all in this together. This country. If your attitude towards well-meaning people asking for help understanding oppression is "f* off, it's not my job to educate you," guess what? Things ain't gonna change. Things change when people show empathy and share experiences and perspectives. Going off in a huff just reinforces stereotypes and fosters ill will. It may make you feel better, but it makes the world worse.

You can’t just sit in your ignorance and ask for a free education.

Have you read books on the subject, watch documentaries? And have question. What are they?

Asking for a full ass education because you are too lazy to learn on your own shows me you don’t really GAF so why waste my time if it’s gonna slide off your back.

Start with White Fragility (to understand your current feelings), check out the 13th that’s a fun one.

You're so arrogant, PP! Why would you assume the rest of us have not "read books on the subject" or watched relevant documentaries? Maybe we just-- gasp-- "educate" ourselves but still think for ourselves. White Fragility is a seriously idiotic book, written by a guilt-ridden white woman trying to make a buck. Why do you think it's gospel? You seem pretty fragile.

[Anonymous]

I would try to sit down with her and not engage with her implicit bias accusations at all. I'd just try-- ONCE, and with a witness-- to have a straightforward conversation about the fact that her team seems unhappy and she needs to follow company policies. I'd be really specific, and ask if she has thoughts on how to improve things.

If she keeps saying "bias" I'd say, very politely, that she should speak to HR if those are her concerns. Then document the conversation and pass to HR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find bias is sometimes created by the people afraid of bias. My last hire a lovely African American women literally her family in country since slave days spun out of control so quickly our black CEO, black head of HR and her black supervisor had her fired after 8 weeks. Everything was racist and we were all out to get her.

My company is at least 30-40 percent black and 50 percent of senior mgt is black but did not stop her with racist card

Move on she is cray cray

What in the actual fuq does this mean?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any black folks out here on this board with suggestions?

This.

I’m Black and am not here to fix your problems.

So don't post. No one's making you do anything. OP is asking for help. You don't have to give it.

It’s not difficult to read and educate yourself. It’s not the job of black or old to educate white people. It’s exhausting, they’d literally be educating 24x7.

We have enough resources that we can’t expect black peoples to constantly educate.

I'm sorry, this "it's not my job to educate you" business is such crap. What exactly is your theory of change?

We're all in this together. This country. If your attitude towards well-meaning people asking for help understanding oppression is "f* off, it's not my job to educate you," guess what? Things ain't gonna change. Things change when people show empathy and share experiences and perspectives. Going off in a huff just reinforces stereotypes and fosters ill will. It may make you feel better, but it makes the world worse.

You can’t just sit in your ignorance and ask for a free education.

Have you read books on the subject, watch documentaries? And have question. What are they?

Asking for a full ass education because you are too lazy to learn on your own shows me you don’t really GAF so why waste my time if it’s gonna slide off your back.


We’re doing this to make things better for Black people. If you’re antagonistic about it, why bother? You’re doing me no favors.
Start with White Fragility (to understand your current feelings), check out the 13th that’s a fun one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any black folks out here on this board with suggestions?

This.

I’m Black and am not here to fix your problems.

So don't post. No one's making you do anything. OP is asking for help. You don't have to give it.

It’s not difficult to read and educate yourself. It’s not the job of black or old to educate white people. It’s exhausting, they’d literally be educating 24x7.

We have enough resources that we can’t expect black peoples to constantly educate.

I'm sorry, this "it's not my job to educate you" business is such crap. What exactly is your theory of change?

We're all in this together. This country. If your attitude towards well-meaning people asking for help understanding oppression is "f* off, it's not my job to educate you," guess what? Things ain't gonna change. Things change when people show empathy and share experiences and perspectives. Going off in a huff just reinforces stereotypes and fosters ill will. It may make you feel better, but it makes the world worse.

I would have agreed with PP’s post a few months back. However I have witnessed unconscious bias more frequently (now that I can actually identify it) and have patiently addressed each instance without judgement or blame. But it occurred to me that POC, but ESPECIALLY Black people, can’t always be asked to be the patient ones, the understanding ones, the wise ones, when people are going through serious pain and they are the ones bearing most of that pain! It’s unfair, unkind and selfish to constantly expect those who are witnessing the crime (to use an analogy) perpetrated against them or others to point out TO the criminal the wrongdoing, hope the criminal doesn’t take offense and fire them, while smiling all the while. THINK long and hard what you are asking of people before you start casting stones.

[Anonymous]

Sigh.

DEI expert, with direct experience in transformative change management and EEO compliance.

A couple of things:

1. What was the senior manager hired to do? If she was brought in specifically to innovate, then yeah, the existing team is going to have some feelings.

2. How was the team performing prior to her hire?

3. As a Black woman in leadership, I have to constantly remind people that my opinion is based upon my expertise. And that I am quite literally an expert in my field with decades of experience. This comes up when people who are not qualified to make leadership calls in my area of work want to debate a course of action and expect that I take those points seriously. It’s insulting and generally only happens to black women. Think junior analyst sending an email to the COO to question a leadership call. And the c-suite team responding with “well, that is an interesting point…”….when the point that was being made is something along the lines of peanut butter is better with jam than honey, but the discussion was about Justice 40 policy implications on federal procurement.

4. Unless the new hire is doing something unethical or illegal, stay out of it. The team doesn’t get to go around her because they don’t like the marching orders. You allowing that to happen IS undermining a new leader, and unless you’ve done EXACTLY the same thing with other challenging managers, that’s a liability area of risk for the company.

5. Be VERY careful with a PIP. What resources or supports have you offered this new leader? If you go to a PIP before trying to address any support areas, after she raised the issue of bias…be prepared for a retaliation claim.

6. IME, nice progressive types never think they are being biased or racist. Being nice is not the opposite of being racist. And some of the most egregious behaviors I’ve seen professionally came from nice progressives.

7. OP some of your posts read a bit…paternalistic…which I bet lands in similar ways in person. I think that you think you’re doing the right things, but again liability and risk. I strongly encourage you to speak with your general counsel, because you should treat the allegations of racially motivated bias which is discrimination of a protected class as a formal complaint.