Your culture is defined by the worst behavior you tolerate.
Building anti-racist organizations involves addressing biases, redefining talent criteria, and changing organizational cultures and structures.
Deep dives
Understanding privilege and its definition
Privilege is not just about immediate, unearned riches, but rather the absence of inconvenience or challenge. It affects every aspect of one's life, but often goes unnoticed by those who have it. Privilege should be seen as the advantage gained from the absence of disadvantages that others face. It is important to recognize that privilege can manifest in various forms, such as gender, race, and socioeconomic status.
Overcoming defensiveness and promoting allyship
Overcoming defensiveness is crucial for promoting allyship. People should acknowledge their privileges and understand that recognizing them does not negate their personal struggles or achievements. Approaching allyship as a way to alleviate another's suffering and create opportunities for those who have been marginalized can be a motivating factor. It is essential to move beyond the defensiveness and guilt associated with recognizing privilege and focus on genuine empathy, understanding, and actions.
Addressing bias and fostering inclusion at the organizational level
Building anti-racist organizations involves addressing biases, redefining talent criteria, and changing organizational cultures and structures. Emphasizing standardized data quality, reconsidering the criteria for intelligence and talent, and creating inclusive job descriptions can help attract diverse talent. Organizations need to prioritize inclusion, fairness, and civility. It is important to tackle microaggressions, challenge inappropriate behavior, and hold individuals accountable for their actions. Furthermore, organizations should make anti-racism efforts meaningful and mandatory.
The importance of ongoing learning, growth, and action
Anti-racism efforts should go beyond one-off unconscious bias training and instead focus on team-based learning approaches. Organizations need to recognize that learning and growth require intentional action, such as ongoing feedback, seeking diverse perspectives, and addressing systemic barriers. Inclusion should be prioritized in performance evaluations and promotions. Organizations must also evaluate their structures, such as utilization cultures, and foster environments that emphasize value-based cultures, where individuals are valued for their contributions rather than simply their billable hours.
Over the last year, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, many companies have paid lip service to racial inclusion. But what does it actually take to change individuals — and the structures and cultures of organizations? In the first of two episodes on bias, psychologist John Amaechi shares powerful insights on inclusion — and several experts weigh in on the latest science of privilege, allyship, and opportunity at work. A key takeaway: your culture is defined by the worst behavior you tolerate. For the transcript for this episode, head to go.ted.com/WLTranscript44. WorkLife is made possible with the support of LinkedIn, Logitech, Morgan Stanley, SAP, and Verizon.
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