Racial stereotyping has hurt more than one career and many business efforts. All people have racial stereotypes that are picked up, starting at a very young age, from parents, teachers, friends, classmates, the news media, the entertainment industry, and from personal experiences. It’s human nature and unavoidable to make unfair generalizations about others based on their race.

It’s important for people to understand that they’ll never really be able to erase the “bad” information in their heads. But people can train themselves to be more mindful of how that bad information affects their daily actions, reactions, and decision-making. They can learn how to manage the bad information. They also can become more aware of their gut reactions to people who are different from themselves, and can question those reactions knowing they likely are based on stereotypes and biased images. Indeed, a major focus of diversity training is helping people understand and manage their biases-because people know they can’t completely erase their prejudices.

Three Ways Racial Stereotypes Can Affect Your Career

Having preset assumptions about people based on their race can have a significant effect on a career. Here are some reasons why:

Cuts off opportunities for growth and competition. If someone brands a coworker or employee as slow; naive; nonintellectual; good at numbers but bad with people; great at following directions but not leader material; or some other limiting stereotype based on that person’s race, the person will not be able to take advantage of the other’s different and potentially valuable approach to a problem or task. Tapping diverse viewpoints and styles drives innovative problem solving and learning.

Creates low morale and low retention. A workplace infected with prevalent racist attitudes and policies is a place where nobody wants to work. Studies show people of color are three times more likely than their white counterparts to quit a job based on perceived unfair practices at work based on their race. Whether someone is a manager or a coworker, having an intolerant culture will affect everyone’s performance and make the workplace a rollercoaster of instability.

Leads to poor productivity. When racism is rampant in an organization, people will not team up, communicate, or consult about important tasks that require collaboration and multiple perspectives. Also, having preconceived notions about the way things should be done-that is, the majority view-forces people with different working styles, experience, and viewpoints to bend to the will of the majority. This results in individuals not working at their best and highest potential.

How to Spot Racial Bias in a Workplace

Here are some common signs to watch for that signal the existence of racial bias in a company:

Extracurricular diversity programs. When diversity and inclusion workshops are offered as occasional extracurricular activities, it demonstrates a lack of organizational commitment to cultural competency. Diversity and inclusion should be policy, not an “extra” that’s subject to cost cutting.

Chronic absenteeism or high turnover rates. Does the company notice that women are constantly quitting, or that Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans seem to come and go? Low retention among certain groups could be a red flag that an organization needs to do much more to reach out to and include these valuable employees.

Poor performance. Performance problems are often blamed on people rather than on organizational structures, systems, and ways of doing things (the organization’s culture). Poor employee performance can result from a number of things, including such factors as stress, exclusion, and lack of opportunity.

A dominant decision-making style. Is risk-taking discouraged? Have employees been given the message “it’s our way or the highway”? A single way to get things done may seem like efficient management, but it both discourages multiple perspectives and styles, and leaves exceptional talent and ideas untapped.

Homogenous leadership. Is the C-suite all white males? What about department heads? Organizations that truly value diversity and inclusion practice what they preach. If the same people are getting passed over for promotion, cultural competence may be a problem at the top.

Water cooler slights. Seemingly innocent racist, sexist, ageist, or other insensitive jokes are a sign that the company culture tolerates disrespectful behavior. The use of mascots, symbols, or holiday celebrations that exclude certain groups is another sign. Such everyday conversations and activities can unwittingly hurt coworkers.

Not using diverse suppliers. Companies that are truly committed to building a diverse and inclusive organization in order to be innovative and competitive will also seek out diverse suppliers.

A good first step is for people to become aware of their own biases. Then extend that awareness out into the workplace and engage others in diversity dialogue. Opening up to diversity and inclusion benefits everyone.

Adapted from article by Steve L. Robbins, president of SL Robbins & Associates (http://www.slrobbins.com), and author of What If?: Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue (Davies Black, 2008).

http://www.oprah.com/oprahradio/The-Danger-of-Stereotypes

Ageism: “[This] is a new form of prejudice that we never thought we’d see in the United States,” Rabbi Shmuley says. “The result is that now people dread getting older.” More people are turning to plastic surgery to erase the effects of aging, and birthdays are not something to look forward to, Rabbi Shmuley says. “We see aging as slowly dying. It’s almost like as we grow older, we’re afraid of getting more old. And in such a superficial culture, we are worried that we don’t look as good as we used to,” he says.

Racism: There are a lot of people who think that America has progressed beyond racial bigotry, but Rabbi Shmuley says that is not true. According to a 2003 University of Chicago/MIT study, job candidates with ethnic names who sent résumés out didn’t get calls back, Rabbi Shmuley says. “But when they had ‘white-sounding’ names, they did,” he says.

Sexism: “A lot of men today think women are materialistic or will like them if they buy them nice things,” Rabbi Shmuley says. “That’s a form of misogyny. That reduces women as a group to being shallow materialists.” Rabbi Shmuley points to reality TV shows such as The Bachelor and Joe Millionaire, which pair often seemingly wealthy and successful men with single women. He says these shows make it seem as though women would do anything for financial security, and portray women as materialistic.

Discover how to move from uncomfortable bystander to ally. Bring it into your work setting, your family, your social group. I guarantee that in 9 minutes, everyone will understand the power of using your voice!

Eileen McDargh, Change agent, business author and consultant
www.EileenMcDargh.com

Should ‘The Office’ Be Used In HR Training?

The Office, a comedy about a jumble of oddball workers trying to get along in a claustrophobic environment, is a phenomenon of our times, a period when the American workforce is more diverse than it has ever been. But what does the fictional office tell us about the national workplace? After all, not every office has a leader as bumbling and misguided as Michael Scott (Steve Carrell), much less a “Do Not Mock” list or a policy on being “collar blind.”

Though the show is clearly a caricature, there are grains of truth in the dysfunctional conflicts that drive its humor, says Sheri Leonardo, senior vice president for human resources at Ogilvy Public Relations. “As an HR person, I sometimes cringe,” she said. “Some of the stuff is so outlandish, politically incorrect, morally incorrect and everything else — but at the same time I say, ‘God, I would love to take clips of this and use it for training, because it’s so perfect.’ ”

A 30-year human resources veteran, Leonardo says that although the characters’ insensitivities are exaggerated, she can think of real people who fit many of the show’s office stereotypes: the out-of-touch and politically incorrect boss; the peace-keeping secretary; the ambitious underling who doesn’t care whose toes he steps on to suck up. “It’s sad, but there are people who do have the insensitivities to others around them … to what makes people comfortable or uncomfortable,” Leonardo said.

That view is shared by Jean Mavrelis, a diversity consultant and co-author of the book Corporate Tribalism. “You’d be surprised how many executives are sent to our diversity class to be ’sensitized’ so they don’t have to be fired,” Mavrelis said in an e-mail. It’s that kind of tension that animates The Office. Every episode depicts employees doing and saying things that, in the real world, might charitably be called ill-advised — but would more likely be seen as fireable offenses. But if an office environment is too restrictive, Mavrelis says, that tension is often counterproductive.

“The worst climate for learning about diverse others,” she said, “is one in which white males are afraid that someone will call the diversity hot line and end their careers if they make a ‘mistake.’ ” And in real life, just as on the show, Mavrelis has seen moments that seem to come more from left field than from a prejudice. “In one session, we asked a group what they would do if they were a white waitress/waiter and a black customer accused them of being racist,” she said. “A South Asian woman raised her hand and offered, ‘I would bring her some cake.’ Needless to say, the room was speechless.”

The Tricky Intersection Of Cultures

Awkward moments are the fuel that powersThe Office, and many of the conflicts the show portrays stem from the challenge of seeing the world from someone else’s perspective. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, an economist and founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, calls the show’s overall vibe “discomfort with difference.”

“The stereotypes are still tricky to deal with,” says Hewlett, who heads a task force focusing on developing female and multicultural talent. In her view, the show’s younger workers deal with diversity, and each other, better than do the older ones. And that correlates to what Hewlett sees in today’s workplace, which has always been more diverse for those between the ages of 18 and 30 than it was for their older colleagues when they began their jobs.

Hewlett sees the gay Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) on The Office as an example of this generational divide. Oscar is out to his co-workers at Dunder Mifflin. But he backs out of bringing a date to the company Christmas party out of fear — or perhaps certainty — that the situation will be awkward. Hewlett says she wouldn’t find the plot line convincing if the character were in his 20s. But she sees it holding true for older employees, who tend to be more reluctant to share their personal lives at work.

The Office As Crucible

For all its dysfunctional quirks, the fictional paper company in Scranton, Pa., is actually more diverse than the average American workplace, Leonardo says — especially for a company its size. According to Leonardo, small firms tend to be more homogeneous than larger corporations. The reason, she says, is that people often tend to hire those they see as similar to themselves — and a small company is less likely to have rules and mechanisms to combat that tendency. But when a small staff is diverse, as in The Office, the boundary between friends and colleagues is more likely to be blurred.

Workers in a small, intimate office, Leonardo says, “have a tendency to think, ‘Well, we’re all friends.’ ” And that can lead a co-worker to ignore the possible fallout of discussing personal matters like religion or sexual orientation. And if the office space is the size of the set of The Office, there’s every chance those discussions and jokes will be overheard. On the show, Carrell’s Michael Scott often seems to deal with that situation by being an equal-opportunity offender. As he tells an HR expert in an episode about sexual harassment, “There is no such thing as an appropriate joke. That’s why it’s a joke.”

Signs Of Improvement

Mavrelis says that despite the challenges diversity might pose, it’s possible to both celebrate and smooth over cultural differences in the workplace. “But it is critical to create a climate where diversity ‘mistakes’ can be made and people can be learners,” Mavrelis says. That means that someone who has been accused of being insensitive, or even racist, should be ready to apologize — and to learn from the experience. The key is that people consider the impact words and deeds have on people with different social and cultural experiences from their own.

“We’ve been able to move people to a place where they go from taking cross-cultural communication breakdowns personally, to asking themselves, ‘I wonder if something cultural is going on here,’ which changes the conversations,” Mavrelis said. Still, anyone who might be tempted to use Office-style humor to bridge cultural barriers in the workplace ought to be very careful.

“Humor is the least effective way to build relationships at work, yet having a sense of humor is critical,” she said. “The episode of The Office where they celebrate ‘Diversity Day’ is hysterical,” Mavrelis said, “and shows how difficult it is to discuss diversity when people don’t know what they don’t know.”

The best way for a white boss like Michael Scott to build cross-cultural relationships at work, Mavrelis says, is to help a diverse group of employees develop their careers. “That builds trust, which in turn builds goodwill for when white folks do make the inevitable diversity blunders,” she said.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122494690&ps=cprs

Successful People Build Their Brand on Integrity
13 JANUARY 2010

Competence is one of the keys to success in my Common Sense Success System. I discuss it in detail in several of my books: Straight Talk for Success; Your Success GPS; Star Power, I Want YOU…to Succeed and 42 Rules to Jumpstart Your Professional Success. If you want to succeed you need to develop four basic, but important competencies: 1) creating positive personal impact; 2) becoming a consistently high performer; 3) communication skills; and 4) relationship building.

Creating and nurturing your unique personal brand is the first step in creating positive personal impact. While your personal brand should be uniquely you, it should be built on integrity. According to Wikipedia, “Integrity is consistency of actions, values, methods, measures and principles.” Integrity and consistency are intertwined. People who are consistent in their actions are seen as people with a high degree of integrity.

Which brings me to the point I want to make in this post… Recently, I had an opportunity to review a new video called “Ouch! Your Silence Hurts.” This video deals with a subject with which many people are uncomfortable – what to do when someone says things that are in conflict with your values.

The video has four vignettes in which someone says something derogatory about another person. In the first vignette, a person’s name is dropped from a promotion list because of her image. We’re left to guess the image – it could be that she is overweight, it could be that she is disabled, it could be that she has oddly colored hair. In the second, a server at a restaurant gives very poor service to a Black couple and then complains when they don’t tip. In the third, a person makes insulting remarks to an Hispanic man. In the fourth, several people in a team building session make veiled comments that question a man’s sexual preference.

Each of the vignettes demonstrates a discriminatory attitude that results in a negative situation. If you are someone who values the dignity of every human being, and believes that our diversity makes us stronger, you probably would be offended if you experienced these vignettes in real life.

The producers of “Ouch! Your Silence Hurts” suggest that you can react to such situations by being a “silent colluder”, a “passive bystander” or a “pro-active ally.” The message in the video is that we all need to become pro-active allies if we are to defeat stereotyping – and its negative effect — in the workplace and society.

If your brand is built on integrity and you claim to value the dignity of every human being, you should become a pro-active ally when you encounter such situations. That means that when you experience a negative situation, you take positive action to address it. You speak up – you say something, even if it means that others might be uncomfortable.

Several years ago, I was conducting a team building session. At one point in the session, one of the participants blew up and went on a rant. After he finished, there was dead silence in the room. I sat quietly waiting to see what would happen. After about a minute, one of the participants started a new conversation – essentially acting as if the entire rant hadn’t happened. Just as I started to say that we couldn’t just move on, we needed to discuss the rant, the effect on the team and the issue that caused it, one of the members of the group spoke up. She said something like, “That was quite a blow up. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m uncomfortable moving on until we take some time to discuss it.” She chose the pro-active ally route.

Notice that she wasn’t confrontational. She did two things. She labeled the incident, “quite a blow up.” More important, she spoke about how she felt, “I’m uncomfortable moving on until we take some time to discuss it.” She stayed true to her personal brand of being forthright – and she helped the team. And she did it in a non confrontational or blaming manner.

The common sense point here is simple. Successful people create positive personal impact. Creating and nurturing your unique personal brand should be your first step in creating positive personal impact. Regardless of how you choose to brand yourself, you should build your brand on integrity. This means saying what you think. The newly released video, “Ouch! Your Silence Hurts” suggests that you should become a “pro-active ally” instead of a “silent colluder” or “passive bystander” when you encounter a situation that doesn’t fit with your values. I like this video. It is a wakeup call. It tells us that we shouldn’t let words and actions that conflict with our values go unchallenged.

That’s my take on maintaining the integrity of your personal brand when you encounter difficult or unpleasant situations. What’s yours? Please take a few minutes to leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. As always, thanks for reading.

Bud

The wisdom of Leslie Aguilar’s new video Ouch! Your Silence Hurts has been chosen to share with you this week. “We all are naturally biased. We all have a tendency to let
some of our biases slip into our conversations whether we do so consciously or unconsciously. When that happens, we all lose. Relationships can suffer, cooperation can
decrease and our ability to lead or influence others can diminish.”

“Have you ever heard someone say something biased or demeaning and you didn’t know whether to speak up? Have you ever said something unintentionally offensive and wished you could take it back? Would you like to know how to present information and lead discussions in ways that include everyone and avoid bias, stereotyping, discounting or potential discrimination?” If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, Ouch! Your Silence Hurts is the video for you. Most of us want to speak up when we see others stereotyped, disrespected or demeaned. But often we stand by silently because of discomfort or the fear of saying the wrong thing or not wanting to look like we can’t take a joke. Unfortunately, that silence can allow the disrespectful behavior to continue.

In her first book and video, Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts, Leslie opened the conversation about stereotypes and why people don’t speak up. She shared techniques to use when you hear others make biased or demeaning comments as well as how to recover when you are the one to make those comments. Now, in her follow up video, Ouch! Your Silence Hurts, Leslie continues the conversation about stereotypes by exploring more deeply the pivotal role of the bystander. “Often, verbal disrespect is not just an interaction between two people – it can be a group event. The bystanders create the audience or the context for the demeaning joke, slur or statement. So, the bystander is an important player in the scene and he or she has a choice to make, which affects the outcome. The bystander can speak up or can silently collude.” And a key message of her series is that “silence is often interpreted as support.”

Leslie’s new video is very emotional and will inspire conversations that are not always comfortable, but should be had anyway, especially in our organizations. Ouch! Your Silence Hurts challenges all of us by asking; “How will you personally respond next time you witness somebody being treated with disrespect?”

Ouch! Your Silence Hurts is part two in her powerful series about stereotypes. The DVD includes a 9-minute video, skill-builder exercises, leader’s guide and a 1-minute trailer that can be used to introduce Ouch! to your organization. Both Videos, Ouch! Your Silence Hurts and Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts can be standalone training pieces. But when used together or in sequence, they will deliver an even more powerful impact. Leslie wants the viewer to “remember that one person taking action can inspire others to do the same.” Her series on stereotypes can help all of us identify our own biases, explore ways to reduce them and work to communicate in more inclusive, bias-free ways. That’s what her book and videos are about. Leslie wants all of us to “Go ahead – Use your voice! Speak up on behalf of respect.”

Gary Tomlinson is an entrepreneur and founder of five successful businesses. Today he is an accountability consultant and professional speaker. He works with executive teams to help clarify and achieve their organizational initiatives. His speaking topics include “Top Ten Messages from Ten Top Books” and the “Art of Telling – Communicating Your Way to the Top.” You can engage Gary through his website at www.gary-tomlinson.com

Well, from my experience, this is the beauty of saying ouch! It really communicates perfectly that I felt hurt. I’m not saying that person is wrong or bad, just owning my own feeling. Ouch actually opens the door to have a conversation about what just happens. It happened to me the other day. A friend started telling a joke about a minority group and I just said, ouch. He stopped and asked, “what?” I got to say how it sounded to me and why it hurt. He shrugged and said, okay, I can see that. Done. It didn’t ruin our friendship. In fact, we had a great talk about it. That’s just one experience. But it points to why the Ouch videos are so good – they give a few simple things people can say without blame.

And probably this is why I get so many enthusiastic emails from customers. I’ll start sharing them in my next post …. in 2010. Wishing you a happy new year 2010 filled with honest, real communication moments.

The video does a wonderful job of giving a number of techniques on how to counter and resolve discriminating stereotypes without putting guilt or blame on anyone.

We would give OUCH! That Stereotype Really Hurts, 5 out of 5 stars because it handles the topic of diversity and stereotyping so well and yet remains entertaining. It provides real life examples and believable techniques for speaking up and speaking out against stereotypical statements that can lead to discrimination and harassment.

Andy Shadburne & Matthew Dunn
Reviewing OUCH for the Business Training Library

Have you ever heard anyone say a stereotypical comment, unfair comment, or express a bias — especially at work?

How did you react? What did you do? What did you say?

Unfortunately, most people say they didn’t know how to act or what to say. So they did nothing.

The good news is there is now a tool available to help. It’s called Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts: Communicating Respectfully in a Diverse World. This new training tool can help anyone—team leader, team member, supervisor, customer service rep, executive—anyone who communicates.

And let’s face it. We all communicate. Although it is very easy to point out that “those people over there” are biased, it is not as easy to look at ourselves and admit we have some bias. And the fact is all people are naturally biased.

Worse case scenario is bias can bring about a claim of a hostile work environment or public relations nightmare. Or it can undermine teamwork, morale, and productivity. Either way, bias and stereotyping are not conducive to an environment in which employees to do and be their best.

This is where Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts can help. Based on the book version of Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts by Leslie Aguila, it is a training program that includes a CD-ROM, DVD, reminder cards, and the Ouch! book. It can be used in any organization or for any group of people who want to build a more respectful environment. The skills are applicable to both work and personal life.

The best way to begin is to familiarize yourself with the entire program and its contents. The CD-ROM is the place to start. Here you can find the leader’s guide, handouts, and PowerPoint slides.

I recommend beginning with the leader’s guide and reviewing the objectives:

* To understand the impact of stereotypes and biased statements, even when casually said.
* To identify the most common reasons people sit silent in face of bias and stereotypes.
* To enhance skills for speaking up against stereotypes without blame or guilt.

Once you are familiar with the contents, you can then decide how to best use the program for your needs, whether they are teamwork, communication, leadership development, diversity training, coaching, or other uses. The leader’s guide is designed to prepare you and give you everything you need to fully facilitate a session.

Information, outlines, speaker notes, and recommendations are included. You have two fully designed sessions to choose from: the full two-and-a-half hour workshop or the one-hour version.

The materials are flexible enough that you can pick and choose the components and design your own session or workshop or incorporate it into an existing training program. Also included on the CD-ROM are reproducible handouts for both the short and long versions and PowerPoint slides. One of the features I like is that the PowerPoint comes with a pre-formatted Master Slide so you can create additional slides.

The DVD gives you two video options: a 12-minute version or a slightly longer 13-and-a-half minute version. Both versions include a powerful introduction that enables viewers to experience the impact of stereotypical remarks. Both versions then go to the stories section, which explores why people don’t speak up against stereotyping and other biased behaviors.

The shorter video next addresses speaking up, with six techniques to help you speak up on behalf of respect. The video is designed to be used with the Speaking Up Activity, also provided on the DVD. It includes 10 quick vignettes; students are asked to determine which technique or techniques each vignette demonstrates. A supporting Participant Handout is available on the CD-ROM.

The longer video incorporates many of the vignettes instead of consigning them to the separate activity. This version is ideal if you are facilitating shorter training sessions. Both videos include English and Spanish subtitles.

Rounding out the Ouch! training package are small, wallet-sized reminder cards and a copy of the book Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts. The cards outline the six speaking up techniques, and the book provides additional information on communicating respectfully.

As the Ouch! book reminds us, we may never be completely free of all bias. However, since everyone in this world communicates, everyone can choose to work towards communicating in a bias-free way.

Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts is a very easy-to-use training program that makes a strong point. The examples are realistic, and the techniques are easy to implement. Remember, most people don’t speak up against bias because they don’t know how. This program teaches the how. With practice, it gives us confidence to handle those types of situations where before we might not have because we didn’t know what to do or say.

The only thing I would to see added to the video are longer vignettes or narrated explanations after them. But this is a small point, as an experienced trainer or facilitator can handle it.

Recommendation

I recommend Ouch! That Stereotype Hurt for any organization that wants to increase employee awareness of remarks that might seem OK on the surface but are really based on bias or stereotypes. As this program points out, “One voice—your voice—can make a difference.” And that is the beginning of building a workplace where all people feel included, respected, and able to do their best.