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Dinesh Divekar
7874

Dear all,

A video on "Unconscious Bias" is making rounds on LinkedIn. The link is as below:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yoges...924341248-8TLA

If you have a LinkedIn account, then log in to it so that you can access the video easily. For those who don't have a LinkedIn account, whether they can access the video is not known.

I will post my comments on the video in 1-2 days.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

From India, Bangalore
sumaiya-khatoon
Hi Dinesh, Very well explained and perfectly narrated. Facts might differ. Thanks for sharing
From India, Hyderabad
Dinesh Divekar
7874

Dear all,

My comments on the video:

a) The speaker started his narration with what this video message is about. The way a heading to a business letter is given, he too has given a heading to his video message. The introductory few sentences of the video message help impose mental boundaries on the listener. The average listener confines his/her thoughts to the boundary. This is called framing. The speaker has framed the minds of the listener.

b) The narration begins with the speaker's concern over spending time on social media by one of the junior employees. However, the speaker kept his focus on the individual rather than the organisation. Whatever happens in the organisation should be seen in the context of the organisation. One should ask questions such as what is happening, why is it happening, whether there is any system failure, what will be the side effects, how will it impact the culture of the organisation, etc. One should come to the individuals involved at the last. However, whether such questions were asked or not is not known.

c) If the employee was found spending her time on social media, then whoever observed this expresses his/her concern to the HOD. However, whether the speaker approached the HOD of the employee has not been told to us. What was the take of the HOD on the employee's wrongdoing? While giving feedback whether the HOD was kept in the loop or bypassed that also is not mentioned.

d) The start and end points of the narration are not connected. The speaker started the narration with his concern about engagement in social media that could distract the employee. However, how did he solve the problem? He has not mentioned anything. He had called the employee to give feedback on spending her time on personal activities during office hours. However, he ended up learning a lesson on "unconscious bias". Taking a lesson from the employee, whether on unconscious bias or otherwise was not the objective of the feedback session. How he achieved the objective is not mentioned.

e) Since the focus of the exercise was not on what is happening in the organisation but on who is doing it, in the feedback session, the receiver of the feedback, i.e. employee in question came up with her narrative. The speaker accepted her narration also.

f) Super-performers are there in every industry segment and in almost all companies. These people take undue advantage of the performance of the higher order and try to bargain for something. This is not new to senior HR professionals. This is a routine case.

g) Most companies have a code of conduct at the workplace. The code of conduct prohibits employees from spending time on the stock market, social media, real estate market and so on. The speaker has not mentioned whether there was a code of conduct and if yes, then why did he not bring it to the notice of the employee?

h) In the previous paragraphs, I have referred to the concept of *framing of mind*. To know more about it, please read the book Thinking Fast Thinking Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Skilful leaders frame the mind of their subordinates. Salespersons frame the minds of their customers. Framing helps in obtaining buy-in from the other side. Once the minds are framed, the resistance from the other side wanes.

i) Can the narration by the speaker become an example of "Unconscious Bias*? Well, I would like to leave that question open. Unless one knows the complete facts of the case, I feel it would not be fair to comment!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

From India, Bangalore
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