2.1 Addressing our biases

Atkins (2023) offers the following tips for addressing personal biases:

• Acknowledge your bias. The first step in defeating unconscious bias is to be honest with ourselves.

• Learn more about you. Ask a trusted friend or colleague for candid feedback. Willingness to examine our own possible biases is an important step in understanding the roots of stereotypes and prejudice.

• Extend your comfort zone. Personal biases can be combatted by getting to know people on an individual level. Biases can derive from stereotypes and generalizations; getting to know individuals can lead to proving them wrong.

• Take responsibility for mitigating bias. Once you become aware of potential biases, practice self-monitoring. Through self-monitoring and self-regulation, you can interrupt biased thinking and generate non-discriminatory behaviour.

• Admit mistakes. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge, and apologize for, mistakes. Everyone makes a misstep on occasion, use mistakes as an opportunity to better yourself and strengthen your relationship with others.

Now that you have briefly explored social identity and its potential impact on conflict within teams, you’ll turn to cultural norms and, using a case study, look at the challenges of working in a different culture to your own.