Face your gremlins
This month I have been working with clients to help them get unstuck and get talking about bias. From large groups of 250 to a intimate virtual rooms of attendees, it has been fun and I have had great feedback about the value of these sessions. They are a great warm up to the group coaching that I am running in September.
I finished the second of three sessions all about taming those bias gremlins. There is still one more to join, and here is why…
Why is bias like a gremlin?
If you don't already know, 'Gremlins' was a movie from 1984 about a cute little creature the 'mogwai' which has the potential turn into a vicious monster if you don't follow the simple rules of taking care of them.
We might not get rid of bias but we could tame bias, by following some simple rules and go with this analogy of bias as an unwelcome gremlin. So here are the three rules about bias gremlins:
1) Avoid bright lights
Bias loves to hide, so if we don't talk about it or even acknowledge that we have any bias then it will thrive.
I learned that I have a bias toward female health care professionals, but this only came to my attention when I was presented with a male mid-wife during the birth of my first child. Shedding light on the biases that were formed in darkness helps you to be able to know what you are dealing with.
2) Don’t get them wet
Water to a gremlin is like fear to bias. They will multiply. Biases are formed as a response to an ancient survival mechanism. If we perceive an individual or group of individuals as a threat, we instinctively make sure that we keep them far away and to do that, we learn to recognise that threat quickly and efficiently. So fear and stress is only going to make it worse. Instead of 'fight and flight' we want to have a 'rest and digest' response. This is an open and curious mindset of learning and growth.
3) Don’t feed it after midnight
Feeding a 'mogwai' turns it into a 'gremlin'. They will make a cocoon and then emerge as a monster. When we start to noticing our bias it can feel uncomfortable. Especially when you recognise the negative potential impacts of that bias. This is the time that you will instinctively want to freeze and cocoon. So call it out, face it over and over so that you talk about it. When you hear a micro- aggression, it is hard to call it out. But call it out, even though it is hard.
WHY JOIN ON THE 13th ?
I share three strategies to help you to tame those biases and it is not too late to join. It is also a great informal way to just connect and start talking with people who are feeling the same as you.
I have one more webinars this week on Thursday that you can join to hear more about the work of taming those bias gremlins.
Group Coaching
