Bias in a Team Setting
Contents |
Abstract
Bias is the instinctive feeling we have towards people, potentially without having a reason for the feeling that appears. But feelings play a strong part in how we act towards and treat other people. Making unconscious decisions on how you feel about someone will have an effect on your opinion on them as a whole.[1] Some well-known biases are gender and racial bias. Neuroscientist Erik Kandel estimated that 80-90% of the human brain works unconsciously meaning that even though you try to be unbiased, a part of you will still exhibit a form of bias. [2]
Your biases are often something you have developed from social influence and often not with bad intent, but it affects how we behave and perceive things from our peers.[1] In a team setting, bias affects how we perceive our colleagues and behave towards them and it is therefore under the scope of project management - as can be seen in the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge section 11.2.2.4[3]. This also means that the unconscious bias of a project manager can have critical impact on the project setup. The team may not be optimal due to some biases during the hiring process and it can create problems during the project work. The diversity that was needed for the project to succeed will have been stifled by the project managers biases. [4] Looking further, it can be argued that this concerns all managers in project and program management. All managers should be aware of bias, especially their own when it comes to how they manage
The goal of the article is to highlight how managers and teams can be affected by unconscious bias, where in the lifecycle the bias appears and why it is important to be aware. This article will present several examples of unconscious bias investigating both how that affects team members as well as the project manager. It will then present ways to combat and mitigate these unconscious biases presented beforehand. Finally, the article will touch on what limitations there are on working against unconscious bias.
References are a work in progress and will be annotated in final hand-in.
The Big Idea
What is Bias?
The general idea of the concept of bias
The types of Bias in a Team
The most common types of bias you can run into
Application
How to Mitigate the Bias as a Project Manager
When you have become aware of bias, how do as a project manager work against these biases Ways to combat and work against bias
Limitations
What are the limitations towards bias and what you won't be able work against in regards to bias
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 socialtalent, Siofra Pratt, 2016. https://www.socialtalent.com/blog/diversity-and-inclusion/9-types-of-bias. Retrieved February 10th 2021.
- ↑ Forbes, Eric Mosley, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmosley/2019/11/05/how-to-identify-and-mitigate-unconscious-bias-in-the-workplace/?sh=9201f93600af. Retrieved February 10th 2021.
- ↑ The PMBOK Guide, 2017. https://app-knovel-com.proxy.findit.dtu.dk/web/toc.v/cid:kpGPMBKP02/viewerType:toc//root_slug:viewerType%3Atoc/url_slug:root_slug%3Aguide-project-management?kpromoter=federation
- ↑ Harvard Business Review, Rebecca Knight, 2017. https://hbr.org/2017/06/7-practical-ways-to-reduce-bias-in-your-hiring-process. Retrieved February 10th 2021.
https://hbr.org/2020/01/5-strategies-for-creating-an-inclusive-workplace https://hbr.org/2019/11/how-the-best-bosses-interrupt-bias-on-their-teams https://hbr.org/2017/04/dont-give-up-on-unconscious-bias-training-make-it-better https://hbr.org/2018/03/5-things-we-learned-about-creating-a-successful-workplace-diversity-program?registration=success https://hbr.org/2019/07/does-diversity-training-work-the-way-its-supposed-to https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2021/jan/anti-bias-training-in-the-workplace.html https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2020/aug/kimberly-ellison-taylor-plan-to-address-racism-and-unconscious-bias.html https://builtin.com/diversity-inclusion/unconscious-bias-examples
