Fair Leadership

How to Overcome Unconscious Bias. Practical Advice for Leaders

Veronika Hucke, 2020

15 min read

9 take-aways

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To gain the trust of their employees, managers need to adopt fair practices.

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Fair leadership means giving all employees the same opportunities. Perhaps you feel confident that you meet this standard, but diversity and inclusion expert Veronika Hucke might change your mind. If you haven’t given much consideration to how stereotypes and unconscious biases can cloud your judgment and affect those around you, her book will be an eye-opening read. To implement fair leadership and nurture an atmosphere of trust within your organization, become aware of your own biases and heed Hucke’s advice on how to keep them in check.

Summary

Fair leadership requires treating everyone equally.

The world of work features two types of discrimination: blatant discrimination, which it is obvious and unambiguous to all involved, and subtle discrimination. The latter feels equally unfair to the target of the discrimination, but often, the perpetrator has no idea they are guilty of any injustice. Nevertheless, these micro-injustices are hurtful and undermine team performance.

Discrimination sometimes comes in the guise of jokes. Think stupid blondes, lazy public officials or ridiculous homosexual men. To bypass stereotypes, many people hide their true identities at work: Homosexuals stay in the closet; mothers don’t talk about their children; and older employees do what they can to hide their age and appear youthful. This strategy is called “covering.”

Leaders must act in a fair, decent and honest manner. They must treat everyone equally, regardless of gender, age, skin color or religion. Fairness makes good business sense: Businesses benefit from diversity. A study by the Credit Suisse Research Institute shows that corporations whose boards include at least 25% women achieve a 4% higher...

About the Author

Veronika Hucke was head of inclusion & diversity at Philips. She supports numerous organizations, including the UN, with their diversity and inclusion strategies and initiatives.

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