Search Results for: active bystander

Did you know that April stands as National Stress Awareness Month? This is a good opportunity to reflect upon the stress in our lives and the impact it has. In today’s world, the term ‘stress’ can be used on a daily basis, but what does it actually mean and how can it affect us? What […]

While many organisations want to believe their organisation is free of bullying and other types of inappropriate behaviour, it’s unfortunately more common than we often think. Workplace bullying can have a major negative effect on your company culture, employee wellbeing, satisfaction, and performance. Not to mention your reputation and ability to attract diverse and quality […]

We know that, left unchecked, our biases can impact business decisions, and stereotypes can feed into these biases.

One particularly poignant example of a stereotype, that I encountered during a washup discussion in a development centre, will stay with me for a long time.

During the discussion, we considered a participant from Denmark who had performed well but lacked international exposure and experience. A potential development opportunity proposed was for him to take on an international assignment. When mentioned, a senior leader in the client organisation said that in his experience, “Danish people don’t like moving out of Denmark”. 

Whilst based on his personal experience, it was clearly a stereotype, and fortunately, another leader in the discussion commented that in his experience, this wasn’t always the case. The challenge presented was a good one – and helped to prevent a decision from being influenced by bias – but challenging stereotypes and bias is not always easy to do.