“Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin***
In times like these, some people in leadership will become hyper sensitive to administering corrective action when leading individuals of color for fear they will be accused of being racist or racially insensitive.
Though it may be understandable that some might become concerned with such a thought but to be overly concerned with this is either an exaggerated fear of the unknown or an indication of a deep seated problem that one fears will surface during the course of their daily behaviors.
How could I say this you wonder? Well, let me explain. There are most likely three main categories of leaders we are looking at in such scenarios. One who is not racist (racially insensitive), one who is not sure if they are racist and last but not least, the racist (racially insensitive) leader.
We should agree that each would additionally be described as white, any age, any gender, any area of leadership. Now at least one reader is saying, “Well, it is possible that a person of color could be biased against other races or even someone of their own race!” My response to that is, Ummm, yeeaah, it happens but not enough to be statistically significant or as harmful as the various nuances that are tied to systemic racism. It is not generally taken as seriously or dealt with in the same legally elevated manner, nor are they as easily proven in a court of law.
Racism Accusations Do Exist From Within
I was once the recipient of such an accusation. I was working in a Human resources role at the time. My job was to coach, counsel, advise management and staff, according to applicable laws as well as company policies and procedures. An African American manager had problems with an employee and proceeded with corrective action. The employee was coached out of the job because the corrections were not made. That’s the more positive terminology for saying that they were disciplined, up to and including termination and they reached the point of termination. The employee was also African American. Because the employee was terminated for cause, I had to appear at an unemployment compensation (UC) hearing. It is general practice that companies will deny the payment of UC claims if the employee was terminated for cause. There are exceptions but termination for cause is not one of them. I took the manager with me.
Administrative Law judges (ALJ) usually found more satisfaction speaking directly with the managers or supervisors involved in situations as opposed to the third party, HR representative. They could be quite rude and outright brutal about this! Once I figured that out, I made it the norm to bring department managers with me to tell their own story.
In this scenario, the employee, an African American, had decided to fight the UC denial stating they had been terminated due to racial discrimination. As our case presentation began, and all the preliminaries were out of the way, I watched the white, male, ALJ’s eyes widen as he asked me who I was. He blinked a few extra times as he realized I was the HR person the former employee had mentioned in their complaint. The complaint had indicated discrimination as the cause of termination and that it was carried out on the part of the manager and the HR representative. The ALJ then addressed the manager, asking who she was. After she answered his questions and presented details of the termination his bewilderment was clearly mixed with disdain as he then began to address and question the employee. Needless to say, his main point of questioning included multiple questions as to how and why this individual believed that two African American women had conspired to terminate his employment, while he clearly did not adhere to policy and procedure, and had been given several opportunities during the corrective action process, to correct the behavior but did not. I’ll end my scenario there. As I am sure you can see where this was going.
I shared it with you as a confirmation of the argument that some could be racist towards others of the same race but also to say, but it’s rare. There are very real terms like internalized oppression or intra racism in which an individual possess a form of dislike, distrust or disdain for their own race and displays it towards individuals of their own group, however, rarely do such individuals hold the power to implement as much damage as those from outside the group.
So now, let’s look at the three categories of individuals who fear being called racist when they engage in corrective actions.
One Who is Not Racist (Racially Insensitive)
I cannot say this enough. If one is not yet comfortable interacting with people of other races, the antidote is to spend more time with people of other races. We get more comfortable with driving when we drive more often, we get comfortable caring for and interacting with babies by spending more time caring for and interacting with babies. People who are truly sensitive to issues of race and choose not to be racist, will likely spend time around people of different backgrounds, be proactive in learning about people and their cultures…outside of vacation travel and embrace family members doing the same.
Every person has biases, regardless of who they are, so one’s sensitivity to any dimension of diversity does not mean they will never have a questionable thought. What it does mean, though is that they are less likely to act on the questionable thought, other than to seek more information on the matter. It also means, the person is cognizant of their thoughts and thus will be that much more thoughtful or sensitive as they move forward, recognizing they have to be careful not to allow their thoughts to influence their objectivity.
One Who is Not Sure If They Are Racist
In June, 2020 following the devastating murder of George Floyd by a police officer, which was captured on camera, there was a noticeable spike in “Am I a racist” google searches. There are two other times that search spiked, and that was in December, 2016 when Donald Trump was elected president and in December, 2017 when the Charlottesville Rally. What that tells us is that these incidents have driven people to think about their viewpoints and ask themselves the question, “Am I racist?”
Start Asking Questions
It is a good question to ask if you don’t automatically know the answer. That means you haven’t spent time thinking about it or you have engaged in situations or experienced times when your thoughts led you to believe it wasn’t so black and white (no pun intended). Asking the question is a good place to start the exploration. The second place to start is in analyzing one’s actions. We are talking about leadership biases and insensitivities, so let’s focus there. Take a look at how you treat people on your team. Well, let’s first look at your team. Did you put the team together? Is the team racially and ethnically diverse? If not, ask yourself, why not? If you have placed anyone new on the team or recruited anyone, you had the power to change its composition. Don’t try to pull the wool over your own eyes and say something like, “There weren’t any racially or ethnically diverse candidates for the positions I had.”
Think About What You Are Saying Before You Say It
I’ve heard that before. Unfortunately, the people who made the statement were ignorant to the fact that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people “out there” who qualify for their positions but they made no effort to recruit them, or they had no interest in exercising the patience necessary to source diverse candidates. If you want a diverse team, you’ll build one.
No excuses necessary. These issues and questions are probing indications that maybe you want to further examine your views on race and ethnicity. If you quickly jump to the defense of your own questionable behaviors, that’s an indication that you already know they are suspect but you are not yet ready to accept it.
Other questions to ponder, might be, how do you treat people on your team who look like you? How do you treat those who look different? Do you hold everyone to the same standards? Or do you present the standard to all and only hold a few to those expectations?
When you look at others are you one that says, “I don’t see color?” If so, you probably need a little more coaching and a lot more education. Not seeing color, for a person of color, is an indication that maybe you don’t see people for who and what they are, unique human beings that come in an array of colors, shapes and sizes and cultures. So yes, you need to do more work.
Defining Covert Racism
There is a form of racism that was given a name in 1986 by two psychologists, Dr. John F. Dovidio, & Dr. Samuel L. Gaertner. Aversive racism is considered a more modern-day form of racism that, operates unconsciously in subtle and indirect ways. Aversive racists view themselves as being without prejudiced and most definitely not racist yet they hold negative beliefs and feelings toward members of different racial or ethnic groups. Aversive racists are more likely to act in favor of white people as opposed to blatant negative behavior towards people of color. To do so would be blatantly racist.
This particular type of racism is what we tend to face in our society the most. It is elusive, and it contributes greatly to the systemic actions that hinder the advancement of people of color. It is similar to what some of us might refer to as covert racism as opposed to overt but covert racists are more likely aware of their biases and prejudicial behaviors. Aversive racists are more likely to deny being guilty of any such behaviors because they want to be politically and socially correct and may not consciously think about the underlying reasons they act in biased ways. This in and of itself is not only dangerous but damaging to others.
The Racist (Racially Insensitive) Leader
I wrote a blog post in October, 2020, “Real Talk on Racism: Do Racists Know They’re Racist?” The reality surrounding that question is, “Some do and some don’t.” Some have clear and blatant tendencies or beliefs that make it plain for anyone looking but if you asked them about it, they would deny any indication of racism or insensitivity. Like the man I met who only wanted to hire black men into a job he often hired for because they were strong, they didn’t mind sweating and could handle hard labor. He said he wouldn’t want to hire white men into the role because they were not as strong. As he spoke, I could picture the chains he had hanging in his office, just waiting to be placed on the ankles and necks of “his strong black, male workers.” I thought he might be joking, though it was far from funny, but he wasn’t. You could not have convinced him if you tried that he was racist, insensitive or even the least bit biased. The same man, by the way, believed in paying men higher wages than his female workers. He thought he was doing something commendable, after all, why would anyone have a problem with wage discrimination against women? This man was highly respected in the company he worked for! No one in this man’s company knew he thought or behaved this way? One thing that is more dangerous and harmful to people than the racist leader, is the people around that leader who allow him or her to continue to behave in ways that are harmful to others emotionally, psychologically, economically or physically.
As I said earlier, we are all biased in one way or another. That bias may be based on race or some other dimension of difference. It could be based on gender, size, socio-economic background and more. The real issue when it comes to these types of questions, particularly race, is how deep are our biased thoughts and to what degree do we allow our biases to control our actions?
Gain Additional Insight: Implicit Bias Testing
Harvard University developed a well know and slightly controversial test that assesses whether a person has hidden biases against specific groups, that affect their subconscious thinking. This test, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) was first introduced around 1998. For two decades the school, in conjunction with several other universities has gathered data on millions who have taken the assessment. Based upon the premise of the test, it would confirm that everyone is biased. The test is available to the general public and something you should try. It will offer more to think about. Try it here: Implicit Association Test.
Closing Thoughts
Though I may have biases, like everyone else, I am very aware of this reality and know it is an ongoing process to cleanse myself of erroneous thinking about other people. The trickier part, however, is that in spite of whatever thoughts I may have about a person, I must treat them fairly, honestly and objectively when working with them, serving them or leading them. And so also should you. That’s what leaders do.