Learn how to minimize the influence of subjective evaluation in your promotion process.
The process of making promotion decisions is susceptible to subjective evaluation; even trained and experienced leaders can be unconsciously influenced by assumptions and stereotypes. Unconscious biases can lead managers and leaders to make certain predictable errors when selecting employees for advancement. The assessment of the âbestâ person for the job can be influenced more by a personâs similarity to current leaders than their unique skills and competencies. Itâs not that the person who advances doesnât deserve it; it may be that there are deserving employees who are overlooked.
An assumption that the workplace is functioning as a meritocracy prevents a thorough analysis that can reveal unintended bias in the patterns of promotions; while individual decisions can be explained, the patterns of decisions can reveal unconscious bias.
Ensure that your promotion processes have equitable outcomes by addressing these questions:
Foundational Actions
Growing Actions
Leading Actions
Gallup: How to Reduce Bias in Your Succession and Promotion Plans
The Atlantic: The False Promise of Meritocracy
The Glass Hammer: Four Types of Bias that Keep Women from Getting Promoted
VernÄ Myers: Unconscious Bias: Creating a Culture of Inclusion
HBR: The Different Words We Use to Describe Male and Female Leaders
The New York Times: Gender Bias in Promotions
LinkedIn Learning: Addressing Unconscious Bias as a Leader by Stacey Gordon
