We all have biases. We are discriminatory. Simply, we make choices based on our judgement, and that judgement is influenced by so many things.
With employees, we sometimes create a label to match our perception of that employee. That label can fuel our bias or the bias of others. There are a few problems with that label.
- It’s not a reflection of the whole person, the one with whom we are trying to engage.
- It’s usually informed by most recent impressions.
- It doesn’t always calibrate with others. (What is a rock star or ninja or guru anyway?)
- Their annual performance “score” is a rating of performance, not of the person. How many times have you heard a reference like “He was a 5 last year” compared to “his performance was a 5 last year”?
And the biggest problem; we don’t always find the care label before it’s too late. That’s the most important one.
And most employees don’t require a lot of care. They require equitable treatment, respect, and only rarely do you have to use the delicate cycle.
What labels do you give yourself? More and more, I see Twitter bio’s that lead with the real life stuff first, and the job stuff second. I know, I know, the work stuff is real life too, but you are not your job description, are you?
