Making the unconscious conscious

Announcer: We know what a time of social unrest this is. We at the Truist Leadership Institute are here for you. We’re listening. As you may have caught in our last episode, we launched a series focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. We’re continuing the series to help bring awareness to how we can lead to more inclusively. For our last episode, we will talk with Scott Horton, founder of Delta Concepts on the topic of race. He shared his personal experiences about how he had to shift his mindset to be intentional with his leadership practices. It’s amazing and even though he’s dedicated his life’s work to inclusion, as he vulnerably shared in the last episode, he’s still got a ways to go. We hope you tuned on and if you haven’t, we’d love to invite you to go back and listen.

For this next episode, we will go deeper into the topic of unconscious bias by bringing in one of our experts, Oscar Santos, DEI Segment Lead at Truist. He will be interviewed by one of our very own here at the Leadership Institute, Christina Holdsworth where they will discuss what unconscious bias is and also what it isn’t. We will share the importance of unconscious bias, how to recognize it, how to fight it and how to use it as your superpower to lead more inclusively. Thank you for joining us and we hope you enjoy this episode.

C. Holdsworth: Hello. I’m Christina Holdsworth and I serve as the senior leadership development strategist for Truist Leadership Institute. It’s such a pleasure today to be able to share this conversation with you with a great colleague of mine and friend, Oscar Santos.

Oscar is a well-known entity in the DEI space and he has done so much great transformational work with our leaders at Truist to help them lead more inclusively. So today, will have a great conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion and more specifically, we’ll get into the topic of unconscious bias. So without further ado, let me introduce Oscar.

Oscar Santos: Hello and good day to everyone that is listening to this podcast.

C. Holdsworth: Thank you so much for spending time with us. I’d love for our listeners to be able to learn more about you. Could you tell us your story? How did you get into the diversity, equity, inclusion space and tell us a little bit about what your work looks like today.

Oscar Santos: Yes, happy to do that. So this journey started about 15 years ago for me when I began working with our multicultural strategy in the organization. And that led me to understand several nuances about diverse experiences and backgrounds. Even within similar communities you learned that there were differences even within similar groups and whatnot. So working with the multicultural markets world allowed me to see that broader perspective of the world essentially. Then around 2011, I became the chair for the Hispanic Leadership Connection Business Research Group for the Heritage organization that I used to be a part of. And that once again led me to understand strategically the importance of working toward common goals that each one of the groups have but also with a specific focus on what were the challenges that each one of these communities was having. So therefore, that led me to amplify the spectrum and the lens of opportunity and understanding all that. So that was again around 2011.

And then around 2014, I became the manager for a department in our organization called Leadership and Professional Development. And within that, part of our responsibility was to educate leaders that came brand-new to the organization about what does it look like to lead inclusively and understand the mix at work. It’s one thing but making that mix work is another aspect. So helping them on that. Then I actually continued to do some studies and education at Southern Methodist University along the lines of this work so I was able to also increase my knowledge, my personal knowledge in that area.

And then that led me to my role today in the organization which as you very well stated, it’s diversity, equity and inclusion leader. And what does that mean? It’s basically helping our senior leaders to understand not only how to improve behavioral inclusion but most important to help them understand the power and influence that they have to create what is called more of structural inclusion. So helping them with those strategies and helping them understand a lot of the bigger picture is part of what I do on a day-to-day basis. So it’s a work that I am incredibly passionate about and one that I get up every morning wanting to help leaders and teammates better understand it.

C. Holdsworth: Yeah, I love to hear that, Oscar. And you are doing such important work across the organization. And hopefully our listeners today will also learn from you and some of the practices that you’ve been able to share with leaders. So let’s think about all of the critical things that are happening within our environment around social justice, making sure that we promote equity, all really important things that are going on. And at the heart of this, I think we are all really trying to make sure that we are really conscious of our bias.

So I know the topic today really is around unconscious bias. What is it and why is it so important for us to know what it is? Can you talk a bit more about unconscious bias, Oscar?

Oscar Santos: Absolutely. So the simple definition of bias is judgment without question. It’s a tendency or an inclination that we have to judge without questioning other aspects of that specific situation. So the unconscious piece is, to throw a little bit more complexity to us as human beings because it is a very normal part of us as human beings to have these biases. As a matter of fact, the main purpose of bias is survival ship. It’s actually how do I actually judge the many situations that are thrown at me and then based on that I actually can create or can make a decision that will keep me safe. Essentially, that’s the purpose of bias.

So when you throw in the unconscious piece, it’s basically how do we create these judgments without question while we are unaware. So therefore, there’s a lot of information that exists in our unconscious brain. As a matter-of-fact, our conscious brain processes about 40,000 pieces of information a day. That’s our conscious brain where we process logic and reason and where we process information. However, the unconscious brain processes about 11 million pieces of information. So contrary to what we have heard before of the conscious brain being the tip of the iceberg and the unconscious brain being the part that we cannot see, study after study has shown that it’s more – the conscious brain is more of a snowball at the tip of the iceberg. And then even the visible part constitutes our unconscious brain.

So again, it’s incredibly powerful. It’s one of the areas that we have to work really hard at finding more and more information about the way that we make decisions because the only way that we can truly make decisions that impact possibly others is by making the effort to make our unconscious as conscious as possible.

A very known social psychologist by the name of Carl Young said “until we make the unconscious conscious, it will direct our lives and we will call it fate.” So basically what he mainly said with that statement is it’s not until we make the effort to understand the root cause of many of our decisions and why we make decisions the way we do that unconscious bias is just going to be a big challenge for all of us.

So Christina, in essence, again, I love the short definition of unconscious bias which again I’m going to say judgment without question while being unaware.

C. Holdsworth: Yeah, no, I think that was such a great explanation of what it is and how we can be more aware of unconscious bias and how it impacts our day to day. Speaking of which, Oscar, if you could share how does bias really distort our thinking, our listening, our beliefs, the things that we are codependent on. How does bias do this?

Oscar Santos: All the information that we have in our brain and the way that we create context out of the world comes from two places. Our nurture and our nature. So the way that we are naturally wired with our personalities and who we are, again, from the moment that we are born. And then the nurture is all of the experiences that we have throughout our lives. And those are called formative experiences. And those formative experiences can be the neighborhoods that we grew up, the people in our lives, our grandparents, parents, friends, siblings, et cetera. The organizations that we worked before or currently work for. And also formative media. The media also creates that. So that is what creates a lot of again, our brain and the nurturing piece of our brain. Those experiences.

So the way that biases can distort some of that thinking and ___ because knowing that we – the human brain makes a decision every 2.5 seconds. So our brains are constantly in the mode of decision-making. So what happens is when you have all of this information that is stored and swimming in the big ocean of the unconscious brain, there are many times that because like I said, we all have biases. Again, it’s one of those things that it’s not so much the question of do I have biases, it’s more along the lines of which ones are mine? And therefore, if we don’t come into an agreement with that statement or of course we do have biases because we are human beings and we are always scanning for any type of threat that can impact my safety or it can impact my belonging. That way, because of how we are processing information, then we may end up creating misjudgments or creating judgments that will lead to exclusion.

So because it’s such a normal part of the human brain because again, it’s this tiny little, all of my partners at the Leadership Institute, they have taught me that the power of this tiny little almond shaped piece of the brain called the amygdala that is constantly scanning for threats. And the moment that there is a threat, then we go into either fight or flight. So what that basically tells us is it distorts our thinking in many cases because without us forcing or doing the best that we can to understand the way that we make decisions and where those decisions are made, especially if we are getting feedback that if by any chance we are creating exclusion and we get feedback, then doing the very best we can to identify the root cause of that is what we can do because otherwise, there are going to be many things that will distort our thinking.

As a matter of fact, one example that I use is the infamous example of the handshake. When we are going to interview someone or we are going to actually go to a business meeting, it’s societally in the United States we have always heard for the most part a lot of us have heard that a week handshake means a lack of assertiveness. It means lack of confidence. It means somebody’s timid or shy. And think about that for a second. This person that is shaking hands with you in a not very strong way could have had an accident the day before or the week before at some point. They could have a disability. They could be part of the 14.5 billion people in the world that don’t shake hands like that. And that’s just an example, Christina, of how it can distort our thinking. Like just one judgment like that can create a very unfair decision that leads us to exclusion and leads us to ineffective leadership.

C. Holdsworth: Yeah, what an incredible example there, Oscar. And I think that’s what we’re trying to avoid is how do we become more inclusive not exclusive? And so along that vein, thinking about diversity, how much does a lack of exposure to diversity really contribute to unconscious bias?

Oscar Santos: So you know that one piece of mass that we have in our brain that I mentioned a minute ago, the amygdala, right? So the amygdala, the purpose of that scanning for threats is to make sure that we stay stable in our emotional, mental, physical and also ego. That all of those four pieces in our lives they stay intact and safe. So that’s what the amygdala is doing, constantly searching for again, those threats that may be out there that can impact negatively those four things that I mentioned.

So therefore, what happens is if we don’t have that exposure to diverse perspectives and diverse thoughts and diverse people, then the amygdala is always going to find what is safe to us. So therefore, the inability for us to expose ourselves to diversity is going to immediately put us in the defense, in the flight or fight mode because it’s something that we are not familiarized with, it because it’s something that we don’t understand. And therefore when we put ourselves in that position, it creates that disconnection and therefore consciously or unconsciously, it creates the exclusion.

So there’s been many studies done about this. As a matter of fact, Calvin Lye and Brian Nosick, they are social psychologists at the University of Virginia. They analyzed different strategies to see which ones are more effective for addressing unconscious bias. And they actually, their study revealed that one of the most effective ways to begin reprogramming our biases toward certain groups is to expose people to counter stereotypes or exemplars of that particular group in question. The approaches that have happened in the past which is an effort to get people in the dominant group to understand the plight of people in the nondominant group. That actually creates a greater sense of difference.

So if we don’t allow ourselves in an open, compassionate, empathetic matter to understand and to get others that are diverse – and again, diversity is not just ethnically or gender wise. It could be a variety of things related to appearance and style and region and accent and it’s just a very variable aspect of what diversity is all about.

So Christina, to answer your question, if we do not do that, our brain is always going to be constantly scanning for the moment that it scans something that sounds, looks different, we are going to immediately go into fight or flight therefore creating potential exclusion in that decision-making. So it is an incredibly important part of the way that we can see the world because otherwise, our perception is always going to only allow us to see what we know. And without that exposure to diversity, we will not be in a position where we can feel confident about the way that we make decisions.

C. Holdsworth: That’s really insightful there, Oscar. Thinking about that and how unconscious bias does really impact how leaders lead. I think you’re getting there. So how might it really impact how leaders lead and how can leaders fight it? How can they fight the unconscious bias that they can lead more effectively and promote diversity, equity and inclusion?

C. Holdsworth: You, so I actually, because I have done this work for so long and I have talked to so many individuals, from the ones who are very stoic and very guarded to the ones that are very open and wanting to make a change and a difference. I’ve noticed that there are two specific things that are always incredibly connected and are very connected to the way that you can make this a priority. And one is the self-awareness, starting with raising your hand and saying I’m a human being and I am biased. As a matter of fact, my name is Oscar Santos and I am biased. I actually read books every day. I do this for a living. I do research on a constant basis and I find myself sometimes in that 2.5 second decision that our brains make, how quick our brain is making decisions. I find myself making decisions on a very bias i.e. judgment without question base.

So therefore, because I know that that’s part of being a human being, one of the things that you need to have is self-awareness but that self-awareness cannot, it cannot be disjointed from vulnerability. Because you can have all the self-awareness you may want to have related to this topic and whatnot. But if you don’t have the vulnerability to say I’m raising my hand and saying I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t know why I react the way I react. If it’s not with that connector to vulnerability, then self-awareness is basically a car without an engine essentially. So that’s one. Self-awareness with a dotted line to vulnerability.

And the second one is accountability, Christina. So one of the things that I talked to groups about and leaders about is along the lines of how to disengage from your unconscious biases. And one of the things that I can recommend to the group of individuals that are listening to this podcast is you have to find a what I call a network of blind spotters. It’s asking the people that you trust the most to say please help me identify what blind spots I may be having. That it may be a very small and subtle behavior that I may have but it makes somebody feel excluded. So if it’s not with that network of blind spotters, you’re going to have a little bit of a harder time being able to put the mirror on yourself, right?

 So if you don’t have that network of individuals that can help you, if you don’t make compassionate empathy part of your culture and your organization, if you don’t do that, you will have – you will miss the opportunity to truly make all of these efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion a priority.

Another thing that I also recommend leaders, as far as how to fight this and how to better understand and grasp it is to have a very solid understanding of the difference between equality and equity. So equality is the promise that you as a leader, you’re given all of your teammates and employees, direct reports, et cetera, you’re giving them the promise of access to opportunities and rewards and support. So that is the promise that you’re giving them and with hard work and merit send all of that, then you can achieve growth and progress.

Now, equity is all about are we keeping that promise? Are we staying true to that promise? And the only way that we are actually going to be able to get there is by understanding what exists in our organizations today that may be in equitable. So therefore, when you bring the self-awareness, when you bring the accountability, when you bring the understanding of equality and equity, you can truly bring a culture of inclusion that gets others to see how your behaviors are now tied to the understanding that you’re not going to judge without question. You’re not going to assume that this group is identical to this group and therefore, Christina, that’s how they can fight this world of unconscious biases and make the equity and inclusion peace a priority for them and their businesses.

C. Holdsworth: Wow, Oscar. I love how you broke that down and thinking about the practical actionable ways that a leader can really promote inclusion and fight unconscious bias, self-awareness, accountability, making empathy a part of your culture, understanding equality and equity and the difference and really staying true to the commitment. I mean, I love all those things. I hope our listeners are taking that away as well.

I know we are coming to the end of our time here but if you could leave leaders with one piece of advice, how do they be vulnerable? I think there’s some fear and maybe some of the leaders that they might say the wrong thing or they might take the wrong action but all have really good intentions. How can leaders truly be vulnerable and be willing to admit that they may still be learning and working to correct their own unconscious bias. What’s one piece of advice you would give, Oscar?

Oscar Santos: Yeah, one of the things that I would have to first ask leaders and others that are listening to this podcast is get to understand why vulnerability is so hard. Why is vulnerability so challenging and difficult? Well, it is challenging because if you recall from a few minutes ago, I mentioned that our amygdala is constantly scanning for threats. And many times the ego is part of what can be impacted by something that is coming your way that if you are vulnerable, that the image piece of you as a leader can be impacted. So the reason why vulnerability is so complex and so hard is because you basically have to expose part of what your brain is considering a threat and you have to let it not be a threat but an opportunity for you to truly experience creativity, joy, inclusion, all of these things. So that’s the first thing that I have to say is number one, understand why vulnerability is so complex.

If you go deeper into the brain, there is actually a very – there’s a part of our brain that’s called the dorsal internal singular cortex. And that piece of our brain is activated when we feel physical pain; when we hit our toe in the corner of a furniture piece and we are like ouch, that is actually the place in your brain that is activated. Well, guess what. That is also the same part of our brain that is activated when we feel rejection and abandonment. So therefore, the reason why it’s hard to be vulnerable is because we are having a reaction to something that can once again create some type of angst and whatnot. So it’s not until we understand why that is complex. It’s not going to let us go to the next part.

 And the next part is once you commit to that place where like you mentioned, you can say I’m afraid I’m going to say the wrong thing. I feel guilty because there’s all this information coming my way and it’s something that I cannot do anything about and I feel guilty or I feel shame. If you don’t voice how those emotions are impacting your thought process and potentially your decision-making, you are missing a true fantastic opportunity to create authenticity and to be genuine with your teams and for your teams to actually see that like everyone else, there are opportunities for growth or flaws. There are all of these things that happened because the moment that you get in your mind, because I’m the leader, perfection needs to be always in the forefront. The moment that happens, then it’s going to increase your level of a threat of again, to put those defenses down and therefore, you’re going to miss the opportunity to bond in a much closer way with teammates and even family members. This happens in business and in personal lives.

So that’s my suggestion, Christina, is find number one the reason why vulnerability is so hard and then once you understand that and you can give yourself grace about being vulnerable, then run with it. I can tell you that it is the root of joy, happiness, creativity and connection with others. So that will be my parting thoughts there.

C. Holdsworth: Thank you, Oscar. That’s so inspiring and really to understand the why – why is this so hard but then also own up to those emotions and share that with others, personally, professionally and allow this moment for grace.

Oscar, thank you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, your time. Appreciate all of your insight. Thanks, Oscar.

Oscar Santos: It is my purpose. Thank you.

Announcer: We hope you found our conversation insightful and useful at you think about your own personal journey in the fight against social injustice. We know that one podcast episode alone will not solve it all but thank you for joining us and your commitment to taking action. Stay tuned. We got more episodes coming up.

For show notes or for additional information, please visit us at TruistLeadershipInstitute.com. Leadership Amplitude is a podcast production of Truist Your ship Institute. All rights reserved.

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