510: How to Reduce Bias in Feedback, with Therese Huston

Coaching for Leaders

Dave Stachowiak

Education, Business, Management, Self-improvement, Careers

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 January 2021

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Therese Huston: Let’s Talk Therese Huston is a cognitive scientist and the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University. She has written for The New York Times and the Harvard Business Review and has previously given talks at Microsoft, Amazon, TEDxStLouis, and Harvard Business School. Her prior books are titled Teaching What You Don't Know* and How Women Decide*. She's the author of the book Let's Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower*. In this conversation, Therese and I discuss how we can reduce bias that may unintentionally show up in our feedback. We examine several of the key feedback challenges for managers, including telling women they need to speak up, that they are too aggressive, or concerned they will “take it the wrong way.” We also highlight key language that can help leaders make these conversations more productive and transparent. Key Points Managers tend to sugarcoat feedback, but especially when feedback is being given to women. If someone is coming across aggressively, consider language like, “I’m not sure if that feedback is fair or unfair, but I wanted you to know it’s the impression some people have of you.” When giving feedback with the intention to help somebody improve, invoke high standards and assure the other person they can reach those standards. When feedback brings out strong emotion, help people restore their own control vs. trying to control. Research show that when giving feedback to someone whose face stands out, we spout vague pronouncements about how nice they are to be around. Resources Mentioned Let's Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower* by Therese Huston Interview Notes Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required). Related Episodes Three Steps To Soliciting Feedback, with Tom Henschel (episode 107) How Women Make Stronger, Smarter Choices, with Therese Huston (episode 255) How to Manage Abrasive Leaders, with Sharone Bar-David (episode 290) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The feedback you give, is it fair for everybody?
0:04.0	If you're like a lot of leaders, the research says, probably not.
0:09.0	On this episode, how bias shows up in our feedback and the language we can use to get better.
0:15.0	This is Coaching for Leaders episode 510.
0:19.0	Produced by Innovate Learning, Maximizing Human Potential. innovate learning, maximizing human potential.
0:25.6	Greetings to you from Orange County, California.
0:31.2	This is coaching for leaders, and I'm your host Dave Stahoviac.
0:36.3	Leaders aren't born.
0:37.9	They're made.
0:38.9	And this weekly show helps you discover leadership wisdom through insightful conversations.
0:44.6	Conversations of course so much a part of how we lead and in particular conversations that involve us giving feedback.
0:55.0	It is a constant challenge for us as leaders and also a tremendous opportunity
1:01.0	for us to give feedback in a way that supports the development of others,
1:05.6	supports the success of our organizations, and of course helps us to improve as well too.
1:11.2	Today I'm so glad that we get to dive in on this topic of feedback and also to look at it through the lens of how can we do it with less bias and more inclusion.
1:22.0	I'm thrilled to welcome back to the show
1:24.0	Terese Houston. She is a cognitive scientist and the founding director of the Center
1:28.8	for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Seattle University. She has written for the New York Times and the Harvard Business and Harvard Business School. Her prior books are titled, Teaching What You Don't Know, and how women decide,
1:45.8	which we featured on the show previously.
1:47.6	She's the author of the new book, Let's Talk,
1:50.4	make effective feedback your superpower.
1:53.2	Terese so glad to have you back.
	...

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