Appraisal circles and selected organizations recently have addressed bias and discrimination in the profession, as well as emphasizing the need for diversity. The American Society of Appraisers, along with the Appraisal Institute, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, National Society of Real Estate Appraisers and MBREA, sponsored a webinar titled “Unconscious Bias” with panelists from the Ivy Planning Group discussing the many ways biases exist.
Gary Smith, co-founder and senior partner of Ivy Planning Group, a 30-year-old consulting and training company that specializes in strategy, diversity, leadership and change management, along with Janet Crenshaw Smith, co-founder and president of Ivy Planning Group, spoke virtually to attendees about the many categories biases can fall under.
Crenshaw Smith said one of the driving forces behind the Ivy Planning Group, and a message she wanted to deliver, was to “harness the power of difference.”
“We need to listen to understand, rather than to judge,” she said. “We need to heighten an understanding about unconscious preferences and bias. We sometimes frame this (bias) as preferences, because often that’s how bias shows up. We must recognize how unconscious bias may negatively impact our decision making and our interactions with colleagues and customers, and how bias impacts our ability to do our work.
“We’re living in different times,” Crenshaw Smith added. “There is a perfect storm of multiple crises happening that we are all dealing with starting with the COVID-19 virus, which impacts many people differently. There is also social unrest and the overall economic impact. We must not ignore facts and let biases and preferences affect our decision making.”
She said there is a tendency for people to seek out information confirming their beliefs or assumptions, which can get in the way of better decision making.
“We want to make informed decisions. Confirmation bias is difficult,” Crenshaw Smith said.
The attendees were shown a visual outlining the many areas and criteria for bias. They are:
• A bias is a tendency or preference
• Bias represents a cognitive shortcut used to make decisions
• Bias is normal, useful and necessary and
• Cognitive shortcuts can cause problems when we’re unaware of them and we apply them inappropriately, leading to rash decisions or even discriminatory practices
“An increasingly changing world makes our cognitive shortcuts and ‘mental filing cabinets’ less reliable. Unconscious bias is far more prevalent than conscious prejudice and is often incompatible with our conscious values,” Smith said. “All of us have preferences and biases. We all would like the world to be a certain way. We must understand how bias may get in the way of opportunity. For us, it’s about being more aware. We think bias, in general, has gotten a bad name but again, bias is necessary. You survive taking advantage of your cognitive shortcuts and at end of day, it is a preference.”
The presentation also pointed out that there are over 150 types of biases.
Smith defined diversity as “simply differences. Differences that matter. Differences that impact behaviors and actions.”
The Smiths outlined the scenario of picturing someone with the same profile that you view in a positive manner and asking yourself, “Am I making this decision based on a requirement of the job or my preference?”
Use input from others and research to ground your decision in data and facts, they said, and stop to consider if your decision will have a disproportionate impact on an individual or group of people. Evaluate whether you are taking action based on comfort and someone being a “known quantity” rather than what is different and inclusive, they added.
“When making a decision, pause,” they said. “What will you do? Begin with self-awareness and consider how you process differences – what do you value or devalue and why? Seek multi-dimensional feedback and create opportunities to build relationships across differences. Don’t blame or shame others when bias is acknowledged.”