Sondra Thiederman - Making Diversity Work: 7 Steps for Defeating Bias in the Workplace

Making Diversity WorkSeven Steps for Defeating Bias in the Workplace

SONDRA THIEDERMAN, PH. D.

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Copyright 2003 by Sondra Thiederman

Published by Dearborn Trade Publishing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thiederman, Sondra B. Making diversity work : seven steps for defeating bias in the workplace / Sondra Thiederman. p. cm. Includes index.

HD4903.T48 2003

658.3'008dc21

2003007493

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DEDICATION

For my grandson, Aiden William Pierce McGinnis. May you always remember to follow the sound of the bell.

About the Author

Sondra Thiederman, Ph.D., is one of the nation's leading experts on bias reduction, workplace diversity, and cross-cultural business. Based in San Diego, she is a sought-after speaker who brings 25 years' experience to presentations that motivate and entertain while providing practical results to organizations as diverse as General Motors, UBS PaineWeber, Marriott Corporation, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, American Express, Xerox, and AT&T.

She is the recipient of a doctorate in cross-cultural studies from UCLA, is the author of two previous books, and has served as a consultant to the University of California. Appointed to the American Red Cross Diversity Cabinet by Elizabeth Dole, Dr. Thiederman has been widely featured in the media, including in the New York Times, Nation's Business, Entrepreneur, the Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News & World Report.

In her continuing efforts to better understand how diverse people can work together more effectively, she welcomes your insights and experiences. Kindly direct your comments as well as any inquiries for speaking or training to: e-mail: <>; or phone: 800-858-4478.

Acknowledgments

Four days and five nights in an isolated cabin in the San Jacinto mountains and the book is almost finished; just a polish or two here and there remains to be done, but I guess that tweaking can go on forever. It is odd to think that I am finally near the end. It has been four plus years of stops and starts and rethinkings, all of which would have come to nothing if not for the input and support of many individuals along the way.

Most authors traditionally place the most important people at the end of the Acknowledgments, sort of like an Oscar acceptance speech in which the high school drama teacher comes first followed by parents, spouse, and, finally, a deity. I realize most folks don't read Acknowledgments through to the finish and because I wouldn't want any mistake about the identity of my most important support person, I decided to break with tradition and mention him first: my husband, Tom Sandler. You will meet him and his diversity foibles from time to time throughout the book. He may, as you will discover, not be a perfect man when it comes to bias, but then again, who is? In most other ways, however, Tom is pretty amazing. It was Tom who encouraged me when I felt this book would never come to fruition, who took care of the bits and pieces of living in these final weeks so that I would have the psychological room in which to complete the task, and who sent me off to this cabin fully stocked with supplies and fueled with his good wishes, love, and support. For these things, and myriad others, I will always be grateful.

There would be no book, of course, if not for those folks who were generous and brave enough to share with me their embarrassments, successes, and even their bias disasters. That kind of openness is a lot to ask, especially in today's climate where "guilty till proven innocent" of bias is the order of the day. The initial batch of brave souls who came forward were encountered informally in the few moments following dozens of workshops and speeches on diversity that I have presented throughout the years. These contributions amounted to little more than snippets of thought and experience voiced casually at the front of the room or over cups of coffee and stale pastry. Despite their brevity these tiny tales gradually seeped into my consciousness and formed a shape that suddenly looked suspiciously like a more enlightened way to confront the challenge of bias and optimistically like a book that had to be written.

Other contributors were formally interviewed. The identities of some of these people, through their choice or mine, are hidden behind pseudonyms or composite characters; each of you know who you are and I thank you for what you added to this project. Others have participated more openly. In no particular order, these include: Barbara Ceconi, Kurt Kuss, Steve Hanamura, Tony Polk, Elena Panduro, Krista Sandler, Deborah Helm, ke Sandler, Gayle Brock, Amber Caffall, Prue Drummond, Shea and Josh McGinnis, Singer Buchanan, Susan Swan, Martha Mason, Booker Izell, Kevin Moore, Duane Roth, Joan and Bob Pierce, Paco Sevilla, Shelley Schwarz, Cathy Rudd, Nancy and Bill Bamburger, Stephanie Britton, Jessica Moore, Jim Lonergan, Julie Madigan, Alexander Hicks, Cherly DeLeon, Amy and Mark Jackson, Robert Marks, Sr., Jim Adamson, and Roger Ackerman. In addition, I must extend a very special thanks to Zhao Lin Chen whose elegantly simple story of his new life in America reminded me why this country is so great and why we must continue our efforts to resolve the conflicts that have so long divided us. I am grateful, too, to Deborah Pourali whose enthusiasm early on in the project helped acquire much fascinating material, including the story of Mr. Chen, scientist turned crossing guard.

There are others who did not contribute stories per se, but whose existence refined my thinking and helped bring this narrative to life. Among these are the mysterious Harvard graduate in ; Louis, who taught me an important lesson about how mistaken we can sometimes be about the identity of our own biases; Manny Davis, the finest limousine driver on the eastern seaboard; the anonymous and possibly angry young man in that Westwood, California, gas station; and, finally, "Candace," who reminded me in some ways of my childhood friend Karen Johnson. By the way, in anticipation of writing this book, I tried and failed to locate Karen. Karen, if you see this, call me! I'll take you to dinner and in honor of Candace this time we'll do it right.

Because so much of the philosophy of this book is rooted in current workplace events and individual experiences, previously published material played a secondary importance in my thinking. That is, with one exception: Bruce Jacobs's marvelous book