By: Maria Williams
“There are always two elements at play in the room: power and diversity,” says Dr. Dionne Wright Poulton, PhD, a celebrated author, founder of Poulton Consulting Group LLC, and currently the Organizational Ombudsperson, Head of Diversity, Equity and Belonging, and Head of Organizational Learning at Franciscan Children’s, a sister hospital to Boston Children’s Hospital. She is referring to the often implicit biases and underlying attitudes that define interpersonal behavior in the workplace.
In 2023, 23% of the labor force were people of color who were more likely to select employment based on an organization’s DEI markers. 41% of Black workers in the USA also experience discrimination and unfair treatment at work due to their race, accounting for a notable portion of all reports related to racial prejudice. Subsequently, it is paramount that both workers and leaders are equipped with the tools to recognize and respond to racial prejudices and acknowledge and counteract their embeddedness in workplace culture at all levels of an organization.
On the flip side, prejudice and unequal treatment can become common when these differences are recognized, whether consciously or unconsciously. The first step to overturning the presence of discrimination is to recognize it. In Dr. Poulton’s groundbreaking book, It’s Not Always Racist… but Sometimes It Is, she lays out a foolproof equation for accurately recognizing racism versus its commonly conflated brother, racial prejudice: Racism = Prejudice + Power + Intent.
Her work as a leader and trainer of DEI in organizations and as a conflict mediator trained in discourse analysis has made her deeply practiced in the art of discerning prejudice in its subtlest forms. Dr. Poulton teaches employees and leaders to realize the interplay between diversity and power. “We need to be cognizant of who is occupying all the physical, emotional, and intellectual space in a room. Who feels the need to dominate and hold on to all the power? Equally important, whose voice is being silenced, marginalized, and dismissed?” For example, she cites the common experience of an employee voicing an idea, only for a peer to recycle their words minutes later and be given all the credit. “My advice in those situations is to respectfully and apathetically call it out. This helps you reclaim your power in the moment. And while it can be scary to do so, it feels worse in the long run not to, as it will diminish your power further. Individuals who call out discriminatory behavior should also be on the lookout and document any retaliatory behaviors they may experience for exercising their right to speak up,” states Dr. Poulton.
Another example of the interplay between diversity and power Dr. Poulton shares is when competent leaders of color are wrongfully accused of not being clear in their communications or ‘being defensive’ (code for being angry) when they are wrongfully put in the position to explain themselves when subordinates and/or employees with differing identities have failed to follow through on their mandates. “This is a common tension that leaders of color experience, as they are not inherently given the benefit of the doubt despite their status, positions, and titles. Conversely, the trust is readily and often blindly afforded to subordinates and individuals who are not of color.” Whether consciously or unconsciously, allowing biases and historical stereotypes, such as those portraying Black people as less intelligent or unreliable in the workplace, undermines leaders of color and their reputations. Dr. Poulton explains, “These repeated instances lead to a hostile work environment and the diminishing of leaders of color’s credibility, ultimately setting them up to fail. Thus, it is important that CEOs and upper management are cognizant of these dynamics and provide support when they hire leaders of color whom they expect to be successful and thrive,” advises Dr. Poulton.
As a DEI leader who analyzes psychosocial dynamics in the workplace, complementary to her research in unconscious bias, she teaches bullying, harassment, bystander intervention, and microaggressions. Dr. Poulton stresses that many behaviors in the workplace that are considered commonplace are instances of exclusion and lateral violence. Providing excessive criticism without attempts to elevate practices and eradicate ongoing ridicule, undue reprimanding, public humiliation, micro-aggressive behaviors, and deliberate exclusion of individuals should not be normalized or tolerated in the workplace.
“There are many insidious ways to exclude and subject people to retaliatory behavior in the workplace that can easily go unnoticed,” Dr. Poulton states. “For example, years ago, I was investigating an ongoing conflict between two individuals in a team of five. During that time, it was reported that one of the individuals had entered the office one day and handed cupcakes to everyone except the person with whom they were in conflict. Or, in another historical case, a supervisor suddenly revised the work schedule of an employee who had previously filed a complaint against him. This rescheduling meant the employee would be isolated, working inconvenient back-to-back shifts. In both instances, the perpetrators presented their actions as benign when, in fact, they were both examples of retaliation and exclusionary behaviors, which are a form of bullying.”
To begin addressing prejudice and resolving conflict, especially when one side may not understand how they are at fault, Dr. Poulton emphasizes that a system of checks and balances in organizations should always be available, ensuring that those injured by prejudice and exclusion have recourse. “An organization must establish a way to hold its personnel accountable when instances of bullying, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation take place. Moreover, that system of accountability must remain static and not be adjusted or overlooked, particularly when it involves an employee who holds a lot of power, makes a lot of money for the organization, or who, on paper, brings a ‘good reputation’ to the company externally. Leaders must be courageous, consistent, and ethical at those moments by not giving someone a pass based on status.”
This is Dr. Poulton’s signature domain of work. Her groundbreaking PhD research, conducted in 2011 at the University of Georgia, examined the unconscious biases of adult educators across different industries. Since then, as a highly sought-after diversity and inclusion consultant, she has trained HR professionals and organizational leaders on how to properly respond to, address, and assess situations, especially those involving biases and discrimination related to gender, race, class, sexual orientation, language, and other identities.
When addressing situations, Dr. Poulton stresses the importance of understanding that people who are used to being mistreated because of their race or another identity will likely believe that an incident has occurred because of that. She explains: “While those incidents can be tied to the person’s identity, individuals should always leave room for other possible explanations, such as a breakdown in communication or protocol, someone’s personal trauma being triggered unbeknownst to the other person, or the basic ‘oil and water’ personality conflicts. Self-awareness and practicing self-reflection are actually more important and harder to do than being able to identify deficits in others. That being said, it is important to respectfully honor the experiences of people who believe they’ve been hurt by others, noting the intent vs impact dichotomy.”
Regardless of intent, when an individual is the target of implicit biases in the workplace, their injury should be recognized and validated by the perpetrator and the organization. “When confrontations happen and you are accused of prejudice, it’s important not to get defensive, even if it was unintentional. When people don’t take responsibility for their actions, the other party’s experience is automatically minimized and dismissed when they have a right to be upset.” Especially when the perpetrator is someone with institutional power – a leader – Dr. Poulton states, “the bar is even higher. Leaders should be setting the standard and not hiding behind their titles or positions as a shield to accountability. I respect a leader who can say, ‘I’m sorry.’”
Changes to an organization’s culture must be reflected in its positions of authority. Leadership roles must embody and model good behavior to encourage them in others. “The body does not do what the head doesn’t know,” Dr. Poulton explains. A toxic culture denotes an imminent self-examination of its leadership as it is those in power that determine and reproduce the environment below them. “A good leader is kind, reflective, fair, consistent, humble, and respectful to all individuals at all levels of the organization. A leader who embodies these attributes will attract and retain like-minded employees, ultimately establishing and sustaining positive, collegial, and supportive workplace environments for all.”
Disclaimer: The content of this article is intended for informational purposes only and does not reflect the views or opinions of any specific organizations. Readers are encouraged to seek professional advice for addressing issues related to workplace culture or diversity within their own environments.
Published by: Nelly Chavez
