Unconsciously Bias

Lieutenant Colonel Trevius Caldwell discusses implicit bias and its implications on leadership. He explains that everyone has implicit bias and it is a natural thing. Implicit bias is when you show preference or prejudice for or against a group of people for any reason. He emphasizes that implicit bias is subconscious and runs counter to our orally stated beliefs. It is triggered by communication and can be rapid. Caldwell suggests being introspective, asking peers for help, and practicing free writing to gain control of implicit bias. He concludes by highlighting the importance of understanding implicit biases as a leader and engaging in self-reflection. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the first ever Inside the Army podcast. I'm Jackson Mayo, and today we have something special on tap. So today we have a special guest speaker speaking with us, 16 years in the Army, Infantry Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Trevius Caldwell. He's currently out of grad school right now at Duke University in North Carolina, and he's currently studying Black Identity at Duke, which is awesome for the subject of podcast I have for us today. So yeah, without further ado, Lieutenant Colonel Trevius Caldwell, I'm excited to hear what you have for us, sir. Hey Jackson, I appreciate you giving me an opportunity to talk about implicit bias. To do that in a way that, number one, you take away a definition of implicit bias, and then two, you take away the implications of implicit bias on leadership. I've been thinking about implicit bias for a long time in my career. First of all, everyone has implicit bias, and I know there's a stigma associated with implicit bias that suggests that it's a bad thing, but I would venture to say that it's a natural thing. Everyone has it. Implicit bias is when you show preference or prejudice for or against a group of people for any reason. For or against a group of people for any number of reasons. People like to go to race because that's typically what's being demonstrated in the media or in conversations. But here lately, other forms of identity have played into implicit bias, be it gender, sexuality, and or race. At West Point, which is interesting, the opportunity for implicit bias to flourish is probably more prevalent because of the many subgroups associated with West Point. So I'm going to talk about that a little bit as well. There are three aspects of implicit bias that folks need to know about. One is that it's subconscious. That everyone has implicit bias and it's not the common thought. It lies dormant in our brains and is manifested in our actions and our decisions at a subconscious level. So, know the things that you don't know. Right? Know what you don't know. And I'll talk about that a little bit later. Number two is that implicit bias runs counter to our orally stated beliefs. So I could say that I believe in Army values, loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. But the moment I take my uniform off and I go home, when I do different things that's contrary to the system of morals or the Army ethic, the values, I do those other things, then I'm running contrary to those beliefs. So just because I say I believe in duty, honor, and country doesn't mean that I want to act in a way that exhibits that. And part of that is implicit bias as well and it's based on how you see your surroundings, be it at home or at school. So number one, subconscious level, number two, implicit bias runs counter to orally stated beliefs. And number three, implicit bias is triggered by communication and it's pretty rapid. So an example of that is if I rattle off a couple of terms, the first thing that comes to mind will exhibit your implicit bias. So if I said, plea, prepster, say, or whole, these terms bring up images and situations to people, especially at this point where their implicit bias is manifested through how they see the world through those terms. So whatever your beliefs about pleas are or firsties or course quarters or prepsters, then you're going to behave in a way that takes that perception onto the person that we're talking about. And generally speaking, that's probably not fair in a general sense. And it's important to know that everybody has it. The reason why it's important is because as a leader, whether or not you're a plebe, a firstie, a lieutenant, or a colonel, or a general for that matter, it's important to know yourself. You know, especially in the complex aspect of identity where your self changes over time. So you're not the same person you were when you were in high school. I am not the same person I was when I was a second lieutenant. It's important to know that. And this is where introspection comes in. And I am an advocate for introspection, the idea that you take some quiet time frequently to think about who you are, why you do what you do, how you have changed, and what other implications of that as you act in the world. What happens when you exhibit your behavior and you don't understand the implicit bias that lies dormant in your subconscious? These are important considerations that you need to think about as a leader and as a follower as well. Most cadets at West Point are so consumed by the whirlwind of academics, of sports, athletics, the institutional pressure of trying to adhere to a set of Army values while simultaneously trying to get a good GPA. And what folks don't realize, at least what most cadets don't realize, is the psychological toll that it takes to walk from your barracks to Thayer Hall, for example. The shifting that occurs when you go into two separate spaces of both leadership and also academia, that really weighs on you. And so what happens is a certain narrative starts to form in your subconscious mind and you create shortcuts for yourself as you walk around a place like West Point. For example, and we all have experiences, you walk into a dentist's office and you see the degree on the wall that suggests that the dentist is qualified to do what he or she does, and without question, you allow a stranger to put their hands in your mouth. And it's pretty funny when we think about it because it's not something that we normally think about. We just act in that way. The same is true for the military with respect to blind trust. The implicit bias associated with putting on a uniform and doing what you're told to do by a person who has rank, that is a form of implicit bias. It's showing a preference for a group of people based on a rank structure that you believe in and you don't have to think about it. And so implicit bias is not always bad. Sometimes it's necessary. But when implicit bias becomes bad is when it prevents you from nurturing relationships of dissimilar cultures and people. For example, and I'll use race as an example, all you have to do is have a relationship with a person who is a minority. And you have a relationship with a person who is a minority. And you have a relationship with a person who is a minority. And you have a relationship with a person who is a minority. And you have a relationship with a person who is a minority. And you have a relationship with a person who is a minority. And you have a relationship with a person who is a minority. And because of that, you would treat them a particular way, although you're not intending to do so. Going back to this idea that implicit bias runs counter to your early stated beliefs. You can say all day long that you treat people with respect and you're fair. But what's really going on in the back of your mind is being influenced. Your mind is being influenced by this set of narratives that you've been presented with on the news, in music, the things that are being reinforced in conversation. And so you really have to take an active step toward implicit bias when it's negative. Which means that you have to, in my opinion, get out of your comfort zone a little bit and seek relationships with dissimilar people. Or if you spend some time in introspection and you understand that you have certain implicit biases around situations or people or groups of people that look a particular way, you should probably make an effort to deliberately engage with those people or person or situation so that you can create a new narrative to really overshadow that formerly seated implicit bias. It can get a little complicated. But the complication really lies with your own ability to sit down and be thoughtful about who you are and how you see the world and the things that motivate you in your actions in the world. And I think if you get that, if anyone does that, then they will be encountered with their own implicit biases and it will be quite shocking to them because, again, these are things that we typically don't think about. Lastly, I would say that this never leaves you because everyone's always learning and growing. Every day you encounter encounters or experiences that will either validate those implicit biases or upend them. And it's a never-ending cycle. So it's quite wise to be thoughtful at the end of the day or week or at the end of a significant event. Being thoughtful about what you just experienced and how that will affect you. And you know, West Point is probably the best location to do that because you might not think you can disappear, but you can in certain instances. So you're engaging academia on such a level that it necessitates that you sit back and think about the things that you encounter. What most cadets do, because I've taught at West Point for a couple of years, and in my experience, most cadets are so distracted by the acquisition of credential. What can I do to get this grade? What can I do to achieve excellence in this area? You forget sometimes that success may lie in failing. And success may lie in understanding and thinking about how a certain topic or piece of literature or subject affects them as a person, and then by extension, as a leader. And very few people spend time and thought that way. And what ends up happening is that you become a firstie and you graduate and become a second lieutenant and you have forgotten or you haven't even thought about who you are as a person. And then that's dangerous because now you're going to be in charge of a group of soldiers who are looking at you to make decisions and you're suffering an identity crisis because you haven't spent time in introspection to really think about your implicit biases, the things that you do to make you tick, the way you see the world, your perspective on the world. These are all things that are really important in countering or controlling implicit bias. I believe you would, you know, I guess the statement that again, implicit bias is natural. Everyone has it. It is a preference for or prejudice against a group of people or a set of circumstances. And then really the three ways that it operates is number one, at a subconscious level, implicit bias. Number two, runs counter to your orally stated beliefs. And number three, it is triggered by a rapid or mental association, which means again, that it is subconscious and you will manifest those associations in your actions without knowing it. Okay. A couple of things you can do to thwart this, to get control of implicit bias. Number one is be introspective. You know, go out to Trophy Point, sit under a tree and just kind of think about what you're doing at which point, what you've done at which point. That's a way to kind of think about your implicit biases. Number two, ask your peers for help. You know, go out and ask your good friends to identify blind spots that you might have in yourself that they observe because they see you different than you see yourself. And that's a way without the pressure of being judged because hopefully you trust the people that you're asking to give you this feedback. And then number three, and this is probably a little bit more time consuming maybe, but this is a practice that I started doing and it works. Sit down with a blank sheet of paper and just write for 20 minutes. Set a timer. I usually do it early in the morning because nobody can bother me and my thoughts are fresh. And just set a timer and write for 20 minutes straight with no prompt. And initially for the first two minutes you're going to think it's stupid because you don't know what to write. But after that, what starts to happen is your subconscious gets poured on the page because you have forced yourself to not let your pen leave the paper for 20 straight minutes. And what really happens at about three minutes to 20 is something that's magnificent. It's something that you probably could not predict is going to happen. And at the end of the 10 minutes, go back and read what you've written and you'll get a glimpse of what is happening in the subconscious area of your mind. And at the end of the day, you might want to throw that paper away or you might want to keep it. But at the end of it, you'll be smarter than you were before you started. So that's my spiel on implicit bias. I think it is important and I'll be happy to answer any questions about anything I've said over the course of this recording. So thanks a lot, Matt. I really appreciate it, sir. Thank you so much. That was special for you to be on this podcast and just special for us to hear from someone who's so educated on this subject that we should all love to learn more about. And so thank you for that. I love the points you made about vulnerability and making the effort to make these unconscious biases or thoughts bring them to a conscious level. So thank you for that. And with that, signing off, Inside the Army Podcast. I'm Jack Torleo. Peace out.