Navigating Unconscious Bias at Work with Buki Mosaku

Your Working Life with Caroline Dowd-Higgins

Buki Mosaku is Founder and CEO of London-based DiverseCity Think Tank, a workplace-bias and diversity-and-inclusion consultancy. He is one of the world’s foremost bias-navigation experts. Mosaku has cracked the code for calling out unconscious workplace bias and stopping it in its tracks, which he details in his new book, I Don’t Understand: Navigating Unconscious Bias in the Workplace (Business Expert Press, Sept. 8, 2023). Learn more at www.bukimosaku.com 

 

Segment Idea: Calling Out Unconscious Bias in the Workplace 

 

This is a segment idea about how to effectively equip staff to call-out and navigate career-stifling unconscious bias on their own in a way that removes tension and builds trust. 

 

The Big Idea: Unconscious bias in the workplace must be addressed in the moment. Left unheeded, the detrimental compounding effects not only damage the victim, but perpetuate the problem for others and drastically reduce team productivity and effectiveness. When staff members have the right skills to navigate inevitable workplace bias, it removes tension, builds trust and cohesion, and drives high-performing winning teams.  

 

The So-What: When a staff member falls victim to a bias-related incident, utilizing the simple question, “I don’t understand?” provides a gateway for non-confrontational dialogue. The question isn’t accusatory, aggressive, or petulant, yet it cuts to the core of the problem and unearths the issue at hand. It gives the perpetrator the benefit of the doubt. Simultaneously, the victim asking the question can wield a level of control regardless of the perpetrator’s seniority. Because the line of enquiry is developmental, non-accusatory, dispassionate, and impartial, it allows the unconscious bias infraction to be discussed and resolved collaboratively.  

 

Key Messages: Buki Mosaku draws on personal experience, along with situations from clients’ workplaces, to illustrate why his “I Don’t Understand?” method offers an effective solution. He addresses: 

· How perceived implicit bias affects employees 

· What multidirectional strategies staff can utilize to tackle career-stifling workplace bias 

· How “defensive fragility” differs from “white fragility” 

· What assumptions are involved in unconscious reverse bias 

· Why a collaborative approach enables victims to right the wrongs of bias

 

The Source: Buki Mosaku is Founder and CEO of London-based DiverseCity Think Tank, a workplace-bias and diversity-and-inclusion consultancy. He is one of the world’s foremost bias-navigation experts. Mosaku has cracked the code for calling out unconscious workplace bias and stopping it in its tracks, which he details in his new book, I Don’t Understand: Navigating Unconscious Bias in the Workplace