Rethinking Defensiveness: Understanding and Shifting the Impact of Defensiveness in Unconscious Bias Trainings
This study examined unconscious bias facilitators and how they leverage defensiveness in their training sessions as a way to understand how defensiveness in all types of learning environments might be utilized and understood. Through qualitative interviews, this study aimed to expand the knowledge and build upon Holmer’s (2014) research on defensiveness in learning environments. In the article Understanding and Reducing the Impact of Defensiveness on Management Learning: Some Lessons from Neuroscience, Holmer outlines her learning defensiveness process and intervention strategies.
As a rapidly growing area for management training, unconscious bias facilitators are of interest as their trainings have the potential to be highly contentious as it could lead people to be defensive about learning something new and different from their current beliefs and behaviors. Knowing strategies that unconscious bias facilitators utilize to increase the likelihood of learning when they encounter defensiveness in participants will help other facilitators, educators, trainers, managers and coaches to better work with rather than against defensiveness when it arises in participants, employees, or clients. Thus, the intent of this research is to answer the question: how do unconscious bias facilitators manage defensiveness in themselves and others to increase the likelihood of learning?
Click here to download the current version of my Research Executive Summary Capstone Project.
The video below summarizes some of the key findings from the research (it is a bit on the dry side, but I do hope it is insightful for you!).
https://www.useloom.com/embed/9eea18f9d12b45b7b6fee8e7045c79c0
Heidi Hartman 