Sociologists have long talked about unconscious cultural influences — the idea that people raised in cultures where specific values prevail will adopt those values and assume they are universal when, in fact, they are specific to that culture. The same analysis applies to single individuals, who, through the accident of their birth and upbringing, adopt certain values and, without realizing it, think everyone shares their values.

This kind of ethnocentrism at the individual level can cause people major problems in their careers. With this in mind, we recently revised the HoganLEAD Values Report to include a section called “Unconscious Biases.”

The Unconscious Biases section of the new report describes a person’s values, and then notes how and in what ways those values can shape the person’s perceptions of others and bias the way he or she interacts with them. 

Because values are an inherent part of our identity, many leaders are unaware of the kinds of unconscious biases they hold, and how their values impact their subordinates. These biases can emerge in unintended ways and govern decision-making, determine leadership style, and drive organizational culture.

Values assessment, when part of a comprehensive leadership development program, is the most effective way to make leaders aware of their unconscious biases and prevent a lot of unnecessary career aggravation.

The new Values Report will be available Januar 17, 2012. It can be ordered via the regular channels.

Click on YouTube to watch a video about the Hogan Safety Report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8VSGMmkBnE 

Read an article on the LVI that appeared in the CCL’s January newsletter here:
http://www.ccl.org/leadership/enewsletter/2010/JANtime.aspx