May 31, 2021
Navigating the professional world, in any industry, means overcoming obstacles. On today’s episode of the Int-HER-rupt Podcast, marketing maven Amanda Rose shares her strategy to recognize barriers and biases to overcome them.
What are the barriers Amanda has faced?
- A common barrier women encounter is overcoming likability: Balancing being assertive and pleasant without coming across as “abrasive.”
- Being aware of the situation helps you realize that passion (which someone may interpret as overly assertive) is crucial for professional growth.
- However, frequent communication can help minimize negative interpretations.
How has bias hurt Amanda in her career path?
- Externally, men in positions of power might think women are capable of only specific tasks versus what they actually should be doing.
- More important, however, are the issues of internal bias she’s come across - confirmation bias.
Amanda’s tips for overcoming confirmation bias:
- When we get caught up in confirmation biases, we look to confirm an existing belief.
- The first step is to recognize the issue as soon as it's happening. Take a step back, drop your ego, and ask yourself: Am I making an assumption about this?
- The second step is to reflect on your thinking. Is it a generalization, or are there issues with your logic? Try to recognize what that bias is rooted in and how the current situation is different.
- The final step is to challenge yourself to rethink that bias. Rethink the conversation or processes from the situation to determine how you can help this person and prevent yourself from sabotaging your thoughts.
Recognizing barriers is fundamental to your professional journey.
- They're very similar to biases regarding recognizing when they occur and acknowledging that the barrier is not the end to your journey.
- Sometimes it's keeping yourself busy until you're able to move past it.
- Right now, we see a massive moment in history where many people are not treated the way they should be. It’s necessary to recognize those barriers and join together to be an ally and advocate.
Have you ever been interrupted, and how have you overcome those interruptions?
- Yes, and Amanda admits she’s probably guilty of it herself.
- There are situations where you pull a Madam Vice President moment by saying, “excuse me, I'm speaking.”
- But there are also times you need to listen at that moment. Sometimes it's recognizing, okay, I should be listening to this person and letting them talk more.
If you want to get in contact with Amanda, connect with her on LinkedIn.
Do you have stories to tell? Connect with Linda to share them. This podcast is produced by TSE Studios. Check out other podcasts by TSE Studios, including this episode’s sponsor, The Sales Evangelist, helping new and struggling sellers close more deals and achieving their sales goals.
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Audio created by Ryan Rasmussen Productions.