[Toolkit] The Unconscious Bias Reflection Map

Visit the Reflection Map Toolkit

Goal:

The Reflection Map helps you and your team to make (unconscious) experiences, beliefs, desires, values, assumptions, and feelings in relation to a certain topic or challenge conscious.

It is especially valuable to use before getting started on a new project, or immersing yourselves in to a new area of work to deconstruct the mindset, emotions and habits that a team has in relation to it. Moreover, it creates a shared understanding of the task / topic / project by bringing transparency to the status quo from which the team looks at the task / topic, and how it approaches the new project. This will foster team alignment and allows for more constructive collective action.

Purpose of the exercise:

✅ To bring transparency to personal and collective thoughts, feelings and behaviours that unconsciously influence a task / topic / project;

✅ To create a shared understanding of a task / topic / project, and map out challenges and opportunities in relation to it;

✅ To foster team alignment.

✅ The Reflection Map transforms confusion into clarity when it comes to kickstarting a new task / topic / project;

✅ The Reflection Map prevents uncalculated decision-making and chaotic execution of the task / topic / project;

✅ The Reflection Map prevents unconscious cognitive bias and emotional bias to negatively influence a task / topic / project

Participants:

Depending on the size of the group, allow small teams of 3-4 people to work together on filling out the entire Reflection Map. Then, come back into the whole group to share and compare the findings of each team.

Alternatively, you could stay together as a whole group whilst every individual completes the Reflection Map on his/her own – one quadrant at a time. In this case, let everyone individually work on the same quadrant and do a quick debrief after each quadrant.