Get your diverse team to outperform: Navigating through affinity bias

Marzena Buzanowska and Mary Rensel
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Marzena Buzanowska: River City Sports and Spine Specialists, USA
Mary Rensel: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Wellness, USA

Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, 2023, vol. 8, issue 1, 16-23

Abstract: While gender and racial diversity of healthcare organisations has been increasing, and improvements in representation have been made, significant disparities still exist, especially with pipeline progression in organisational rank and leadership level. In addition, once under-represented minority individuals become a part of a team, obstacles continue to inhibit those individuals, in subtle ways, from being fully able to contribute to the teams. One such major unconscious process is affinity bias, which is our subconscious preference for people who resemble ourselves or belong to our social group, as well as distrust and negative attitudes towards those different from us or not part of our group. Subconscious heuristics drive our brain’s cognitive processes for efficiency with the goal of keeping us safe in an uncertain environment, and we need these heuristics in order to function. In highly advanced organisations, however, when relying on the strengths of diverse teams determines the organisation’s competitive edge and financial profitability, affinity bias can undermine the organisation’s performance, and it is crucial that leaders are skilled in navigating its pitfalls.

Keywords: affinity bias; team performance; diversity; inclusion; culture of belonging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aza:mih000:y:2023:v:8:i:1:p:16-23

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