Checking Your Dashboard: How Emotions Help Us Identify and Respond to Bias

April 3, 2024

Pretend you’re in a car, driving on the highway, and a warning light flashes on the dashboard. Going 85 mph in the fast lane, you can’t do much to address the warning light. But you become aware that something needs your attention and make a mental note to address it once you’ve stopped the car.

We need to approach our biases and the emotional charge that comes with them, in the same way we approach servicing a warning light. Our emotions indicate that something within us requires close examination, possible maintenance, or a complete repair. Most importantly, the work begins when we are in a state of rest.

Car dashboard warning lights signal that something in your car requires your attention. In the same way, strong emotions pop up when something triggers you in a particular way. That emotional trigger could be that you find yourself in a difficult conversation, or maybe your viewpoint is challenged somehow. Whether it's the warning light indicating the car needs more fuel, or more seriously, the engine has overheated, as you can imagine there are consequences should you ignore those signals. Those consequences apply to our denial of our emotions as well.

When you choose to ignore your emotions, you’re brushing off your internal signals which can have immediate and long-term effects on your ability to self-regulate, understand your triggers, have difficult conversations, and relate to others different from yourself.

How can our emotions help us to identify and respond to our biases?

Do you remember the last time your emotional warning light was triggered to flash on? If so, thank your internal sensors for notifying you that something internal needs close examination and practice accepting that feeling instead of ignoring it. Speeding up will not turn the warning light off faster.

A lot of people speed through examining their own held biases, thinking doing the work of unpacking their emotions does not apply to them, or that they don’t have the necessary tools. However, pervasive biases persist because they are often left to operate in the shadows of our consciousness.

When you have a moment to slow down, sit still within yourself, and examine the emotion more closely, the work can begin. If you examine your emotions closely, you may notice your warning lights are triggered due to assumptions or contempt you hold about a particular group of people, or deeply held views about your own identity that you feel are being challenged or under attack. It may be difficult to unpack, but it is the action you must take to service the issue and address the warning signal.

The action of checking in with yourself can be done by yourself or in some cases, you may need to ask for help. You don’t need a warning signal to examine your biases. After all, cars perform better with regular maintenance.

Ready to build emotional awareness and address your biases in your work life? Contact me for coaching here.

Written by Ijeoma Ofoha, MHA

Career and Leadership Development Coach

Founder

Glow Ethos, LLC