Affirmation & Stereotype Threat

Following up on last week's blog? How do we fight stereotype threat? With affirmation, and concentration on our values.

I chose to concentrate on the core values of knowledge, insight, and loyalty. I'd say I rate knowledge & insight about a 5 on the scale of "living up to" and loyalty a 4, simply because the former two have more impact on my day-to-day life than the latter. In particular, I'd say insight is the most important value of these three. I want to be able to provide my insight to those around me, and help them learn and grow, but I've also learned the value of taking constructive criticism, and letting others provide their wisdom and insight to you. A fresh perspective is always healthy and can often times solve the problem by making you see something you've missed by having too narrow a focus. Recently, a coworker asked for help communicating with another employee in a sticky situation. He was getting frustrated and felt like no one was listening... we talked it out, and figured out the best way to address the situation with his concerns, backing them up with evidence, while still staying respectful and professional. Personal experience gave me insight into both sides of the equation and the ability to help him navigate the situation successfully.

Concentrating on my values, on what defines me, and what makes me feel good about myself, should give me a grounded sense of self, thus hopefully keeping me feeling like I'm not feeding into any negative stereotypes. Hopefully I will be able to retain that, and keep that mantra in the not-so-hot moments as I move forward.