Unlock Innovation and Equity: Introducing the DCBA Process for Reducing Bias

As an equity worker for over a decade, I've supported dozens of organizations in reducing biases and removing barriers to engagement. Usually, after sitting in on one team meeting, I can point to one pinch point that reliably leads to inequity, decreased engagement, and lack of innovation: Decision-Making. To help my partners understand how to deepen engagement, inspire innovation, and save time and resources, I developed a simple resource--The DCBA Process.

The DCBA Process is a simple and free tool to help two or more people reach a consensus before completing a shared endeavor. It is a way for people to take strategic action that helps clarify the expectations within a shared endeavor and to surface a vision for what or how people want the experience to be. In essence, this is a tool to help people understand what is being asked of them and what they have at their disposal in terms of agency and resources to shape the experience. DCBA also encourages everyone involved to assess the strategy's efficacy or the action throughout and afterward.

The DBCA process is a double acronym for Defining Criteria Before Assessing, outlining how to do that.

DCBA: Define Criteria Before Assessing

1) Declarative Statement (DEFINE)

2) Clarify Purpose (CRITERIA)

3) Build Consensus (BEFOREHAND)

4) Accountability (ASSESSMENT)

We start with Defining. In my equity practice, I encourage my partners to define declarative statements embodying their work's spirit, motivation, or intention, long-term strategy, project, or event.

Decorative statements can be long or short, but it is best to keep them simple. An example of a declarative statement for a team would be "We are a commitment to excellence in customer service." Notice the slight language change from we are committed to we are a commitment. This is intentional and emphasizes that this team is this declaration versus this team does this, implying that competing interests exist. The most effective declarative statements are clear and easily understood by all team members.

It should help clarify what we prioritize and what is expected of everyone. It also allows people a certain degree of psychological and emotional safety because it should functionally enable them to reserve any emotional and psychological energy that would've been used to determine what is expected of them. This is a huge benefit for teams where people with unearned advantages work with people with unearned disadvantages. Unspoken rules are barriers to equal and inclusive engagement and should be surfaced to face scrutiny. The DCBA process is one such way to do so.

The C in DCBA stands for clarifying the purpose. By purpose, I'm referring to a shared concept, goal, or aim prioritized within a specific space. The purpose of a space is more complex than it appears. We can have one purpose in all team meetings but then another purpose in a marketing team meeting or a one-on-one meeting.

What is considered helpful and encouraged in one subgroup within a workplace or social organization can be regarded as problematic in a subset or other setting. This is partly why work-related social outings like "happy hours" and "holiday parties" almost always result in at least one social faux pau or complication. DCBA encourages teams to plan such events to clarify the purpose of getting out ahead of misunderstandings. In short, the purpose of a shared endeavor should be a guiding tool.

Another advantage of a declarative statement (DCBA) is that it helps teams to build consensus. Throughout creating a declarative statement, groups surface unspoken and spoken expectations. This is also an excellent opportunity to observe and note power dynamics. Persons with unearned advantages, in my experience, often express frustration and discomfort in a DCBA process because they aren't usually expected to name the norms within a shared space.

When possible, encourage all parties to speak frankly as the leader of the DCBA process, which includes inviting concerns and questions to be considered. One way to account for reluctance from those with unearned disadvantages is to diversify how you collect information and contributions. That way, when an idea is surfaced, as the leader, you are naming an unspoken norm, and any consequences can be buffered. At the end of creating a declarative statement, groups often find that they have a foundation that helps them build consensus in the future. In other words, they have a mandate and parameters for which actions, at least in this context, are not to be prioritized.

This brings us to the last letter in DCBA—A, which stands for accountability. I define accountability not as a necessarily punitive reactive action but as an ongoing and affirming invitation among equal participants to commit to agreed-upon ABCs (Actions, Beliefs, and Communication) that express their commitment to staying in healthy relationships with themselves and others within a particular space or group. As part of the DCBA process, what constitutes not being in a healthy relationship should be explicitly outlined and followed by an invitation to explore appropriate actions to repair harm and realign commitments.

Avenues for accountability should reflect the power dynamics within a group or space and be rooted in an awareness of emotional labor, safety, and resources. For example, suppose a manager has acted outside the parameters for accountability towards their team member. In that case, the DCB process should consider the power dynamics of that relationship and how this might shift, shape, or complicate the accountability process.

To reiterate, DCB is a double acronym that refers to both a process and a concept that aims to reduce bias and harm by inviting consensus-building and outlining purpose and accountability within a shared endeavor. I have created and articulated the DCBA process to shift organizations away from the status quo of assessing before criteria have been defined. Research confirms inequitable power dynamics rely on the intentional lack of explicitly stated and agreed-upon parameters. I hope that the DCBA process encourages you to plan intentionally and democratically so that access and equity are centered.