Years ago, I was running an NLP event and a mixed-race woman came along who absolutely changed how I work with people – not just clients, but teams, too.
She introduced me to a phrase I’d never heard before: unconscious bias.
And I’ll be honest – I didn’t try to pretend I knew what she meant. I asked her, right there in front of the group, to explain it to me. Because I’m not afraid to look like an idiot if it means becoming less of one.
The Bias You Can’t See Is Still Hurting People
She explained it like this: You might see yourself as fair, equal, totally non-racist. But that’s your conscious thinking. The unconscious bias is what lives underneath. It doesn’t ask for your approval before it acts. It just is.
She worked with clients from ethnic minority backgrounds who struggled to gain employment. Even when their qualifications exceeded their white British peers, they were routinely overlooked. Because unconscious bias was whispering to hiring managers: “Not this one.”
That hit me hard.
I went and found the university study she mentioned https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html It included a test that could uncover your own hidden biases. I took it. I encouraged my team to take it. (Most didn’t. Probably didn’t want to know the truth.) I took it again a few years later. Then again after a difficult situation with a client from a non-white British background.
Because I wanted to be better.
Because as the founder of a coaching franchise, my job isn’t just to treat people fairly. It’s to learn what fair actually looks like when it’s complicated by culture, trauma, and systemic inequality.
“You might think you treat everyone equally. But if you don’t see the struggle, you’re not seeing the person.”
The Nursery Nurse Who Said She Didn’t See Colour
Fast forward a few years. I was working as a mercenary nursery manager in North London – a private setting with a real cultural mix. One of the nursery nurses said something I’ll never forget:
“I don’t see colour.”
At first, I didn’t know what the hell she meant. I pressed her. She insisted – no, really, she couldn’t see skin colour. That “everyone was the same.”
I don’t believe her, to this day. But I do believe she thought she was doing the right thing – that equality meant pretending difference didn’t exist.
And yet, that too is dangerous. If you don’t acknowledge someone’s background, culture, or history, you can’t possibly adapt your support to meet their needs. Fairness doesn’t mean sameness. It means understanding.
And that goes for every part of our work – not just ethnicity. Different clients present anxiety in wildly different ways. The symptoms can look diametrically opposed from one person to the next. And if we don’t see that difference, we miss the truth in the room.
In the therapy space, difference is not a threat. It’s the very reason your skills matter.
What This Means for Coaching Franchise Owners
If you’re running or thinking of joining a coaching franchise, you need to understand this: your clients don’t need cookie-cutter therapy. They need your ability to see what others overlook.
The success of your franchise isn’t just about marketing or referrals. It’s about real human connection. About becoming the kind of practitioner who isn’t afraid to admit what they don’t know – and who chooses to learn anyway.
If you’re building a team, it’s even more critical. Unconscious bias doesn’t just influence who gets hired – it shapes who feels safe. Who gets promoted. Who stays. And whose voice never makes it into the room.
You can’t afford to pretend that difference doesn’t matter. You must become a student of it.
If that makes you uncomfortable – good. That’s how we grow.
The future of therapy isn’t generic. It’s radically specific.
And if you’re serious about creating a coaching franchise that actually works – for you, for your team, and for your clients – this is where it starts. With discomfort. With honesty. And with a commitment to see what’s really there.
by Gemma Bailey (with the help of Ai)
