Tharoor Associates

About Tharoor Associates

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Tharoor Associates offers management and diversity training based on the Unconscious Bias to both public and private clients in the UK, Europe, USA and India. The company, which is based in Vauxhall (London), originally started out in 2009 and has over 20 years of experience in the training and personal development profession. The ethos is to empower the learner to understand themselves better. Self-development enhances learning and leads to the ability to take ownership. Workshops like Diversity or Time Management, or any other topic being discussed, thus become more meaningful as they require personal involvement.

The ethos of Tharoor Associates is Unconscious Bias and we want the client to be able to think differently and approach every day life with a heightened sense of where they are in this path of self discovery.

Tharoor Associates works in creative partnership with leaders in companies, government bodies and non-profit organisations to help them build and lead high-performing teams. All workshops are bespoke to the client. The company uses a unique approach based on the Unconscious Bias, NLP, story-telling and the power of narrative.

Tharoor Associates understands the importance of stories – both personal and corporate – and their role in defining an organisation's identity and practices. With the power of the individuals story, the client becomes more self aware. This in turn helps them better understand the topic under discussion and make positive change in the way they work.

The courses aim to equip leaders with innovative and results-focused tools to enhance communication, develop understanding and create links that will sustain globally effective organisations.

All our Unconscious Bias workshops are designed using NLP( Neuro Linguistic Programming) tools.Every course is bespoke to the client and will have real life case studies that make the training more relevant to the organisation. Customised workshops range from bite-sized 90-minute tasters to two-day sessions. These vary from a one-off workshop for a small group of 5 people or a 10 month developmental programme for senior managers?
Tharoor Associates has designed a workshop incorporating a manual Implicit Test based on the principles of the Harvard Implicit Test (devised by Tharoor Associates) and along with this test and other tools will discuss the following:
The business case:
• Widen your talent pool for recruitment and succession.
• Improve staff retention and reduce recruitment costs.
• Better reflect (and understand) your customer base.
• Strengthen internal teams through diversifying the skill base.
• Positively impact on staff morale and loyalty.
• Enhance your corporate social responsibility credentials.

Learning Objectives.
• To increase awareness of the unconscious bias and to consider how it may be impacting on decision-making.
• To develop inclusive behaviours and thinking in relation to the employee life cycle, work allocation, appraisal and service delivery.
• To improve leaders’ ability to be accountable for Valuing Diversity.
• To reflect on organisational decisions and patterns of leader behaviour.

This interactive and practical workshop explores individual and cultural bias that impact on our working relationships. Allowing people, in a safe environment to both understand unconscious bias and develop personal strategies to ensure personal biases are effectively managed.

Aims • Defining unconscious bias.
• Recognising the science behind unconscious bias.
• Identifying personal and business reasons to tackle unconscious bias.
• Understanding organisational and individual biases and assessing their impact.
•The neuro plasticity of the brain and how we form habits that are unconscious Creating personal strategies to minimise the impact of our own biases.

Discussion points.
• Accepting that one’s perceptions may not always be correct.
• How different groups identify things differently( social identity theory).
• How necessary it is to break the mould of labelling and stereotyping ( gender schema theory).
• Can precise procedural instructions supplement context in communication? • Understand that in the workplace there are always multiple solutions – depending on personal perceptions.
• Being “conscious of your unconscious” as an ability to introduce or create a new point of view in the minds of others to facilitate change ( implicit associate test).
• Understanding discrimination/ Relevant Legislation.

The small team at Tharoor Associates holds the following qualifications:
NLP Practitioner.
Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapist.
Training through Art.
Phd Doctor of Narrative Practices.
Professional Certified Coach from International Coach Federation.
MA in Cultural Heritage Studies.

Tharoor Associates is fortunate to work with a large number of clients both large and small and in the public, private and third sectors, in the UK and India. All of them share a commitment to high quality professional training. LSE, NHS, CISCO, Society of Women Engineers, Allianz Cornhill, Britannia Petroleum, Essex County Council are a few examples.

Smita Tharoor is the founder of Tharoor Associates, a training, coaching and organisational development company that understands the importance of the unconscious bias. She is a thought leader on the unconscious bias, key note speaker, trainer and coach who understands the importance of stories - both personal and corporate- and its role in defining an organisations identity and practices.

She is the recipient of the “Global Diversity Leadership” Award at the 2017 World HRD Congress. She is a consultant with the Disability Arts, Culture and Human Rights group Together!2012. She provides training for Warwick Universities Executive Leadership Programme. Smita is an associate professor at Jindal University, India and is currently completing her postgraduate in education from the University of Arts, London. She is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Practitioner, Coach, Mentor and Mindfulness Practitioner.

Smita is a motivational keynote speaker and trainer. Whether it’s speaking to 350 women at a gender conference in Philadelphia or Penang, at a BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) conference in London or to a group of IT professionals in Bangalore, Smita is empowering and inspiring. She connects with the audience on a personal level and people remember the talk long after it was given.
Growing up in pluralistic India taught her the value of tolerance and the appreciation of accepting differences. She is passionate about the unconscious bias and how it impacts on all aspects of leadership development. Her experience working in the UK, India, Europe, Asia and the USA gives her a unique advantage in understanding the expectations and needs of different cultures.