“We all have the same data available to us, but because of our individual beliefs and experiences, from childhood right through to adulthood, we draw meaning and interpret conclusions from events [which can mean] we’re not
making informed, rich decisions.”
A team is tasked with deciding how to spend the annual budget. Every individual has the same company objectives and access to the same data. And yet the group is divided: Half the members want to invest in two new specialist recruits;
others want to get the existing department members trained up in the new technology; and one rogue member doesn’t think the money should be spent at all – this new technology won’t be around long enough to warrant the investment.
In her webinar, Decision making: Evaluating and judging risk, executive coach Des Christofi explained how unconscious biases can affect the way you make decisions – and how you can remove the lenses through which you view the world to
make richer, better informed decisions.
SELF-INTERESTED BIAS
What is it? You want to spend the money on extra heads because having more people to manage elevates your leadership credentials. You’d prefer to invest in training because that software skill would look great on your
CV. Personal agendas – whether conscious or unconscious – can impact your choices.
How to avoid it: Play devil’s advocate with your own choices, assumptions and desires, asking yourself how someone with the opposing viewpoint would rationalise their decision. As a team leader, encourage this kind of
game play within the team, questioning decisions to ensure they’re based on objective criteria.
THE AFFECT HEURISTIC
What is it? One idea stood out above all others in the team brainstorm, and now everyone has fallen in love with it to the exclusion of all others, despite not having really explored every option.
How to avoid it: Create a set of measures on which you’ll objectively measure all the available options, challenging yourselves to assess whether you’ve minimised the risks and exaggerated the benefits of your favourite
path.
GROUP THINK
What is it? Dissenting opinions are quickly stamped out as the team forges on with the chosen path of the majority of members.
How to avoid it: Ask yourself whose opinions are not being heard, who might be gravitating towards the norm for fear of speaking up. Speak to members on an individual basis and invite them to be honest about their truth
and perspective.
ANCHORING BIAS
What is it? The opinions being put forward are not being backed up with facts or objective criteria, rather ‘best guesses’ or opinions based on individual experiences.
How to avoid it: Challenge every assumption being proposed, asking ‘what is the evidence for this?’ If numbers are based on projections, seek to understand what assumptions are being made and to what extent they can be
relied upon.
CONFIRMATION BIAS
What is it? The group has hit upon a great new idea and is now looking for all the reasons why it makes great business sense, ignoring any evidence to the contrary.
How to avoid it: Turn your thinking on its head, asking what might go wrong and what other credible options must be simultaneously explored before a final decision is made. Invite outsiders into the group to challenge
any leanings towards the group’s preferred option.
AVAILABILITY BIAS
What is it? The team has been provided with a wealth of information about a new technology, along with training costs and timescales. And as a result, that’s the only option they’re seriously exploring.
How to avoid it: Ask yourself what information you’d need before you to be able to introduce other possible options. If you were making the same decision in one year’s time, what data would you want and how can you lay
your hands on that information right now so that all options are exhausted before a decision is made?
SALIENCY BIAS
What is it? The team deciding on budget spend looks largely the same as it did last year, and, as a result, is choosing a similar path this time round.
How to avoid it: Try to see the problem through fresh eyes, asking what a newcomer would do in your shoes. If the team is being overly influenced by memories from the past, invite uninterested third parties to have
their say.
HALO EFFECT
What is it? “Last time we were given some additional budget we spent it on new heads and we recruited Jack and Jill, who were great, so we should do the same again.” Teams and even entire organisations often assume that
if something is successful in one area or at one time, it will always be successful.
How to avoid it: Test your assumptions, analyse what is different in the current circumstances or how the same proposal could fail in the new scenario.
TRUTH TO POWER
What is it? The boss has made it clear that her preferred option is to implement team-wide training, and as a result, the group is collectively putting forward evidence that she’s right and that this is the best path
forward.
How to avoid it: As the boss, give your team permission to challenge your thinking. Ask yourself: are they just telling me what they think I want to hear? Challenge your own perceptions openly, and others will
feel able to do the same. If you’re the employee, diplomatically volunteer to research other options, so that the group has a wealth of material on which to make an informed decision.
OVERCONFIDENCE
What is it? In order to convince others that team-wide training is the best option, the team is putting forward a best-case scenario version of the likely outcome, without communicating the potential drawbacks or the
benefits of other options.
How to avoid it: Challenge yourself to consider the weaknesses of your own argument, asking yourself how you’d view the current proposal if you were a customer, a competitor, a stakeholder or an individual from another
department.
DISASTER NEGLECT
What is it? There are very clear drawbacks to the proposal on the table, but the team is focusing only on the benefits, failing to make plans for how they’ll navigate through the inevitable problems ahead.
How to avoid it: Conduct a pre-mortem in which you lay out everything that could go wrong with your plan. Formulate a plan for how you’ll minimise the impacts of problems down the line.
LOSS AVERSION
What is it? The team has settled on an option because it’s the safest bet, even though another option might have greater benefits.
How to avoid it: Ask yourself if you’re being overly cautious. Go back to the drawing board and explore all the options. If some are deemed too risky, look at the probability of the worst-case scenario actually
happening. Is there an option that requires the team to take a calculated risk based on informed decisions and for the greatest potential gain?
Whatever bias or biases might be impacting you or your team’s decision making, remember that this is entirely normal. The first step is to recognise what those biases are and how they come into play in your workplace.
Channel your inner toddler, asking plenty of ‘why?’ questions to challenge the assumptions you and others are making regarding
various situations. Reframe and consider problems from as many different angles as possible, taking on the role of various types of third parties.
