Let's dive in and uncover your hidden decision-making patterns! Every leader has cognitive biases - mental shortcuts that can help or hurt our judgment.
The key isn't eliminating biases (impossible) but recognizing when they might be influencing important leadership decisions.
Engagement Message
Recall a decision you later regretted—what bias do you think was at play?
Think of biases as your brain's autopilot. They help you make quick decisions with incomplete information, but sometimes they steer you wrong.
For leaders, these mental shortcuts can impact hiring, strategy, team dynamics, and problem-solving in ways you never intended.
Engagement Message
Can you think of a time when your "gut instinct" led you astray?
Let's start with confirmation bias - our tendency to seek information that confirms what we already believe.
Example: A manager thinks remote work doesn't work. They notice every time a remote employee misses a deadline but ignore when office workers do the same.
Engagement Message
What's a strong opinion you hold about work or leadership?
Next is the halo effect - when one positive trait makes us see everything about a person or situation as positive.
Example: A brilliant programmer gets promoted to team lead. The manager assumes they'll be great at managing people too (often not true!).
Engagement Message
Have you seen someone struggle after being promoted based on just one strength?
Anchoring bias happens when the first piece of information we hear heavily influences all subsequent decisions.
Example: In salary negotiations, whoever mentions a number first often "anchors" the entire discussion around that figure, even if it's completely arbitrary.
Engagement Message
Do you usually make the first offer in negotiations or wait for others to start?
