Understanding Cognitive Bias in Leadership

One of the biggest hidden risks I have seen in leadership is confirmation bias—our tendency to look for what we expect to see in others based on the stories we tell ourselves about them. Once we’ve formed an impression, we subconsciously filter out anything that challenges it and only acknowledge that which confirms it. This is dangerous in management. Hiring, pay, developmental opportunities, promotions and terminations are all influenced by the lens we apply to talent. If that lens is clouded by unchecked bias, we risk overlooking potential, reinforcing inequities, and limiting our teams’ growth. The good news? Awareness is the first step. And as leaders, we can actively challenge our biases to make fairer, better decisions. Here’s how: ✅ Interrogate your assumptions – Ask yourself, “What evidence supports this belief? What might contradict it?” Seek out the full picture, not just what feels familiar. ✅ Diversify your data sources – Don’t rely on a single perspective. Get input from different people who observe the employee in varied settings. ✅ Track patterns in your decisions – Are you consistently giving certain people the high-visibility assignments? Are others always stuck with execution work? Look for trends and ask why. ✅ Commit to structured decision-making – Use clear criteria for evaluations, promotions, and feedback. When expectations are explicit, there’s less room for personal bias to creep in. ✅ Invite feedback on your own bias – Create a culture where team members feel safe challenging your perceptions and decisions. Self-awareness grows when we open ourselves up to learning. Confirmation bias is human. But great managers don’t let it drive their decisions. We owe it to our teams—and to ourselves—to do better. What strategies have helped you combat confirmation bias in leadership? Let’s learn from each other. ⬇️ #ExecutiveLeadership #DecisionMaking #TalentManagement #WorkplaceExcellence #ConfirmationBias

High EQ isn’t just empathy. It’s the discipline to question your certainty - before it becomes your liability: The danger isn’t what you know. It’s what you think you know that just isn’t so. That’s where leadership can still trip up: not in ignorance, but in assumption. Cognitive biases quietly hijack decision-making: 🟤 Confirmation Bias: - You only seek data that agrees with you. - Missed red flags follow. 🟤 Overconfidence Effect: - Gut feel becomes gospel. - The next call goes unchecked. 🟤 Anchoring Bias: - The first idea becomes the finish line. - Even when better exists. 🟤 Status Quo Bias: - Comfort feels right. - Progress quietly dies. Respected leaders don’t guess. They design better decisions: → Red Teaming: Assign someone to challenge your thinking - hard. → Pre-Mortem: Ask, “If this fails in 6 months, why?” Then fix it now. → Second-Order Thinking: Chase ripple effects beyond the obvious. → OODA Loop: Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. Then repeat. These tools don’t slow you down. They protect you from illusion. Most people defend what feels right. High EQ Leaders inspect what’s actually true. Before the next important move - ask yourself: What am I assuming here…and how do I know it’s still valid? Let's see your thoughts on this in comments below. ♻️ Repost to help others lead and work better together. 🔔 Follow me Ronnie Kinsey, MBA for more like this. 📥 Get more of my tools for leadership, business, and personal development here Free: ➤ https://lnkd.in/dkagD_Wp <+>

There was a time where I unknowingly sought out information that reinforced my existing beliefs, dismissing anything that didn’t fit my narrative. This bias wasn’t just a personal blind spot, it impacted my ability to lead effectively and stunted innovation within my team. To break free from this trap, I implemented a few key strategies: 💡 Question Everything: Instead of accepting initial conclusions, I now challenge them. Asking “What if the opposite were true?” forces me to consider alternative outcomes that I might have missed. 💡 Create Psychological Safety: I encourage people around me to voice dissenting opinions without fear of repercussions. By fostering an environment where different perspectives are valued, I gain a more complete picture before making decisions. 💡 Leverage Contradictory Evidence: I actively seek out data and opinions that contradict my assumptions. This practice forces me to re-evaluate my stance and often leads to more robust solutions. 💡 Check Assumptions: Before any decision, I list out all the assumptions I’m making and scrutinize them. This helps me to uncover potential biases that could skew the outcome. 💡 Slow Down: In moments of pressure, it’s tempting to rush decisions. I’ve learned to pause and take the time to ensure that all relevant information is considered, and biases are checked. 💡 Feedback Loops: After a decision is made, I solicit feedback from my team and other stakeholders to understand if and how confirmation bias may have influenced the process. This feedback helps refine our approach for the future. By consciously challenging my own thinking, I’ve made better, more informed decisions that drive real progress. What strategies have you found effective in overcoming confirmation bias in your decisions? ---------- Hey, I'm Kevin, I am the founder of KEVRA: The Culture Company and provide daily posts and insights to help transform organizational culture and leadership. ➡️ Follow for more ♻️ Repost to share with others (or save for later) 🔗 Ask about KEVRA Consulting to learn more about how we can help you transform your organizational culture and climate

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀? In 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬, Dr. Jerome Groopman explores how even the most well-trained physicians can fall into 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘀—routines, assumptions, and shortcuts that cloud judgment, especially under pressure. The book invites readers to challenge default thought patterns, ask better questions, and be more present in decision-making. And while the book is about medicine, the message is deeply relevant to leadership—especially in healthcare. In a world of chaos, relentless urgency, and overbooked calendars, leaders often rely on pattern recognition and rapid judgment. But over time, that speed becomes autopilot. And autopilot, unchecked, can lead to:   • Confirmation bias   • Premature conclusions   • Dismissed voices   • Unchallenged assumptions 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. Here are a few practical strategies we can all use to break habitual thinking and stay present in our leadership:   1. 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 – Ask, What might I be missing?   2. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 – Replace “I know” with “Tell me more.”   3. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 – Seek perspectives that challenge your assumptions.   4. 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀 – Become aware of when emotion, fatigue, or familiarity may be driving the decision. In high-stakes environments, how we think matters just as much as what we know. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. What are you doing this week to slow down your thinking and lead with greater presence? #LeadershipDevelopment #CognitiveBias #HealthcareLeadership #MentalModels #ExecutiveCoaching #DBDCoaching #HowLeadersThink

Jon Cooke you had asked me about ways to reduce cognitive bias in decision making. So, I thought I would try to channel my inner Bill Schmarzo and create a framework. 😁 Facts – Data we know is accurate. What facts do we have? Have we validated the facts? Are we omitting any facts from our analysis? If so which ones? What facts are we missing? Are those facts available? Or do we need to make assumptions? Assumptions – Things we believe but can't prove. What assumptions are we making? Are we making assumptions to fill in for missing facts? What assumptions are we making about the facts we are using? How are the assumptions influencing the decision? What happens to the decision if we make different assumptions? Biases – Mental short cuts used for decision making. What cognitive biases may be in play? What biases are being displayed by stakeholders? How are biases reinforcing each other? Is there cognitive bias to align to a particular stakeholder? Agendas – Preferred outcomes of stakeholders. What agendas do stakeholders have? What loss and/or rewards are influencing agendas? Where are the conflicts and alignment between stakeholders’ agendas? How much political influence are stakeholders using to elevate their agenda? Stories – How Facts and Assumptions are assembled into narratives. What stories are stakeholders telling?  How are Biases and Agendas influencing the narratives? What stories are stakeholders trying to suppress? How are stakeholders aligning their political influence around stories? This is dependent upon a few things organizationally. 1) Understanding and acceptance that cognitive bias happens. 2) Commitment to mitigate cognitive bias in decisions. 3) Common terminology to discuss cognitive bias. 4) Structures making it safe to discuss cognitive bias. I've just started putting my thoughts to paper, so I welcome any feedback. If you like this post and want to see more, Ring the 🔔 on my Profile And follow #TheTechnoOptimist Samir Sharma Mark Stouse George Firican Prash Chandramohan SCOTT TAYLOR Fred Lardaro John Morley Karoline Hassfurter Jeff Frick Tom Redman Kevin Petrie Malcolm Hawker Cindi Howson Valerie A. Logan Tris J Burns Susan Walsh Sanjeev Mohan Tina Tang Monica Kay Royal #DataCulture #CognitiveBias #Neuroscience

Before Thanksgiving I made a quick trip to New York to speak to a group of senior leaders about inclusive leadership. I always enjoy working with leadership teams because they are the linchpin to company culture. These leaders were very engaged and we had a great discussion about specific practices they were using to role model inclusion and what additional strategies could be used. It got me to thinking back to my time spent leading teams and how easy it can be to overlook inclusion in the interest of speed or ease. But I don’t think it has to be that way. 💡Here are some of the questions I ask myself before I start a project or tackle a problem: ✅ What don’t I know / what am I not seeing? ✅ Who has expertise in this area? ✅ Who’s perspective hasn’t been considered? ✅ Am I relying on biases to gather data or make a decision? The answer to the last question is ALWAYS yes! It’s a matter of understanding which bias you’re defaulting to i.e. confirmation bias, recency bias, affinity bias etc. so you can be aware and mitigate it. And that’s ultimately where practicing inclusive leadership makes the biggest difference. We all rely on mental shortcuts and biases to digest information and make decisions. However if you’re intentional about seeking out other people’s perspectives and empowering them to fully contribute you can arrive at a better, more innovative outcome than any one person can alone. That has certainly been the case on my teams🙌🏾 ❓What questions or best practices do you use to put inclusive leadership into practice? #inclusiveleadership #inclusion #mondaythoughts