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person is saying in a meeting , then I will privately ask a third person ( not the presenter or the loudest person ) to repeat the information , shortly after the meeting , to see if I still agree .”
Get explicit , and get it in writing .
One fairly easy intervention is to instruct employees to get in the habit of laying out , in writing , the precise steps that led to a given decision being made . You also can write out the process for your own decision making .
For example , narratives in the form of “ We decided X , which led us to conclude Y , which is why we ’ re going with strategy Z ” bring a certain transparency and clarity to the decision-making process and serve as a record that can be referenced later to evaluate which aspects of the process worked and which didn ’ t .
Incentivize awareness .
Along those same lines , managers should reward employees who detect flaws in their thinking and correct course . At the NeuroLeadership Institute , we have a “ mistake of the month ” section in our monthly workin-progress meetings to help model and celebrate this kind of admission .
To use a sports example , New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady reportedly pays his defense if they can intercept his passes in practice . ( It must help . He ’ s one of two players in NFL history to win five Super Bowls .) The takeaway : By making error detection a team sport , you destigmatize the situation , highlight the learning opportunities , and increase the likelihood of making better decisions in the future .
Set up buffers . Taking your decision making from “ hot ” to “ cool ” often requires a conscious commitment to create a buffer between when you receive information and when you make a decision on how to move forward .
For example , before a big decision is officially made , everyone involved should be encouraged to spend 10 minutes relaxing or going for a walk before reconvening one last time to discuss any potential issues that haven ’ t yet come up . This is a way of “ cooling off ” and making sure things have been thought through calmly . Another way to accomplish this is to engage in a “ pre-mortem ” — imagining a given decision went poorly and then working backward to try to understand why . Doing so can help identify biases that might otherwise go undetected .
Cut the cues . The most common and research-backed approach involves giving hirers access to fewer of the sorts of cues that can trigger expedience biases . Blind selection is a classic example . In the 1970s and 1980s , top orchestras instituted a blind selection process in which the identity of applicants was concealed from the hiring committee , often by literally hiding the player behind a screen while he or she performed . As a result , the number of female musicians in the top five U . S . symphony orchestras rose from 5 percent in 1970 to more than 25 percent in 1996 .
Bonner , the Utah psychologist , says to “ take the humanity out ” when you can . “ Set up situations where people exchange information with as little noise as possible ,” he says . If you ’ re brainstorming , have everyone write down their ideas on index cards or on shared documents , then review the ideas anonymously — that way the strength of the idea , rather than the status of the source , will be the most powerful thing .
Technology can also be leveraged . For example , the “ merit-based matching ” app Blendoor strips the name , gender , and photos of an applicant from a recruiter ’ s view , and Talent Sonar uses predictive analytics to shape job listings that attract both male and female candidates , and performs a blind resume review , which leads to a 30 percent larger hiring pool , the company says .
Biases are human — a function of our brains — and falling for them doesn ’ t make us malicious . We have the capacity to nudge ourselves toward more rational thinking , to identify and correct the errors we make as a result of bias , and to build institutions that promote good , clear thinking and decision making . With the right systems , tools , and awareness in place , we can better cultivate the best ideas from the most well-suited minds . It just takes a bit of effort , and in the long run pays off in big ways . The best ideas get a chance to be heard — and implemented — and your best thinkers are recognized and keep on thinking .
Author Profile :
• Khalil Smith heads the diversity and inclusion practice at the NeuroLeadership Institute . He has 20-plus years of experience in leadership , strategy , and HR , including more than 14 years at Apple Inc .
Based by Strategy + Business
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