Let's talk about biases! Did you know there are 100s of different biases?

As business owners and managers, it's really important to be aware of biases that can affect our decision-making.

Biases are unconscious mental shortcuts that can lead to flawed thinking and poor decision-making. Here are five biases that that I've come across in coaching sessions recently:

❓ Only asking for feedback from people you know will agree with you. Otherwise known as Confirmation Bias - the tendency to seek out info that confirms our pre-existing beliefs, while ignoring or discounting anything that contradicts them...

​😇 Employing someone in a customer service role, just because you like them and they are friendly. AKA The Halo Effect! This bias occurs when we judge a team member based on one positive trait, rather than looking at the overall picture. For example, just because an employee is friendly and outgoing, doesn't necessarily mean they're the best fit for the role. Or that being great at sales mean they will be a great sales manager themselves (in fact, the opposite is often true!).

🙃 Relying too heavily on the first piece of information we receive, and then making judgements based on that - 'Anchoring Bias'. For example, a new manager was unwilling to consider alternatives to their initial ideas and solutions because they felt that changing strategy would make them look stupid.

👥 'Groupthink Bias' - when your team always agrees with your ideas and doesn't question them, even if there are better alternatives. It's important to foster an environment where your team are actively encouraged to disagree with you (even if you don't like it!).

⚠️ A team that only considers the most popular or well-known solutions to a problem, rather than exploring more creative or innovative solutions is falling into the 'Availability Bias' trap (this happens a lot when teams are really busy).

What biases have you noticed recently?

By the way... We offer an excellent training workshop on unconscious biases. 😀