No one wants to be thought of as “biased”. Particularly not a leader. Particularly not when there is such an intense global focus on equal access to healthcare, education and jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and on fair treatment of all citizens after accusations of police brutality in the USA, Belarus, Nigeria and elsewhere. The only trouble is that every single human being is biased. It is part of the way that our brains are wired. And if you don’t believe it, you can actually do a free online test, called the Implicit Association Test, to prove it:www.understandingprejudice.org/iat. And there is not only one kind of bias. The US lender TitleMax actually identifies 50 different types of cognitive bias that any human being might hold, consciously or unconsciously. Some of the most common biases that affect leaders are: 1. In-Group favouritism: We favour people who are in our in-group as opposed to an out-group. 2. Groupthink: Due to a desire for conformity and harmony in the group, we make irrational decisions, often to minimize conflict. 3. Halo effect: If you see a person as having a positive trait, that favorable impression will spill over into their other traits. (This also works for negative traits.) 4. False consensus: We believe more people agree with us than is actually the case. 5. Curse of knowledge: Once we know something, we assume everyone else knows it too. 6. Spotlight effect: We overestimate how much people are paying attention to our behavior and appearance. 7. Dunning-Kruger effect: The less you know, the more confident you are. The more you know, the less confident you are. 8. Anchoring: We rely heavily on the first piece of information introduced when making decisions. 9. Confirmation bias: We tend to find and remember information that confirms our perceptions. 10. Zero-risk bias: We prefer to reduce small risks to zero, even if we can reduce more risk overall with another option. So the question is not really whether anyone is biased or not. The real question for conscious leaders is what can they do about it for themselves and others? Here are some practical tips: 1. Accept without judgment that we are all biased in some way. It is uncomfortable but normal. 2. Try to identify what specific conscious or unconscious biases we have that could impact our leadership effectiveness. It could be as simple as preferring to work with someone who is verbally expressive. 3. Ask a diverse selection of trusted colleagues, mentors and advisors if they have noticed any particular biases that you have. (If they are not diverse, what does that say about you and your biases?) For example, some peers might point out that you tend to interact and agree with your male colleagues in meetings but often ignore or discount the views of your female colleagues. 4. If you are really brave, you could ask your long-time staff or team members for confidential or direct feedback on your biases. This can be a huge risk and yet this stark vulnerability could greatly enhance your standing with them, build trust and improve performance. 5. Once you are aware of your main biases, don’t spend too much time trying to work out where these biases come from. Instead, it will be more productive to focus on what you can do to address them. For Tip #2 above, that may mean making a more deliberate effort to include the views of quieter staff members during a meeting, without embarrassing them, of course. 6. Recognise individual bias in those around you without blame or shame. If someone’s biases are impacting interpersonal relationships with others or draining team morale, it is better to have a one-on-one, confidential “difficult conversation” – see the “Leading Rwanda” column of 27 August 2020 – sooner rather than later. 7. Recognise internal bias within your organisation and stand up and speak out as appropriate to address these systemic and structural issues. For example, your organisation may traditionally hire interns and new graduates from a certain university. Use your power and influence to ensure that the recruiting net is widened to other institutions and groups in future, without compromising your organisational values or hiring standards. 8. Recognise and address external bias with others outside your organisation, including suppliers, government officials and even clients. One example might be that you may have a person with mobility issues in your client engagement team. Check to see that everyone can have full access to your client’s premises, including people in wheelchairs. If not, ask to meet elsewhere. In this way, leaders may not be able to fully eliminate bias in themselves and others but they can certainly reduce and mitigate its impact within the workplace. The views expressed in this article are entirely those of the writer, who can be reached directly at:jeremy@jeremysolomons.com
