Cognitive Bias and Leadership Introduction and Overview

Part 1 of our “Cognitive Bias and Leadership” Series What is cognitive bias and what the heck does it have to do with leadership? A cognitive bias is our tendency to filter information through our own past experiences, likes, and dislikes. This means we have a tendency to make judgments that are faulty…and faulty in predictable ways. Of course anything that affects our judgments and decision making will ultimately affect our ability to effectively lead. In this blog, I am going to give a quick definition of some of the cognitive biases to be aware of in the workplace. The following could significantly impact on your organization: Negativity Bias – the tendency to give more weight to negative information than positive information. Confirmation Bias – the tendency to search for or interpret information that confirms what we already think or…

Attitude Drives Self-fulfilling Prophesies

A recent article by Harvard Business Review gives advice about how to keep one’s preconceptions from skewing decisions. According to the article, six behaviors bias a person’s worldview. In particular, confirmation bias reaffirms snap judgments to create self-fulfilling prophesies. If you have a positive outlook on life, then you see endless possibilities and very likely exhibit the drive to achieve incredible accomplishments. You make up your mind and go for things that seem beyond the reach of other people. In contrast, the Eyeores of the world fence themselves in behind self-imposed limitations—and therefore severely limit their potential. They say you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. But, the science shows that we can actually improve our positivity factor by adjusting how we react to situations. Over time, you can train yourself to have a more positive emotional response when something…