Better Decision-Making: Accounting for Blindspots of Bias

I saw an ad this morning for a seminar from the Harvard University Extension called: “Make Better Decisions: the Psychology of Blindspots for Leaders and Teams,” led by Professor of Social Ethics in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, Mahzarin Banaj, the woman who developed the concept of Implicit Bias thirty years ago. Her best-selling book is “Blindspot: Hidden Bias of Good People.” Implicit Bias is defined as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.

As you know, one of my favorite tasks/skills is helping people make better decisions. After 40 years of doing this, I realized that I hadn’t considered this concept of blindspots/biases. My techniques for gathering priorities and building consensus have always succeeded in getting to the right project, not necessarily the project that our clients think they want when they first connect with them. So how might I incorporate the search for the blind-spot, and why should I add anything to something so tried and true?

If I can say one thing about myself, I love a good challenge, and I love to improve what we do.  Dr. Banaj, you’re on. Everyone has a blindspot or bias that they perhaps can’t identify. One of mine is that people care about design…which “ain’t necessarily so.”

If you are struggling with decisions of your own, whether design related or not, let’s connect. Perhaps together we can identify biases, dreams, hopes, fears, and make the best decision possible within the constraints of real life.

While I think about how to uncover bias in order to make better decisions, can you think of one of your own blindspots or biases?  Please share with me!