Decision making – Where is your bias?

Bias in the way we make decisions is well researched & well documented. We know for example of the “halo effect” where something that is good is assumed to have several other good attributes.

We also know of the “availability effect” where we base our decisions on the easily accessible information rather than that which it is more difficult to access.

Just looking at these two effects, how might that impact on the quality of decision making in this new era? What is its potential impact on organisational effectiveness?

Are those who come into the office more often viewed with a “halo” compared to those who are at home more often? Do we have a bias towards those who are in the office and are “available” to get involved?

If we have issues with the “new normal” and allow the impact of hybrid working to impact on the quality of our decision making we may just deliver our own self-fulfilling prophecy of ……“I told you it wouldn’t work!”

By Malcolm Hewitt.
Malcolm was appointed as an Industrial Fellow at the University of Surrey. 
His areas of expertise & passion are Coaching, Performance Management, Leadership and Effective Resourcing Strategies. 
Malcolm has acted as an organisational consultant for a wide range of well-known organisations in the Service, Leisure, Manufacturing and Construction sectors.