You're navigating team collaborations. How can you tackle unconscious bias in decision-making?

To tackle unconscious bias in team collaborations, the first step is to recognize and acknowledge that biases exist, which is the most difficult part as ti seams. I actively reflect on my own decision-making process and encourage team members to do the same. By creating an environment where everyone is aware of potential biases, we can be more mindful of how they might influence our choices and work together to mitigate their impact. This awareness is key to fostering fair and inclusive decision-making.

Unconscious bias can lead to decision-making traps like stereotyping, selective listening, and confirmation bias. Forming a team with diverse cultural backgrounds promotes balanced decisions where active listening and transparent communication are prioritized. However, diversity also risks groupthink, where members wants to avoid any conflict and may lean towards consensus without fully exploring all viewpoints. To counter this, establish a decision-making framework with specific tools before forming the team then have brainstorming/discussion session to ensure all voices are included. After decisions are made, hold reflection sessions to value and learn from all perspectives for future references.

It is important to introduce bias interruptors in our decision making processes to help regulate the auto-pilots inside of each of us. There is a high likelihood that well-intentioned gatekeepers of decision making processes have seen the same movies play over and over again, leading to the possibility that inaccurate assumptions might be applied to outlier situations that deserve a more thorough review. Diverse peer review is mentioned a good tool. I would also insist on collegial debate as a consistent group expectation to counter any potential groupthink. This is a learned group behavior that takes time. High-performance teams build trust that allows them to routinely embrace difficult conversations which improves decision quality.