Team Dynamics and cognitive bias

making decisions is fraught with challenges

Cognitive biases can have a profound impact on team dynamics and collaboration, often leading to challenges in group decision-making and communication. Yet sometimes we can't work out why teams under-perform. How can biases affect teams?

Confirmation Bias

Cohesive long-established or mature teams seek information that confirms their existing beliefs, leading to a conformity of viewpoints and a phenomenon known as "groupthink." This may result in a loss of creativity and critical thinking, with alternative ideas not fully explored or considered. This happens often.

Overconfidence Bias

Overconfidence, can lead to a disparity in team member contributions. The experienced may underestimate the complexity of tasks for less experienced, while novices might not recognise their own limitations. Overall team performance is impacted..

Automation Bias

Reliance on automated systems, tools or analysis can lead to a lack of critical assessment of their outputs. Reliance on automated answers, deferring to these systems without question, may mean that the underlying issues are overlooked, errors are missed or innovative solutions are not considered.

Halo Effect

Particularly charismatic or successful individuals may bias thinking towards their opinion, stifling contributions from other team members and skewing a team's decision-making process.

Loss Aversion

Changing circumstances often drives the need for evolving thinking. Risk aversion is not always a bad thing, but it should not stifle new thinking beyond the status quo.

How to achieve better and effective team decision making?

Encouraging cognitive diversity - think different - seek new perspectives

Challenge and re-challenge conclusions - to guard against bias..

Structure decision-making processes - add repeatable quality.

Train teams to be aware of biases - promote objective evaluation.

Take bias out of team decisions.