What if we leveled the playing field. What if you had not been as attractive as you are said to be? What if you didn’t have the nurturing, contacts or money to get into a top school? What if you had been like my mother; short, dark, physically challenged and nappy hair. Would you be where you are? Some of us have more privilege than we claim. It behooves us to be mindful of the bias that make our decisions.

Are you really that good or lucky? What if you really don’t have any talent.

When we factor all the ramifications of our decisions business can be extraordinarily challenging. Business decisions come in the shape of small and seemingly insignificant. While there are others that are bigger with hidden moving parts with more financial consequences.

Any wonder why managers are frightened? As a manager, you can easily become entirely swept up in a project that has lulled your teams to embrace the status quo despite evidence to the contrary.

You lose your objectivity. Forgetting your task is to be unbiased with an objective viewpoint that can lead to sound decisions.

Are there biases affecting your decisions?

Think about it!

The myriad biases affecting our decision making are growing. Below are a few examples. Employ them and you’ll discover innovative ways for your organization to compete to win and develop slow starters into leaders. Here they are:

1. Hoping things remain the same.

2. When making hiring decisions or promotions tending to favor potential candidates who don’t threaten your own role and strengths.

3. Maintain protective silos

4. The tendency to make risk-averse choices if the expected outcome is positive, but make risk-seeking choices to avoid negative outcomes

5. Giving attention to what is happening now, without concern for the future

It isn’t adding layers to your bureaucracy that dissuades incumbents. It is creating a whole new organization where people are empowered and challenged to bring their best selves. Where sluggards are enabled to be better. And if not adroitly pruned.

It is changing your own behavior with a constant and never-ending passion to be better than yesterday.

Hire Jim Woods

Jim Woods is President of Woods Kovalova Group. A leader in learning and development since 1998, Woods Kovalova Group provides professionals worldwide with strategic and innovative training solutions. Located in Denver, Colorado their clients are well-known brands. He has been a fifth-grade science teacher and an adjunct professor of business and organizational development at Dickinson College, Villanova, and Colorado Technical University. His clients include Fortune 1000 organizations and small businesses globally since 1998.