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Cognitive Bias

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 22:51:21 GMT

Notice and activate the team

There are a bunch of cognitive bias lists floating around.

I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do with them.

Recognize a bias in ourselves? Maybe.

Recognize a bias in others? Maybe.

But there are hundreds of cognitive biases. We’re never going to recognize them all. And we certainly aren’t going to eradicate them. We use them, as humans with big brains in a complicated world, to cope with (waves hands) everything.

We are, we are led by, we work with, and we must respond to people making decisions and taking actions based on those biases. Sometimes they have terrible consequences, and we need to prevent those consequences.

But we'll never recognize every bias, no matter how many lists we read.

What if, instead of memorizing lists of biases, we learn to recognize the situations where they are most likely to appear?

If we recognize when are we most vulnerable to these shorter and less accurate thought patterns, we can counteract them . . . even if we don’t know all their names.

Buster Benson has organized biases into 4 useful categories. I love his work so much that if you’re ever on a call with me, you’ll see the poster of his bias map on the wall.

You don’t need to memorize all the kinds of bias, you just need to recognize and calm the situations where they are likely to show up.

When there is too much information. Our brains try to create Cliff’s Notes, shorthand to allow it to store information. These biases are about simplification and narrative. Confirmation Bias lives here, because it’s easier to cope with things that match what we already know. A branch of an existing belief is smaller than a whole new thing.
When there isn’t enough meaning. At the other end of the spectrum are situations where we don’t have enough information, so our brains try to fill in the gaps, to make sense of the fraction of the pattern we know about. Murphy’s Law lives here, because it’s easier to assume a pattern than deal with the lack of one.
When we need to act fast. Our brains sometimes need us to act confidently, even without enough information. Dunning-Kruger Effect lives here, because sometimes people overestimate their abilities in order to move into action.
When we need to simplify memories. Our brains can’t possibly remember everything. So it reduces things, simplifies them. Primacy and Recency Effect live here, because it's easier to remember the first thing and the last thing instead of remembering everything.

Take a minute when things are feeling frantic or overwhelming or too much for your team. Analyze. Which kind of ‘too much’ is it? Which kinds of shortcuts are your brain or the brains of your team likely to make in this moment? The more diverse the team (neurologically, culturally, experientially), the more likely they are to bring different sets of biases and perspectives to the situation, and that is a strength. Use your team to overcome the moment.

What needs to be slowed down?

If it’s the volume of information: have people summarize for each other and notice the differences between their summaries
If it’s the meaning-making: bring people back to the basic facts, make sure they aren’t leaping to patterns that aren’t there
If it’s needed fast action: open up the discussion of actions to take - see how different people view the options before you act
If it’s memory overwhelm: document collaboratively, let everyone contribute to the agreed-on memory.

Humans create biases. But we also create teams, and our teams can be powerful counterbalances to our biases, if we let them.

Make 'In-Person' Meaningful

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 22:46:07 GMT

Because it's respectful

How many times in the last couple of years have you travelled a long way for a meeting only to sit in a conference room ingesting status reports and presentation slides? Yes, everyone is ’together,’ at considerable expense, but looking at their own screens. Maybe there is lunch. But mostly, the entire meeting could have been done remotely.

In a dispersed world, where teams come together only occasionally:

If you are in-person, connect in ways that you can only do in-person.

Physical presence is very different than a virtual meeting, and deserves MORE respect and attention because it happens so rarely now, not less.

In-Person gatherings are perfect for:

brainstorming
one-on-one conversations
dialogue
creativity
creating trust and psychological safety

Because:

It’s possible to have multiple conversations simultaneously
It’s relatively easy to make the size and members of conversations fluid
People can read more body language, so they often (not always) feel psychologically more connected and less fatigued
You can use physical props to disrupt multi-tasking and get more of people’s brains engaged, increasing output and creativity

Imperfect meetings happen all the time.

We live in a rapidly evolving work world that is figuring out what hybrid means, what productive means, what autonomy means, what ablism and bias mean in a setting that is only sometimes physical.

One of the ways we start to define all this is honoring and honing the time we spend together, particularly physically. If we are taking people away from their homes and loved ones for a few days, we need to honor that sacrifice. It’s one way to show them how important they are to our work and how seriously we take the things that matter to them.

I spend a lot of time, energy, and expertise constructing activities, questions, and rhythms of both virtual gatherings and physical ones. At least 10-12 hours for every hour of face time.

I want every meeting to be more connective and/or constructive than people expect it to be.

I want them to accomplish something that moves the work forward, not just hear a report they could have read on their own in less time.

Zest. A Strength to Explore

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 22:40:01 GMT

A tribute to walkers

I come from cynical people. Smart and funny, and (as I said last week) appreciative of beauty and excellence, but cynical. So when I met Winston Walker and Betty Payte, I hadn’t had much experience with folks whose main VIA character strength is Zest. It is 22nd out of 24 on my strengths list.

Zest is “Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure.” It is part of the Courage virtue, strengths that help you face adversity and exercise your will. The other Courage strengths are bravery, honesty, and perseverance.

Winston and Betty both profoundly influenced my ability to experience and seek out zest. I am better at living in the moment, at the edge of my comfort zone, and letting myself be silly and joyous because I had these two utterly zestful people in my life for a little while.

That is one of the things that makes VIA Character Strengths different from other assessments. Built into them is the idea of a growth mindset for individuals and teams. They assume elasticity. Low bravery? That’s ok; let’s start with small risks. Not a lot of prudence? Build structures to support your risk assessment so you can structure prudence even if you don’t have a lot naturally. Short on zest? Get silly, turn things upside down, play together, and find joy in what you do together.

It is much easier to build those structures and create that elasticity when you know what you are working with, as an individual or as a team. Awareness leads to action. Knowing your strengths as individuals makes sure that when you have someone with strong zest, you are giving them the freedom to lead others to their innovative edges. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a team ensures that you can put conscious thought into bolstering where you have strengths to bolster.

Betty’s memorial service was last weekend. She was 92 years old, and the service was full of people remembering her truly lifelong zest and curiosity. She pushed people into adventures, from biking across the US to flying small planes to doing the Bolder Boulder when they’d never raced before. She laughed, cajoled, and sang them through the hard parts until they were at the edge of their comfort zone without even noticing. Her zest made sure people were living life as an adventure alongside her.

Winston died in 2019, He is the first Black person to have a trail in the massive Denver Parks System named for him. Winston used his zest to coax people who weren’t sure about the outdoors into adventuring with him. Thanks to Winston, the outdoors around Denver are a little less monochromatic than they used to be. His energy was infectious. On a walk with him, elders would find themselves swinging at a playground, children would suddenly be scampering up trees, and everyone would be in goofy group photos. Everyone was a little more alive after a walk with Winston.

There are 24 character strengths, not 12 strengths and 12 weaknesses. Some come from our natures or our families. Some come from our experiences. And some we find in friends and mentors and teammates. We can change and evolve our strengths through these connections, just as I did with Betty and Winston.

Learn more about Winston and the trail named for him: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/16/colorado-hiking-trail-black-nature-racism

Learn more about Betty: https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/2019/12/06/betty-payte/

Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 16:20:19 GMT

AKA Missing my mom

It’s Tour De France time, which means I miss my mom a little more this month. She watched every second of Tour coverage. She loved the breakaways, the sprint finishes, the teamwork and the strategy. But she also loved the chateaux and the cathedrals and the beautiful countryside. She died before I started diving into Positive Psychology and VIA Character Strengths, but I know I got this strength from her.

Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence is my top VIA Character Strength. It is defined as “responsive to these three types of goodness: physical beauty, skill or talent (excellence), or virtue/moral beauty.” It explains why I love watching sports or arts performances, participating in meaningful volunteer activities, and reveling in a good view. It also explains why I love talking with people about what they enjoy in their work, what they're good at, and what they're proud of. Those conversations help me frame organizational changes in ways that celebrate team members instead of detracting from them.

VIA Character Strengths have been around for more than 20 years. There are 24 strengths organized into six virtues. ‘Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence’ is in the most slippery of the virtues: Transcendence. Transcendence is about meaning-finding and connection to the universe. Other strengths in this virtue are gratitude, hope, humor, and spirituality. There’s a free test you can take to find yours. Link in the comments. And, like me, you probably won’t be too surprised by your top strengths. You live them, breathe them, and celebrate them every day, whether you know it or not.

We use VIA Strengths in our cross-functional leadership activities as a foundation for both personal and team missions. Too often, missions, visions, and 'values' are based on intangibles: the founders' values, the organization's traditions, or (most often) a few trendy and ambiguous words that seem like they’ll sound good to clients and potential employees.

Instead, we base our missions on strengths. What makes us unique and valued as individuals? What strengths do we have in common as a team? What are we building this work from and with? How can we ensure that our 'values' center the strengths of our team members? This is a different and powerful way to weave our mission and vision. We go forth into the hard stuff celebrating who we are and what we are each bringing to the table.

One of my mom’s favorite things about bike racing was the multiple ways to win. You can be the first on a given day, best at climbing mountains, great at sprint finishes, or most aggressive in the breakaway. You can be a great domestique, always there for your leaders. There is room for all sorts of different strengths in this sport.

And there should also be room for all sorts of different strengths in our teams. Our strengths give us unique perspectives, passions, and insights that help us achieve more and innovate more.

If Murray Isn't Happy, No One Is Happy: Value Your Social Nodes

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 22:34:23 GMT

Murray wasn't happy. He was sure this new initiative would fail, just like all the others. 'I've been here for 31 years,' he'd say. 'They almost always fail.' But Murray was a planner, coordinating schedules and materials for teams across the entire organization. He talked to almost everyone, and he talked a lot. We had to get him on our side.

Digital transformations succeed or fail for many reasons, big and small. Most of those reasons are people-related.

But sometimes the reason is a person. One person. Or just a few people. People who, if you looked at them on a hierarchical chart, wouldn’t seem to have a bunch of power. But WOW, they have a lot of influence.

We call these folks social nodes, and few actions will support your transformation success more than finding them, knowing them, honoring them, and getting them on the side of change.

On factory floors, sometimes, they are social nodes because their role is so far-reaching. Planners, tooling designers, and in-process inspectors who talk to everyone and know everything are often social nodes. Union officers may be social nodes as well.

But they could also be social nodes because they are simply people who connect well. The person who organized the chili cookoff or the person who always seems to be chatting in the breakroom. The person who reads all the company newsletters and emails and knows what’s happening outside the day-to-day.

Social nodes often have strong opinions. They are loyal on multiple levels, but they’ve often been around for a few ‘transformations’ and can rattle off what went wrong in every one of them.

Once we know who they are, we can build communication to support them. In various projects, I’ve given them special briefings, created a place in the project updates that comes from them, given them access to early information they could disseminate, or checked in with them regularly to learn how implementations are going.

For Murray, we created a special column in the project newsletter called 'Murray's Musings' and recorded and transcribed a little interview every month. We asked about the problems with the old processes and checked in on new ones. We asked about his history with the company. We let him know that everyone, including the C-Level folks, was getting the newsletter and reading his words. Murray is retired now, but his stories are recorded as company history. And the initiative succeeded, partly because we recognized Murray as a social node and got him on board.