How can you avoid bias in your reasoning when working with clients?
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Bias is a common pitfall that can affect your reasoning and decision-making when working with clients. Bias can distort your perception of reality, impair your judgment, and interfere with your communication. To avoid bias in your reasoning, you need to be aware of the different types and sources of bias, and apply some strategies to overcome them. In this article, you will learn how to identify and avoid four common types of bias that can affect your reasoning as a consultant: confirmation bias, anchoring bias, framing bias, and availability bias.
Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms your existing beliefs or expectations. For example, if you have a positive impression of a client, you may ignore or downplay any negative feedback or evidence that contradicts your view. Confirmation bias can lead you to overlook important facts, miss alternative solutions, and make inaccurate assumptions. To avoid confirmation bias, you need to challenge your own beliefs and assumptions, seek out diverse and contradictory perspectives, and test your hypotheses with objective data.
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Zohaib Aslam
Co-Founder & Business Consultant @ Speecto | Driving Business Growth
To be fair when working with clients, it's important to know your own quick judgements and put them aside. Always look at the real facts before making a decision. Listen to what others say and really hear them, instead of just thinking about what you believe. It's good to listen to many different ideas, as this can help you think in new ways. By always learning and staying open to new views, you can keep your thinking clear and treat all clients equally.
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Pete McCurry (He / Him)
Human Resources Director at Network Rail
There are three things that immediately come to mind: 1) use as much empirical evidence as practical for the size of the decision, remembering to test whether it is really empirical 2) I really like the idea of a red team review (or de Bono’s black hats 🎩) to test thinking 3) having a genuinely diverse team who know they can share their thoughts and opinions will make for much rounder decision making
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Anchoring bias is the tendency to rely too much on the first piece of information you receive, and use it as a reference point for subsequent judgments. For example, if you hear a client's initial budget estimate, you may anchor your proposal around that figure, even if it is unrealistic or inaccurate. Anchoring bias can cause you to miss opportunities, negotiate poorly, and make suboptimal decisions. To avoid anchoring bias, you need to gather more information from multiple sources, compare different options and scenarios, and adjust your expectations based on new evidence.
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Ivan McAdam O'Connell 🌏
Freedom Lifestyle Designer : From bank COO to helping people unlock their true potential
The biggest anchoring bias risk is starting with the current reality. Often times the current reality blinds us to different, better solutions. We, our teams, and the client simply can't see beyond the way it's always been done, ... to alternatives that may offer a solution. So it is important to start each analysis with fundamental analysis at the root level - of the why, the wider goal, the context, the elements. Then question each of these deeply, leveraging the "5 Whys" deeper meaning approach. Then approach the problem afresh from fresh principals. For the client side - creativity exercises are sometimes useful to help the client imagine a different reality and solutions, and move beyond the fundamental anchoring bias blocker.
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Lynelle Pillay
Helping companies achieve and maintain compliance with Employment and Labour Legislation
I find it best not to only talk about budget but focus on pain point your product or service can solve. Solve the problem first and price will become less of an objection.
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Framing bias is the tendency to be influenced by the way information is presented, rather than by the information itself. For example, if a client presents a problem as a threat or a loss, you may be more risk-averse and pessimistic than if they present it as an opportunity or a gain. Framing bias can affect your perception of the problem, your evaluation of the options, and your communication of the solution. To avoid framing bias, you need to be aware of how language, tone, and context can shape your thinking, consider different perspectives and angles, and use clear and neutral terms.
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Ivan McAdam O'Connell 🌏
Freedom Lifestyle Designer : From bank COO to helping people unlock their true potential
Very often clients come to us with problems, or threats. Their mind is in a place of fear. It is powerful to challenge this negative framing, and look for the opportunity in the challenge. Fear is a powerful motivator, but in organisations positive opportunity and growth are more powerful forces for positive change. So identifying the opportunity in threats, and helping our client and their teams see this positively and reframing - is a powerful force! One which takes the client to a better place, opens up more possibility, and gives more value.
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Darla Bonk
EQUIPPING ENTREPRENEURS TO BUILD & LIVE THE LIFE THEY LOVE | Speaker |🎙️"ON YOUR WAY" Podcast Host | Human Capital Expert |
As you are gathering data, be sure to listen to for data that can be verified. HOW data is presented can easily impact a perception. Think of how compelling someone can be if their position is on the line. Remember why you were hired - keep the data paramount and ensure the information you are being provided can be verified.
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Availability bias is the tendency to judge the likelihood or importance of something based on how easily it comes to mind. For example, if you recall a recent success story or a memorable failure, you may overestimate or underestimate the probability or impact of a similar outcome. Availability bias can distort your reality, make you overconfident or fearful, and influence your behavior. To avoid availability bias, you need to base your reasoning on facts and statistics, not anecdotes and impressions, seek out relevant and representative data, and avoid generalizations and stereotypes.
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Ivan McAdam O'Connell 🌏
Freedom Lifestyle Designer : From bank COO to helping people unlock their true potential
Let's not keep trying the same ideas and models again and again. We can look deeper, think wider, and do better. The common ideas keep popping up in our, and our client's minds, due to availability bias and recency effect. But the next level of impact is unlocked by fresh perspectives and approaches. So challenge yourself, your team and your clients to let go of the familiar and embrace the experimental method and to find the next level of value for them.
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Hengky Widjaja
Consultant | Senior Business Analyst | Aha Moment Creator | Digital Transformation | Integration | Coach | I work stuff out | Rent my brain | I give out plenty of insults
One powerful way to address this bias is to reflect and let time do the work. Let something sit (at least overnight) and dwell in your mind. The longer one sits and plays with an idea, the more one should assess the idea more on its merits. Some things just need to sit before we can really think about them.
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Brea Starmer
CEO/Founder Lions & Tigers | PSBJ 40 under 40 | Microsoft Supplier of the Year | Building Inclusive Talent Models | 3x Mama | FOW Speaker
One of the simplest ways to cut through some of these biases is with a blended team of diverse voices. It is through lived experiences and empathy for our shared audience that we truly get to see the full picture and form a well-rounded, innovative business plan. Creating teams of mixed employees and non-employees (consultants) ensures access to diverse voices and experiences to mitigate risk and invite in new ideas.
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Hemlatha Mohan
Founder Shree Advisory- MSME , Stressed Assets ,Wealth Management.Fraud & Risk Management Consultant/Banking training
Biases are often conditioned by the our family upbringing, our own nature of beliefs and non beliefs as well as the kind of company we keep. If we are true to ourselves and recognize this as our shortcoming, the best way to take a proper decision is to scrutinise the facts completely, identify the stakeholders, have a brainstorming session, seek expert advice and then come to a conclusion which would be utilitarian This is one way to cancel out our biases as we would have analysed the situation from various angles. The crucial point is- how truthful are we to ourselves?
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