How do you avoid common biases in teamwork?

Fostering Inclusivity and Mitigating Bias in Teams In our lives, we often reflect the influences of our upbringing, which can manifest as various biases, be they religious, social, or cultural. To address these biases, the most effective approach is to embrace and respect diverse viewpoints within our team, providing an environment where everyone feels free to express their thoughts and opinions. Whether in a leadership or team member role, it is our moral responsibility to create space and show respect for every team member's perspective, avoiding the imposition of our own beliefs or favoritism towards those who share similar viewpoints, even at the expense of merit-based procedures.

First, set aside your ego. Acknowledge that you might not have all the answers and be open to the possibility that you could be wrong. Actively engage in debates and choose to explore the side you disagree with. This helps you challenge your own assumptions and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand. By prioritizing intellectual growth over the need to be right, you can make more objective and rational decisions. To do so change the "Yes, but..." from your conversations, to an "interesting point, let me reflect on it and I will come back to you"! Also, actively seek out information that contradicts your initial belief. Look for dissenting opinions, analyze the risks, and consider alternative perspectives.

How to challenge your biases? From my own experience, we have to identify the bias according to 2 concepts: 1. Bias based on culture, community, or societal perception, which includes religions, historical events, news, fiction or wisdom inherited via generations. 2. Bias based on recent information, logical concepts, and arguments. Human beings tend to be biased, the point is not to avoid it, but to minimise the bias, especially, based on the first case, where humans might be more emotional, less logical, and in some cases, aggressive and involved in hate. We need to find a way to decrease negative biases, in a world that is based on bias, while, we have to support biases on the basis of logic, and public interests.

In the beginning, support every team member to share their opinions, and ideas without any restrictions, or prejudice, with such a level of openness inside the teamwork, we can identify the team members' character, and analyse their weaknesses and strengths points. With time, we can motivate the strength points of our team members by assigning every team member to tasks that are aligned with his top skills, and positive mindset. On the other hand, we try to do personal discussions to improve the weak points.

We can use Johari Window as a way to improve the communication part of the team. We can focus on a hidden area that is known by every team member and communicate it clearly to let other members notice the advantages and maximize the potential and outputs of every team member. The blind area needs to be communicated from team members to each other so they can see each other perceptions and points that can be advantageous or negative points that need to be avoided.

The Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in 1986 is a historical illustration of reviewing biases and applying structured frameworks for improvement. NASA's plan to launch the Challenger faced a tragic outcome, prompting a thorough investigation by the Rogers Commission. The Check phase revealed biases in decision-making, where concerns about O-ring vulnerabilities in cold temperatures were dismissed because of management pressures. This shows the importance of open communication and addressing dissenting opinions. NASA, in the Act phase, implemented changes to decision-making processes, communication protocols, and launch criteria to prevent similar tragedies. This underscores the critical role of reviewing biases in high-stakes endeavors.

In my experience, biases can creep up in any situation regardless of how practiced and aware we try to be. In any profession, but especially in the legal profession, we have to constantly check ourselves, our motivations, and our reasonings for implicit biases that can easily go unnoticed if we do not actively engage in antiracist conversations and actions. It is a lifelong work that cannot be tabled with a few DEI trainings. It is a continuous drive for self-improvement. You will never be bias-free, but you can develop sensors for when your biases interfere with the pursuit of justice and equity.

Avoiding common biases in teamwork necessitates a multi-faceted approach rooted in awareness, empathy, and proactive measures. Implement structured decision-making processes, encouraging everyone to voice their opinions before reaching a consensus. Additionally, raise awareness about biases through education and training, empowering team members to recognize and challenge their own preconceptions. Finally, establish accountability mechanisms to regularly review team dynamics and decision-making processes, ensuring fairness and equity prevail. This holistic strategy cultivates an environment where biases are acknowledged, confronted, and mitigated, allowing for more effective and inclusive teamwork.

To mitigate biases in teamwork, it's crucial to recognize that individuals often try to rationalize emotionally formed ideas without even being aware of them. Avoiding this involves keen awareness, utilizing meta-analysis, and maintaining a proactive presence and agency. Encouraging objective reasoning, open communication, and diverse perspectives, along with structured decision-making processes and ongoing training, fosters a more inclusive and unbiased team dynamic. Regularly reviewing decisions, rotating leadership roles, and promoting feedback contribute to creating a culture that actively combats cognitive biases.