How the Reticular Activating System (RAS) Can prevent falling into the Confirmation Bias Trap (TPL Insights #246)
By Rob Andrews inspired by academic research by Cytowic, Kahneman, Tversky, and Nummenmaa
Ever notice that when you’re in the market for a new car, suddenly every car on the road seems to be the exact make and model you’re looking for? That’s the Reticular Activating System (RAS) in action—a part of our brainstem that acts as our internal spotlight, filtering out the noise and focusing in on what matters most to us. While this is great for car shopping, the RAS can also be a secret weapon for leaders who want to avoid confirmation bias in making high-stakes decisions, resolving conflicts, and aligning teams around purpose, mission, vision, and strategy.
Now, before you get excited about “reprogramming” your brain like you’re in The Matrix, it’s worth understanding what the RAS really is and how it works.
The RAS is a network of neurons in your brainstem that filters the millions of bits of information bombarding you every second. It determines what you consciously notice versus what fades into the background. Imagine your RAS as your personal neuro-secretary, sifting through the piles of info on your desk and picking out what it thinks you should look at. While it’s incredibly efficient, this little helper can also get a bit biased—it tends to zero in on information that aligns with what you already care about or believe.
Here’s the rub: if we don’t set intentional goals, the RAS takes its cues from our existing beliefs, making it easy to fall into the old confirmation bias trap. But, if you know how to hack it, the RAS can help you break free from the echo chamber and think more objectively.
Let’s face it, we all have biases—even leaders who pride themselves on objectivity. We tend to seek out information that aligns with what we already believe or with what’s comfortable. Confirmation bias can have us charging down the wrong path with all the confidence of a GPS recalculating in a tunnel. But your RAS can work as an anti-bias machine. With the right focus, it brings to light new data that might challenge your current views.
One tactic? Train your RAS to hunt for disconfirming evidence. Next time you’re making a big decision—say, on a new strategic direction—intentionally focus on arguments that don’t align with your initial take. Research from Kahneman and Tversky (yes, those Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economists) shows that “thinking slow”—taking the time to look at different viewpoints—improves decision-making by reducing the impact of our biases. So, instead of going straight for the data that says, “Yes, we’re geniuses,” try looking for the data that might say, “Hold up—have you considered this?”
When it comes to resolving conflict, it’s natural to gravitate toward our own perspective (who doesn’t love being right?), but the RAS can help here, too. It’s all about “reprogramming” your brain’s filter to help you empathize with other perspectives. A study from the University of Southern California showed that by actively focusing on understanding others’ perspectives—priming your brain to “spot” empathy cues—you can reduce conflict by encouraging open-minded listening (Nummenmaa et al., 2018). Think of it as tuning your RAS to a new frequency. Rather than picking up signals of disagreement, it starts to tune in to points of alignment.
Purpose, mission, vision, values—these are like the North Stars for your organization, but without clear alignment, they’re just words on paper. If you want your team to embrace these pillars, you need to program everyone’s RAS to recognize what really matters. When leaders actively and consistently communicate the purpose and vision, the RAS in each team member starts to zero in on actions, attitudes, and information that align with that direction.
For example, if “customer-centric innovation” is your focus, set the RAS to watch for every opportunity to enhance the customer experience. Pretty soon, your RAS will start “spotlighting” those moments for you. In turn, the entire team gets aligned because they’re all tuned into the same channel.
Leaders have to make tough choices, especially when it comes to cost leadership—those decisions can’t be left to gut feel alone. Let’s say you’re focusing on efficiency and cost-cutting. Program your RAS to identify potential redundancies or inefficiencies. Rather than confirming that “we’ve always done it this way, so it must be the right way,” an RAS on high alert for wastefulness will spotlight areas for improvement.
By consciously setting cost leadership as a priority, your brain will filter out unnecessary details and bring forward data, people, or processes that align with a more efficient, effective operation. It’s like hiring a watchful guard to make sure nothing irrelevant sneaks through the gate. This kind of cost leadership will also assure you don’t cut into muscle or cut investments that add to the customer and/or employee experience.
When aligning a leadership team, the RAS can play a huge role in fostering cohesion. Teams often clash when everyone’s RAS is focused on their individual KPIs or departmental goals, reinforcing silos. But if you set a collective focus—say, on a shared mission or value—the RAS in each leader will start tuning in to what aligns with that objective. In practical terms, this might look like leaders actively seeking to support each other’s goals, asking questions that promote collaboration, or spotlighting collective wins over individual achievements.
By the way, this is where humor and positivity come in handy. Positive emotions are more memorable and likely to “stick” in our brain’s filter. Teams that regularly celebrate small wins and foster a bit of laughter are setting their RAS to notice the good rather than nitpicking on the problems.
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Conclusion: Make the RAS Your Ally in Objectivity
Our brains might have been built to filter information and avoid overload, but the RAS can do a lot more than just spot red sports cars. With a little conscious effort, it can become a powerful ally for leaders who want to make better decisions, resolve conflicts constructively, and build alignment around strategy, purpose, and values.
The next time you find yourself automatically agreeing with data that supports your viewpoint, take a pause. Ask yourself if your RAS is in “echo chamber” mode and needs reprogramming. Maybe instead of seeing what you want to see, you can train yourself to see what you need to see. After all, an open mind (with a little help from a well-trained RAS) is an unstoppable asset in today’s complex world.
References
The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is a powerful mental tool leaders can use to filter out biases, make better decisions, resolve conflicts, and align teams toward shared goals. By consciously tuning our focus, we can program the RAS to spot what truly matters, helping us think more objectively, see multiple perspectives, and guide our teams with clarity and purpose.
Ready to lead with focus and make decisions that drive peak performance? Reach out to discover how we can help you leverage the science behind focus and alignment to build a resilient, peak-performing organization.
Warmest Regards,
Rob
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ROB ANDREWS
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Celebrating 25 years of Executive Search, Leadership Advisory, and Interim Executive Excellence
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