How to avoid biases in your decision making: A guide for individuals and teams.

Biases can be like Jedi mind tricks; they can work for and against us. These cognitive shortcuts can cause us to make flawed decisions, so how can you make better decisions by minimising bias?

Cognitive biases affect various aspects of our thinking, including perception, memory, attention, and decision-making. Our brains use them to process information quickly, but they can lead to errors and distortions in our understanding of the world.

At Thinking Focus, we believe that metacognition (or, as we prefer to say, thinking about thinking) influences everything we do. We aim to help you understand how you think so you can recognise thought patterns and develop strategies to change or mitigate unhelpful thought patterns. Biases are heuristics (cognitive shortcuts) that our brains create to lighten the cognitive load, enabling us to cope with the demands we face in today’s high-paced, complex world.

More Biases

Posted On July 5, 2023 By Ricky Muddimer In Bias, Decision Making, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Productivity, Video /

How can I improve my self-esteem?

When asked, ‘what gets in your way?’, most of us have the same answer. Me!

However hard we try, we cannot get out of our own way. We spend our life erecting barriers for us to them climb over, acting like a critic and sometimes even being a bully to ourselves.

This is the first of several podcasts exploring the different ways we get in our own way and looking at some simple things that any of us can do to reduce self-inflicted barriers. Getting in your own way is perfectly normal, but you don’t have to accept it as being inevitable.

In this first podcast, Rob and Rich explore self-esteem. How do we understand that we have self-worth in a hyperconnected world where we are asked to compare to highly edited versions of everyone else, yet we have a warts and all version of ourselves?

Posted On June 28, 2023 By Paul Hutchinson In Continuous Improvement, Podcasts, Resilience, The question is /

Why we fall victim to biases

5 sneaky ways they sabotage our success

If you are not good at making choices – how do you overcome your biases and make better decisions? In the video, we explore five biases and how to mitigate their effects on us.

A cognitive bias refers to a systematic pattern of deviation from rationality or objective judgment in human thinking. It is a tendency for the human mind to make errors in processing information, often resulting in subjective judgments and decisions that deviate from logical or evidence-based reasoning.

More Biases

Posted On June 21, 2023 By Ricky Muddimer In Bias, Decision Making, Leadership, Management, Metacognition, Mindset, Video /

How does thinking fast and slow effect leadership?

The idea that we think fast and slow (Daniel Kahneman) or like a chimp and a human (Steve Peters) has moved from the world of psychology and now is part of everyday understandings of human behaviour. So, what is the impact of these two different ways of thinking have on leadership in organisations, and which one should leaders be using?

Ricky and Rich discuss their observation of working with leaders and how their thinking drives the results and behaviours in themselves and their followers. Where does fast thinking work, and where might slow thinking have the advantage?

Posted On June 14, 2023 By Paul Hutchinson In Leadership, Podcasts, The question is /

How to Clarify Who Owns What in Your Projects and Goals

Clarify Roles and Responsibilities with the RACI Matrix

It’s high time to Say Goodbye to Confusion: Clarify Roles and Responsibilities with the RACI Matrix.

Your free downloadable RACI Template

This video is your ultimate solution if you’ve ever experienced organizational chaos, overlapping responsibilities, or unclear accountabilities. We dive into the powerful RACI Matrix, a widely used framework designed to bring clarity and structure to any team or project.

Whether you’re a business professional, project manager, or part of a collaborative group, mastering the RACI Matrix will revolutionize how you define, communicate, and execute roles and responsibilities within your organisation.

Join us as we demystify the RACI Matrix key concepts and provide practical tips on implementing it effectively. We’ll guide you through each element of the framework:

Responsible
Accountable
Consulted
Informed

You’ll learn how to assign clear ownership, establish decision-making authority, involve stakeholders at the right moments, and keep everyone in the loop without overwhelming them.

Through an interactive example, we’ll illustrate the immense benefits of adopting the RACI Model. Say goodbye to confusion, duplication of efforts, and conflicting expectations. Say hello to streamlined processes, improved teamwork, and enhanced productivity.

Don’t miss out on this transformative opportunity to optimise your team’s efficiency and effectiveness. Clarify roles, empower your team, and boost your organization’s success with the RACI Chart. Watch now and embrace a future of seamless collaboration and clear accountability.

Posted On June 7, 2023 By Ricky Muddimer In Bias, Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Engagement, Goals, Influence, Leadership, Management, Mindset, Productivity, Stakeholder Management, Video /

A Blueprint for Change Managers

In today’s fast-paced business environment, the ability to manage change effectively isn’t just a competitive advantage—it’s a necessity.

Change leaders and change agents are at the forefront of this challenge, tasked with not only navigating but also driving successful transformations within their organisations. This is where our Change Blueprint becomes an indispensable tool.

View

Posted On June 6, 2023 By Ricky Muddimer In Article, Change, Flip Book, Leadership, Management /

How do I make the best of change situations?

Why is it that some people thrive when change happens, and others seem to do so badly? Change at work is almost the only constant left, yet many of us are really bad at handling it; missing the opportunities that change often presents.

In this podcast, Richard and Ricky explore what we can learn from the people who have handled change well. What can all learn from their behaviours to ensure that the next time we face change at work, we can make the most of the situation?

Posted On May 31, 2023 By Paul Hutchinson In Change, Leadership, Podcasts, Resilience, The question is /

You can have both: Development that sticks and 5X ROI

Changing Behaviour through Business Challenges

Developing teams is costly and time-consuming; at Thinking Focus, we know how important your people are to you and how important it is to show that your development dollars and pounds hit the mark.

Our extensive experience in leadership and management development has taught us the four conditions for success pivotal to every group development programme we run. It requires a collaborative approach with clients, which means they have to step up, their participants, and us.

Together, we can create an environment where participants thrive and achieve demonstrable ROI significantly over and above the programme cost, conservatively a minimum of 5X in almost all cases.

Want to see how challenges can work for your organisation?

Why not book a call, and we can discuss how it works and if it’s right for you.

Posted On May 30, 2023 By Ricky Muddimer In Article, Flip Book, Leadership, Management /

How to Deliver Purposeful Feedback at Work.

Do you want to know how to deliver feedback effectively at work?

In this video, we will share with you five tips on how to deliver effective feedback that will be respectful and helpful to you and your employees.

Learning how to deliver feedback effectively is essential if you want to be a successful manager of people! We’ll show you how to deliver feedback to help your employees grow and learn. We’ll also discuss the importance of feedback in the workplace and give you some helpful tips on how to give feedback effectively!

Posted On May 24, 2023 By Ricky Muddimer In Coaching, Feedback, High Performing Teams, Leadership, Management, Mindset, Performance Management /

How do I keep it together when change affects me unexpectedly?

Dealing with unexpected change, especially when working with or in large organisations, has become a core skill every employee must master. Yet, many people find themselves unprepared for change when it happens and can find themselves struggling to cope.

In this podcast, Paul and Rich explore why some people are good at dealing with change and others struggle. What makes some people resilient and how can the rest of us use the techniques for ourselves?

Posted On May 18, 2023 By Paul Hutchinson In Change, Podcasts, Resilience, The question is /