Nuala Walsh is MindEquity CEO, Adjunct Professor of behavioral science, Non-exec Director & Author of TUNE IN: How to Make Smart Decisions
As leaders, we pride ourselves on being rational, considered and objective. But behavioral science tells a different story. Our decisions are shaped by social influences, cognitive bias and mental shortcuts. When you hold power, these factors can not only lead to costly mistakes but missed opportunities, misjudgment and misguided confidence.
But you can sidestep predictable error. How? By understanding the 10 common myths about decision-making.
1. “I decided quickly.”
Agility prized in leadership and speed is often equated with decisiveness. Leaders are recognized and rewarded with pay and promotions for quick decisions and fast turnarounds. But fast decisions can also spawn intuitive error. Even a brief pause can improve most outcomes.
My advice? Build in deliberate reflection breaks and dual-check protocols for high-consequence decisions.
2. “I decided independently.”
It’s tempting to think we’re immune from external influence and social expectations, but we’re constantly influenced by peer context and what others think. Solomon Asch’s famous conformity experiments demonstrated the influence of group dynamics on individual decisions, even when the group’s consensus is clearly wrong. In other words, social proof and peer pressure can influence decisions to the point that autonomy becomes illusory.
I suggest practicing “decision distancing.” Step back, revisit the decision alone and determine if your choice holds up without external pressures.
3. “I decided objectively.”
We like to think our decisions are based on logic and evidence. But even the most rational thinkers meet biases. Consider the sunk cost fallacy. You spend months on a project so you won’t quit. It’s why investors hold underperforming stocks. As a behavioural scientist, I find debiasing practices help firms make smarter decisions.
One way is through a pre-mortem—determining which factors might lead to project failure and reverse planning accordingly.
4. “I decided afresh.”
Many people believe each decision starts from scratch. But context, memory or prior actions can cloud our judgment. For instance, past outcomes create footprints that shape current behavior. It’s a type of memory-based priming that can cause us to keep using failing strategies. Why? We prefer familiar, easy decisions over hard decisions.
To combat this, conduct a “decision audit” to evaluate whether your choice is merit-based or just a habit.
5. “I decided unanimously.”
We often believe that others see the world as we do. But beware: Leaders can overestimate how widely their views are shared, falling into the false consensus effect. This effect is exacerbated by sycophancy and can spark groupthink, ignoring dissent or mistaking silence for support. When Elon Musk overhauled Twitter’s verification system, he was met with user backlash and advertiser retreat. He’s not alone.
Build dissent into your process. Assign a devil’s advocate to challenge views and ensure richer discussions.
6. “I decided fairly.”
We like to think we’re impartial but how options or alternatives are presented carries a subliminal impact—from question order to font size. People regularly default to recommended options simply because they have been framed a certain way. For instance, default enrollment in retirement plans often boosts participation.
To combat subtle nudges, experiment with removing defaults, rotating the order of options or rethinking how information is displayed.
7. “I decided rationally.”
You can justify any decision with logical-sounding reasons, but justification happens unconsciously. This “introspection illusion” leads us to invent plausible explanations for choices. For instance, hiring can be influenced by instinctive reactions to personality, appearance or cultural fit more than by objective metrics.
Keeping a decision journal helps clarify the gap between intention and action, highlighting errors and enabling more conscious reflection.
8. “I decided instinctively.”
Intuition can be valuable—but only when it’s based on well-developed mental models, learning and consistent feedback. In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel prize-winner Daniel Kahneman argued that intuition is reliable in stable environments but can be misleading in volatile contexts.
In unfamiliar territory, pair intuition with structured analysis or seek novel perspectives before deciding.
9. “I decided long-term.”
You might tell yourself you’re thinking ahead, but present bias and temporal discounting can hijack our thinking. We’re wired to favor immediate rewards. However, a better approach is to use time-framing prompts.
This approach can be used for any decision, but I recommend it especially when considering moves like regional expansion, a new product launch or business transformation: Ask, “What decision would my future self thank me for?”
10. “I decided confidently.”
Confidence doesn’t equal accuracy—and can often be a con. In fact, overconfident decision-makers typically rely on excessive data or dashboards that distract from what really matters. In financial institutions, this has led to riskier bets with worse outcomes. Careful calibration will ensure confidence aligns with information quality.
You can establish decision criteria in advance and focus on actionable insights. To decouple confidence from correctness, prioritize action over information.
Smarter decisions start with awareness.
Decisions aren’t made in a vacuum. They’re made in a noisy landscape of subtle influences. It’s hard. The trick to smarter leadership isn’t eliminating bias—it’s recognizing and correcting for it.
In my book TUNE IN: How to Make Smarter Decisions In a Noisy World, I explore 10 “PERIMETERS™” misjudgment traps and 75 contributing biases. By tuning in and adjusting for decision delusions, you can avoid tone-deaf leadership. You can break free from flawed assumptions and take more deliberate action. You can build systems that support better judgment, fewer regrets and sharper outcomes.
So, the next time you face a high-stakes decision, remember that spotting these judgment traps and decision myths is the first step toward inspiring decisions that not only create value but avoid collateral damage.
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