Dien Drmwansa

Many years ago, I had a very senior manager who seemed to have a problem with my existence. He did not like my hair, my suit, my tie, or the way I spoke. He even seemed irritated when I arrived early at the office. When he heard that I was turning around a particular department, he became furious. It was fascinating to watch. The work was progressing, yet something about me appeared to trouble him. I have thought about that experience many times since. “When you develop your opinions on the basis of weak evidence, you will have difficulty interpreting subsequent information that contradicts these opinions.” This is how bias operates in organisations. A manager meets a new employee who arrives late during the first week. The employee is labelled unreliable. Six months later, the employee has an excellent attendance record, delivers consistently and meets every target. The manager calls it luck, dismisses the results or finds another reason to question the employee. The evidence has changed. The judgement has survived. Once an opinion becomes established, people can begin interpreting facts to protect it. Performance reviews become exercises in confirmation. Talent decisions become personal. Capable people lose opportunities because someone formed an opinion before they had enough evidence to make a fair assessment. This is expensive for organisations. It distorts talent decisions, weakens trust and allows personal preferences to influence institutional outcomes. I have learnt that one of the most consequential responsibilities of leadership is to question the conclusions we reach about people. What evidence informed your first judgement? What evidence has emerged since? Would you reach the same conclusion if you were assessing this person for the first time today? Write down your initial assessment. Revisit it. Look for evidence that challenges it. Give people the opportunity to change your mind. A leader who cannot revise an opinion in the face of new evidence eventually becomes a liability to the organisation. #drcbspeaks