Listening will help us make intelligent decisions
There are a number of conflicting priorities about what we should do in the next stage of our response to Covid-19. These differences of opinion extend to how we should name what we are doing. A lot of the options seem to begin with ‘Re’: recovery, renewal, rebuilding, reimagining, reformation…
In my biased opinion (we’ll come back to that later), I think whatever comes next, outcomes will be improved if we listen to each other better. This requires us to take a step back and challenge our own assumptions about what the right thing to do is, who the right people are to do it, and whether we are the person/team/organisation with the answers. We must also try to see the world from other people’s perspectives and tune in to their view of the world, so we can access the widest set of insights.
So before we dig into this too much, let me start with something I hope we can all agree on: how we view and understand the world and how it might be improved, varies from person to person. This depends on our experience, exposure to ideas, backgrounds and our current contexts. There are more reasons and you will have opinions on which are the most important, or the obvious ones I have missed. In short, we all have a lens through which we view the world and the people around us.
Our lenses on the world can be extremely helpful. They help us apply our expertise to different challenges by giving us focus. They give us confidence that we know what the right answer is, and zoom in our areas of expertise. They can also help us see the biases people have and the mistakes they are making. However, these lenses can also stop us seeing problems with fresh eyes, from different angles or from the perspective of others.
In our household discussions over recent weeks have been weighted toward childcare provision, the impact on women and what this all means for local government. The things we know about, the things we care about, the things our lenses on the world bring into focus.
These are issues and beliefs that matter to us more than they matter to other people, and this frames what we think should happen. You will be having your own set of conversations at home and at work; what matters to you in your own context will influence what you are discussing.
My Twitter feed is awash with ‘now, more than ever’ statements by people talking about the issues they have always most cared about. This could be the use of technology and data, climate change, jobs, housing, education, mental health, diversity — take your pick. All these things matter, but they always matter and it feels to me that people are taking the ‘facts’ of the current crisis to support their existing belief structures. I get it. It would be strange if the leader of the Green Party were not pushing for a Green New deal or for people in mental health services not to be advocating for improved support.
The problem is that at some point we are going to have to make some choices about priorities and the order in which we do things, even if we are aiming for systemic change. Do we focus on jobs first or mental health? Do we try to keep vehicles off the road to maintain improvements in air quality, or do we return to “normal” to help boost the economy?
These binary choices are overly simplistic, but how would you feel about your ‘thing’ not being the priority? It will be hard, right? Because it is clearly, based on your objective facts, the most important issue right now.
It feels like a good time to talk about confirmation bias and why it matters — now more than ever…
This article, How Confirmation Bias Works, is a helpful introduction if you’d like some background. The very short version is that when we have a theory or belief, we only seek out, remember and act on information that supports our position.
Whatever our particular ‘now more than ever’ priority is, we are almost certainly overvaluing the facts that support our beliefs, and undervaluing information that challenges our positions.
Confirmation bias means we risk undervaluing the input of people who have different beliefs from ours, or who we believe are not clever/supportive/rebellious enough. It is much easier (and better for our egos) to think that other people either just ‘don’t get it’ or have their own biases than to really listen to what people are saying. It also seems much easier to notice when someone else has fixed viewpoint or a narrow lens, than to see our own.
This means we are missing out on a diversity of perspectives that could help up be more innovative and improve outcomes. In Rebel Ideas, Matthew Syed outlines the importance of a diversity of ideas and insights when solving big problems and some of the reason this does not happen.
I have borrowed a model from Rebel Ideas to help illustrate why confirmation bias matters. The rectangle in each picture represents all the possible ‘insights, perspectives, experience thinking styles relevant to a particular problem or objective. The circle represents the knowledge and experience of an individual. In this context, ‘teams’ are those groups of people we have formed, across services and organisations, to help tackle the challenges we face.
For complex problems, one person cannot have all the relevant insights but for a number of reasons we too often build ‘unintelligent teams’; we gather people around us who share our ideas and perspectives on the ‘right’ priorities and what matters in the world. This is natural and very easy to do.
“…think how comforting it is to be surrounded by people who think in the same way, who mirror our perspectives, who confirm our prejudices. It makes us feel smarter. It validates our world view…these dangers are as ancient as mankind itself.” Matthew Syed, Rebel Ideas
Syed highlights that diversity, in terms of protected characteristics, is important but that teams may still lack cognitive diversity.
To have “intelligent” teams, we need to listen to a range of people with different perspectives and outlooks. There are lot of reasons why this does not happen (including dominant leaders, echo chambers, a lack of psychological safety) but recognising and trying to manage out unconscious bias is a good place to start. It is something we can begin to impact that feels manageable and helpful.
So what can we do overcome confirmation bias, expand our understanding and produce better outcomes for the people we serve?
Here are a few ideas that I try to use but that I definitely need more practice with — my ego really likes being right!
1. Try to recognise when you are viewing a problem and potential solutions through your lens and discounting facts that do not fit with your beliefs. Maybe stick your own confirmation bias circles to your screen, like the one included above.
2. You may have an “intelligent team”: a diverse group including residents, front line staff, policy folk, academics etc., but you might still be overvaluing information from within that team that supports your beliefs. It is good to get other people in the team (or outside) to see raw forms of information (surveys, transcripts, data etc.) and ask them whether what jumps out for them is different to what you thought was important. This will help test your assumptions of what matter. It’s good to do this individually, before people are influenced by others.
3. Notice your emotional reaction when someone challenges your ideas. What did you feel? Who made you feel that way? Is it always the same people? What is your belief about them?
4. Seek out the people you do not want to hear from — the honest ones who tell it like it is but do not always share your beliefs. It can be uncomfortable, but it can also be valuable.
5. To quote Steven Covey — “most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Be someone who is trying to understand. A great way to do this is to get more information before trying to defend your position or belief. Questions such as “can you expand on that for me?” or “Why do you think that matters?”
And finally, one for all the leaders.
It is time to give space to the people that maybe have not had the chance to speak or not seen as the ‘thought leaders’ in your organisation. This might mean listening to the people without the fancy slide deck, the Twitter followers and those who say they ‘know’ what the answer is. This means finding the people who are not sure.
