Have you ever caught yourself saying those words — even just in your head?
See? I knew it. I was right all along.
There is something deeply satisfying about being right. And that satisfaction is exactly what makes confirmation bias so tricky to spot, especially when you are the one in charge.
What Is Confirmation Bias, Really?
Confirmation bias comes out of psychology, and at its core, it is simple: we tend to look for evidence that supports what we already believe while dismissing evidence that contradicts it. We are not questioning our thinking. We are reinforcing it.
For leaders in positional authority, the stakes are particularly high. Your decisions carry weight. Your perspective shapes culture. And if that perspective is filtered through a lens you have never examined, the impact ripples outward in ways you may not fully see.
What Does This Look Like in Practice?
You hire someone from your alma mater. You have a good feeling about them. Over time, when critical feedback surfaces, you find yourself minimizing it, focusing on what they do well while the warning signs quietly accumulate.
Or you have a bold vision for a new direction. When your board raises hesitations, you chalk it up to resistance to change. The feedback does not land because it does not fit the story you have already written.
Neither of these leaders is acting in bad faith. They are simply human. But “simply human” can have real consequences when your decisions affect other people’s careers and wellbeing.
Why This Matters More at the Top
The higher you rise, the fewer people feel comfortable telling you something you do not want to hear. Over time, the feedback you receive becomes curated. And if confirmation bias is already at work, you are less likely to notice what is missing.
Here is a question worth sitting with: When was the last time someone pushed back on you and it actually shifted your thinking?
A Different Way to Lead
The goal is not to distrust your instincts. Your experience matters. The goal is to invite others to test your thinking before you commit to it.
This sounds like: What have I missed? What might be the downside? Who would disagree with this, and why? These are not signs of weakness. They are the habits of a leader who understands that the best decisions are stress-tested ones.
When you make these questions a regular practice, something shifts. People feel safer bringing you the full picture rather than the version they think you want to hear. That is when your information gets better, and so do your decisions.
Confirmation bias is not a character flaw. It is a deeply human tendency worth watching. The leaders who build the most trust over time are not the ones who are never wrong. They are the ones who recognize that their thinking and decision-making are often stronger in collaboration with others.
