Professional Skills: Navigating Bias

Overview

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Recognize, reduce, and respond to bias in group decision-making. This self-paced course equips professionals with strategies to foster accountability and encourage productive disagreement in any setting. Bias often goes unnoticed but has profound effects on collaboration and decision-making. In Avoiding Bias, led by Dr. Elissa Adame of ASU’s Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, you’ll gain practical tools to identify and reduce cognitive biases, particularly in group settings. The course emphasizes real-world application through interactive content, infographics, and reflection activities. You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how to foster inclusive discussions, promote diverse perspectives, and strengthen group outcomes through structured accountability and intentional disagreement.

Syllabus

Maintaining individual accountability

This module delves into the critical aspect of individual accountability within group decision-making. You will explore the underlying causes of accountability gaps and discover practical resources and strategies to foster a culture where each team member takes ownership of their contributions. By understanding how to build total group agreement and practice solutions for maintaining individual accountability, you will be better equipped to create more effective and responsible teams.

Normalizing disagreement

In this module, you will learn the importance of normalizing disagreement as a constructive force in group decision-making. We will examine how to encourage productive disagreement, moving beyond mere conflict to leverage diverse perspectives for better outcomes. You will gain insights into the causes and resources for fostering healthy debate, practice techniques for encouraging productive disagreement, and understand how to apply these solutions to enhance team effectiveness.

Assigning a devil’s advocate

This module explores the strategic role of a 'devil's advocate' in challenging assumptions and preventing groupthink. You will learn how to effectively assign and utilize a devil's advocate to create productive disagreement and spark deeper discussions. By understanding the causes and resources behind this technique, practicing its application, and reflecting on its impact, you will be able to guarantee disagreement as a tool for more robust and well-considered group decisions.

Course conclusion

This concluding module marks the successful culmination of your efforts in understanding and mitigating bias in group decision-making. It includes an end-of-course survey to gather your valuable feedback, which is crucial for continuous improvement.