Our natural biases affect how we lead and who we follow. Understand them and sharpen your instincts.

“False Consensus Effect”

What is the False Consensus Effect?

The tendency to assume one’s thoughts are shared by others without direct confirmation.

Business Relevance

“You cannot provide value to our company and I know the decision maker will agree with me.”

Difficulty

When someone feels so strongly that they assume others at their company will definitely agree with them, counterarguments are rarely effective.

Everyday Application

The first step to overcome this bias is to reinforce individuality between the other associates at the company. If you’re speaking to a CMO who feels confident that the CTO will agree that you cannot provide value, there may be technical specifics that the CTO will identify with over the CMO due to their individual expertise.

A bolder method to overcome this bias is to contact other influencers or decision makers directly. Explain that you spoke to someone else who didn’t quite feel there was value but address the specifics that can uniquely resonate with your new audience.

Just because one person feels confident that you cannot help them, others may not feel the same way. Do not throw away a good lead if you know you can provide value just because someone cannot see it through their perspective.