Cognitive Mental Shortcuts

Every day, we rely on mental shortcuts.

These shortcuts, also known as cognitive biases, help us make quick decisions. But they also blur the line between feelings and facts. In our fast‐paced world, even the best leaders can fall prey to these biases. They affect everything from our personal decisions to our strategic choices.

In this post, we explore five points that I have had to deal with, both as a leader in a large technology provider and as a Director of an Australian charity organisation. We’ll look how cognitive bias influences our feelings and our grasp of facts. We draw on the latest research in organizational psychology and workplace behavior.

My goal is simple: help you see how your gut feelings can sometimes cloud hard data. And I want you to walk away with clear ideas on how to bridge that gap.

Non-Events Build an Emotional Safety Net That Masks Real Risks

People often say, “Nothing happened before, so it won’t happen now.” When you avoid a crisis day after day, you feel safe. That safety net comes from repeated non-events. It builds an emotional cushion that reinforces the “it won’t happen to me” bias. It is this bias that makes you ignore real risks that you can measure in hard facts.

Recent research in leadership shows that leaders sometimes rely on this false sense of security¹. Studies reveal that when nothing seems to go wrong, leaders tend to discount warning signals even if data tells another story. In the workplace, this means you might skip important safeguards. For instance, many firms delay adopting security measures like multi-factor authentication (MFA) because they believe breaches are unlikely.

Short-term relief is powerful. It tricks your brain into believing that danger is far away. Over time, this comfort distorts your risk assessments. Facts such as past breaches or rising cyber threats get pushed aside by emotions. You begin to trust that no news is good news. That trust, however, can be dangerous. If you base decisions only on what you feel rather than on data, you risk missing early warning signs.

The message here is clear: just because nothing bad has happened yet does not mean you are safe. It is crucial to question your emotional safety net. Challenge the “it won’t happen to me” mindset.

For all leaders, that means letting yourself observe. This observation must come from a place of zen.

Most leaders are so fired up from the morning to evening, solving all the problems, firefighting crises, and dealing with escalations that they charge headlong into rapidly making a decision.

Rather than letting the feeling of being overwhelmed guide your reponse, let your powerful observation capabilities lead you to prioritise effectively. This means letting facts and hard data reset your comfort level. Only then can you build a robust defense against real risks.

How Does the Comfort of Avoiding Immediate Harm Downplay Real Threats?

When you feel safe now, you often ignore future dangers. Immediate comfort can dull your sensitivity to facts.

In other words, the emotional ease of dodging potential, unrealised, short-term harm makes you less alert to measurable threats. As a leader, your silent acceptance directly impacts the culture that you drive in your team, your department, and your broader organisation.

To really drive this point home, as leaders, we often take shortcuts on decisions that are at the borders of policy. In our minds, we’ve evaluated the potential consequences and have made a small decision. When I say “small”, I mean it is a decision that is small to us, has limited scope, and may be a shortcut just this one time. It’s the easy decision to make because the alternative is hard and there are so many other things on your plate.

I get it, I’ve been there too.

But, I have seen time and time again that these moments are the ones where true leadership matters. Whatever decision you make, whether you allow something to happen or you sweep under the rug because it was too hard to deal with, your team will take your small decision and use it as a basis for making larger choices, typically when you are not around.

It is in these moments where leadership is tested and refined. Decisions may appear small to you but have significant consequences for others, including setting the culture for the broader organisation.

Past Non-Events Distort Our Risk Assessments

Our feelings are powerful guides. When nothing bad has happened in the past, our gut tells us that we are invincible. This emotional reassurance, however, can twist our view of actual risk. As a result, you might skip essential measures, which encourages the team to skip them too.

It is very hard to prioritise boring things, like cybersecurity or MFA setup. At our organisation, we had to onboard about 50 people into MFA.

Even to begin thinking about all the things we had to do gave me a headache.

However, the the cost of reconstructing everything from scratch, everything that we had built since 2023, gave me an even bigger headache. Encouraging people, especially peers, is a key part of any strong leader.

It means we have to go the extra mile to motivate people in ways that we did not expect. Of no surprise, it’s also great to have a champion or three, who are praising the virtues of whatever project or initiative you are trying to land.

Some of the phrases we tell ourselves are:

• “Nothing happened last year.”
• “So, it probably won’t happen this year.”
• “If it does happen, it probably won’t be that bad. We have DR & BCP.”

But facts say otherwise. Plus, who has actually tested their DR & BCP? And here I mean really, really tested it?

The gap between what you feel and what the data shows can be wide. Employees rely on their gut feelings. They see smooth operations day after day. They ignore the hard numbers.

The same employees then provide rosy pictures to their coordinators, managers, and finally executives receive the most glowing story. I am always constructively skeptical of a glowing story because nothing is ever glowing.

As the famous proverb goes, “Trust, but verify.” ²

How Open Dialogue About Risk Creates a Balance Between Emotions and Facts

Leaders often shy away from discussing risk openly. They worry that talking about danger will spread panic. However, avoiding these conversations can deepen emotional biases. By openly discussing risk, you create a space where feelings meet hard facts.

This space is also where personal blindspots can be brought into focus.

The key to such dialogue is active listening, which means really listening to what people are saying, rather than waiting for an opportune pause in the conversation to jump in with corporate-speak.

Recent insights from leadership studies suggest that transparency is key. When leaders talk openly about potential threats, it forces the organization to face reality. Employees begin to understand that their emotional comfort may be masking real dangers. In one study, organizations that held regular risk discussions saw a better balance between gut feelings and factual data. ³ This is an incredible cultural result for leaders who are trying to get people to engage with the organisation.

At the charity, we are trialling a radical transparency initiative with our leaders to give them a view into how we are making strategic decisions, what our driving factors are, and how we are evolving policy and procedures.

This highlights the point that open dialogue is not about causing alarm. It is about ensuring that everyone has a clear picture of the challenges ahead. When you discuss risk in plain language, you demystify the numbers. People learn that risk is not just an abstract idea but a real, measurable factor. They see that a minor discomfort today can prevent major losses tomorrow.

Encourage your team to ask tough questions. Add a risk conversation into your other, regular briefings. Share case studies and real-world examples. Let your data be known. This approach helps align the emotional and factual sides of decision-making.

It also builds trust because people feel that their leaders are not hiding anything. They know that both feelings and facts are given their due weight. In the end, open dialogue creates a culture where balanced decision-making thrives.

Personal Narratives Linked to Real Data

Stories are powerful. They connect personal experience with facts and data. When you share a narrative that ties an employee’s experience to real-world numbers, you can break through the “it won’t happen to me” mindset. Personal stories humanise abstract risks and make facts relatable.

Research shows that leaders who share personal experiences help align emotional responses with factual vulnerabilities. For instance, when a leader recounts a near-miss or a lesson learned from a security incident, the audience listens. They connect with the story. They see that risk is not just a statistic but a lived experience. ⁴

Narratives can be cold and impersonal or they can be humanised and relateable. While data is cold and non-human, a story sticks like a fireplace warming up a cold night.

In every story, there is a story teller and a story listener.
It is our choice how that story is told.

Integrating narratives into your communications can transform how your team perceives any of the decisions that need to be made. Consider including a brief story in every town hall meeting. Share how mistakes were rectified. Pair that story with the exact numbers: the cost saved, the downtime avoided, the potential customer loss prevented. This blend of emotion and fact makes the risk real.

Moreover, narratives can serve as reminders. They help employees remember why they need to follow protocols. They break the cycle of complacency that builds from long periods of smooth sailing. By connecting personal experience with measurable facts, you reinforce the idea that risk is always present, even if most times invisible.

Encourage leaders at all levels to share their own stories. Make it part of your regular team meetings. Use these stories to illustrate both success and failure. This practice not only humanizes risk management but also promotes a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.

Aligning Emotions With Facts for Better Leadership

Cognitive biases are a double-edged sword. They help us make fast decisions. Yet they can also mislead us when feelings override facts. I encourage all the leaders I work with to be aware of how non-events build emotional safety nets.

You need to ask tough questions about why the comfort of today may mask tomorrow’s risks.

Open dialogue is key. When you discuss risks openly, you force your organization to confront hard facts.

And by integrating personal narratives with real data, you create a balance between what you feel and what is true. The result is better decision-making and stronger leadership.

Remember these five points:

1. Past non-events build a false emotional safety net.
2. Immediate comfort can dull your alertness to real threats.
3. Over time, feelings of safety distort objective risk assessments.
4. Open, honest discussions about risk help bridge the gap.
5. Personal stories paired with data make risks real and relatable.

As noted, these insights come from the latest research in organizational psychology and workplace behavior. Leaders across industries have faced similar challenges and they have learned that balancing gut feelings with data leads to better outcomes.

Now is the time to challenge your own biases. And share your stories. When you do, you set a standard. You show that strong leadership is built on both empathy and evidence.

Your decisions affect your company’s future. By aligning emotions with facts, you create a culture of resilience. In this way, you enable and prepare your organization for challenges before they become crises. And that is the hallmark of visionary leadership.

Step forward with courage. Let data and personal experience guide you. And remember that when bridging the gap between feelings and facts, you pave the way for lasting success.