Blind Spots, Biases and Other Pathologies in the Boardroom

Chapter 2

Group Influences on Individual Behavior

Vanessa Roberts walked out of the boardroom frustrated and headed to the restroom to collect her thoughts. She had just confronted fellow director Harry Sykes about his decision to vote—along with the other four directors—to support the proposal to change the compensation metrics for Hayman Inc.’s business unit heads. Vanessa was convinced the reward scheme was not appropriate and would alienate more junior and team-oriented employees. In a professional services firm, she knew this could be costly. Just yesterday, as they discussed the matter on the plane, Harry had agreed with her. Over the course of discussion, however, Harry first seemed uncertain and then ultimately agreed with the other ...