3 simple steps so your team not only navigates uncertainty but thrives in it...

1. Create Psychological Safety

The best ideas won’t surface if people don’t feel safe to share them. Research by Edmondson (1999) found that teams with high psychological safety perform better, take more creative risks, and adapt faster to change. Without it, diverse thinking never gets a chance to shape decisions.

How to apply it:

• Explicitly invite different perspectives in meetings. Instead of “Does anyone have thoughts on this?” ask, “What might we be missing?”
• Normalise disagreement by rewarding thoughtful dissent rather than punishing it. If no one challenges your ideas, your team isn’t thinking deeply enough.
• Model vulnerability by admitting when you don’t have all the answers. When leaders do this, teams are more likely to contribute openly.

2. Make Decision-Making Transparent

Bias thrives in opaque processes. If team members don’t understand how decisions are made, they will assume bias, even if none is intended. Castilla & Benard (2010) found that transparent performance evaluations reduce bias and improve trust.

How to apply it:

• "Hold a 'Think Again' Session": before finalising a major decision, assign team members to explore and present alternative viewpoints. One group can argue for the current approach, another can propose a radically different solution, and a third can challenge both perspectives by identifying blind spots. This helps break default thinking patterns and ensures that all angles are considered before moving forward.

I used this approach in my work with a global leadership team of a motor oil company, to help those leaders strengthen their decision-making processes. By challenging existing assumptions and encouraging team members to take opposing viewpoints, we created a more thoughtful, well-rounded strategy that accounted for blind spots. This kind of structured reflection not only enhances decision quality but also builds trust and engagement across the team.

Another technique is to rotate who leads key discussions so different team members get a chance to shape decisions.

3. Leverage Cognitive Diversity in Problem-Solving

A growing body of research suggests that cognitively diverse teams solve complex problems faster than homogenous ones (Woolley et al., 2010). But diversity alone isn’t enough, you need deliberate processes to activate it.

How to apply it:

• Instead of brainstorming in large groups (where bias and hierarchy often dominate), try silent idea generation first before open discussion.
• Use devil’s advocate roles or assign individuals to argue against the consensus to uncover blind spots.
• Bring in cross-functional perspectives to challenge assumptions, people outside your team often see what insiders miss.

At Go Slow to Go Fast, we believe that if you want your team to adapt, innovate, and make better decisions, your role as a leader isn’t to drive faster, it’s to create space for the best thinking to emerge. 

That means fostering psychological safety, building structured reflection into decision-making, and ensuring a wide range of perspectives are considered before taking action.

Because in an uncertain world, the most effective leaders don’t try to predict the future, they build teams that can navigate whatever the future brings so they can accelerate, together.