Ethical Blind Spot Mapping (EBSM) Checklist
This toolkit is a practical application of behavioral science, designed to protect a leadership team from its own worst instincts. It provides a quick, scannable checklist to help leaders identify and mitigate the common cognitive biases—like groupthink or confirmation bias—that can lead to disastrous ethical and strategic errors. Use this tool as a final "sense check" before a major commitment to ensure your decision is a product of lucidity, not a hidden bias.
How to Use This Tool
Use this checklist in the final moments before committing to a course of action (10-15 minute review). It is a final "sense check" to ensure your reasoning is as clear and unbiased as possible. For each question, discuss it briefly as a team and check the box if you are confident you have addressed the potential bias.
Decision Being Checked: [State the final decision you are about to make.]
Category 1: Biases Related to Information Processing
These biases affect how we seek and interpret information, leading us to a flawed version of reality.
Category 2: Biases Related to Group Dynamics
These biases emerge when we make decisions as a team, creating pressure to conform and silencing dissent.
Category 3: Biases Related to Self-Interest & Short-Termism
These biases prioritize immediate or personal gain over long-term, collective value.
Category 4: Biases Related to Ethical Fading
These biases cause the ethical dimensions of a decision to fade from view.
The Pre-Mortem Check
This final, forward-looking question is designed to uncover risks your team may be too optimistic to see otherwise.
Scoring & Go/No-Go Threshold
Count the number of unchecked boxes from all sections above. This score determines your next step.
The "Targeted Review" Protocol
If your score is 3-5, your team should:
List the Unchecked Items: Clearly identify the 3-5 unchecked biases.
Brainstorm Risks (10 mins): For each item, spend a few minutes brainstorming the specific risks associated with that blind spot.
Define Mitigations: For each risk, propose one concrete action to mitigate it before proceeding.
Re-Check: Once mitigations are agreed upon, you can check the corresponding boxes and proceed.
The "No-Go" Protocol
If your score is 6 or more, do not proceed. Instead, your team must take the following steps:
Halt the Decision: Immediately pause any further action. Announce that the EBSM checklist has flagged a "No-Go."
Identify Core Issues: As a group, identify the top 3-5 unchecked biases that are of greatest concern.
Take Targeted De-biasing Actions: For each core issue, implement a specific countermeasure.
If Confirmation Bias is an issue... formally assign a "devil's advocate" to prepare and present a well-reasoned case against the proposed decision.
If Groupthink is an issue... conduct an anonymous poll to gather honest opinions without social pressure.
If Short-Termism is an issue... mandate a "Future-Self" exercise: "Imagine it is 3 years from now and this decision was a disaster. What went wrong?"
If Moral Muteness is an issue... immediately re-run the decision analysis using the CLARIFY Framework, with an explicit instruction to fill out the "Align Values" section with rigorous detail.
Re-evaluate: After the de-biasing actions have been completed, run the EBSM checklist again on the (potentially revised) decision. The decision can only proceed once it achieves a "Go" or "Review" verdict.