For their book Freestyle Decision Making, Drs Mona and Ari Riabacke set out to discover the key influences – environmental, social and biological – that trigger bias and prevent leaders from making cool, clear, dispassionate decisions. If leaders can identify what is affecting and biasing their thinking they are more likely to be able to shrug off those forces. “It’s crucial, because otherwise their organization’s future is in the hands of ‘hidden forces’ – their biases,” Mona Riabacke tells Dialogue. “It’s important that leaders acquire awareness of what triggers people to act as they do when they make decisions.