[Yoo Hyo-sang's Leader's Misjudgment] Right if you like it, wrong if you don't

Jonathan Levav, a professor at Columbia University MBA, analyzed over 1,000 bail applications processed by experienced judges in Israel over 10 months and published a somewhat unbelievable paper stating that 'the court's bail approval decisions have a high correlation with meal times.' Bail approval decisions were high at 65% right after the start of work in the morning and after lunch, but 0% just before lunch and before the end of work when hunger is felt. These results remained the same even after adjusting for crime type, gender, and incarceration period.

John Bargh, a professor of psychology at Yale University, conducted an experiment on how temperature affects people's judgments and choices. In a job interview with 10 interviewers, 5 were given cold cola and the other 5 were given warm coffee. A surprising event occurred. Interviewers who drank cola rejected the same job applicant, while those who drank coffee decided to hire them. This experiment proved that cold temperatures induce coolness, while warm temperatures induce generosity. Humans change their minds and choose actions even with just a change in temperature. This is due to the 'Priming effect.' The priming effect is a psychological phenomenon where stimuli or experiences presented earlier influence judgments regardless of one's will. This content is detailed in Professor Bargh's world-renowned bestseller 'Before You Know It.'

Jonathan Haidt, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, stated in his paper 'The Emotional Dog and Its Rational Tail' that when people judge something, they first decide right and wrong based on intuition rather than reason, and then logically create the reason.

People always believe they judge and act according to the values and beliefs they pursue. However, judgments and actions at every moment are more often made unconsciously. Even very important decisions can be the result of unconscious involvement. Experts are not much different.

What is the most important virtue of an office worker, the basic rule of wise office life? It's 'awareness.' If you miss the timing when your boss is in a good mood, you may have to listen to nagging over trivial matters, and even reports that would pass without issue have to be rewritten in absurd situations. Observing the boss's expression every morning is a natural routine for office workers. The most distressing moment for office workers is 'when the boss picks on them based on mood,' and survey results show that the most desirable subordinate for senior colleagues is 'a quick-witted junior.'

Subjective emotions of likes and dislikes determine credibility and even create plausible logic. This is the 'Affect Heuristic.' You want to believe and feel favorable towards the words of an employee you like. On the other hand, the report of an employee you dislike somehow feels distrusted. Paul Slovic, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon who established the concept of affect heuristic, researched how human emotions affect judgment and choice, revealing that when in a good mood, there is a strong tendency to focus only on positive effects and minimize risks, while in a bad mood, risks are highlighted and negative outcomes are emphasized.

Humans are beings that respond to emotions, and it is impossible to make judgments completely devoid of emotions. However, when emotions intervene in judgments, the necessity of rational reasoning is easily ignored, and greatly amplified emotions can cover the essence of the problem. Therefore, if an atmosphere that stimulates emotions is formed before making a decision, or if opinions are divided into unconditional positive and negative evaluations on a particular issue, or if likes and dislikes are felt in the proposals of members, it is wise for the leader to delay judgment. This is because unconscious emotions exert much stronger power than reason.

No matter how much a leader likes something, it can be wrong, and even if they dislike it, it can be right. This is why a leader's emotions or preferences in an organization should be cautious.

Yoo Hyo-sang, Director of Unicorn Management Economic Research Institute