Cognitive Biases to Avoid for Leading Remote Teams Like a Magician
As a business speaker and magician, I’ve always thrived on creating powerful, shared experiences—turning gasps into growth, and “wow” moments into real-world wisdom. For two decades, that magic happened on stages in front of live audiences. But when the world changed, so did I. I had to reimagine how to connect, lead, and inspire—all from a home office instead of a spotlight. The result? My most successful year yet.
Now, I help leaders and remote teams uncover how to connect just as powerfully, even without the in-person energy. And a big part of that comes down to understanding the cognitive biases that silently shape the way we lead and make decisions—especially in remote environments.
Let’s explore five common cognitive biases that can quietly sabotage your leadership and how to defuse them like a mentalist mastering their craft.
1. Proximity Bias: Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Our brains equate physical closeness with connection, importance, and control. It’s an evolutionary shortcut that served us well when collaboration required sharing a cave—or an office. But in hybrid or fully remote teams, this bias can show up in subtle ways: favoring those you see in person, giving more attention to colleagues who pop up in the hallway, or unconsciously overlooking remote team members during meetings.
To counteract proximity bias:
- Be visually present. Encourage team members to drop the virtual backgrounds and show their real spaces. Seeing a colleague’s dog trot through the room creates a surprising sense of closeness.
- Create shared spaces. Try “virtual watercooler” sessions or open audio/video channels where team members can drop in for casual chats.
- Rotate visibility. Deliberately invite input from those you don’t interact with regularly. Give remote voices equal weight in discussions and decisions.
- Make time for remote-only check-ins. Build relationships that aren’t limited by who happens to be near you physically.
Great leadership is about being intentional—not letting your brain’s default settings dictate who gets your attention.
2. Similarity Bias: The Mirror Trap
We gravitate toward people who remind us of ourselves—whether in background, thinking style, communication, or even hobbies. While it may feel natural, this bias narrows our circles and limits diverse perspectives. In leadership, it can lead to overlooking talent that doesn’t “fit the mold” or unintentionally creating cliques in your team.
The magician’s solution? Shared experience.
One of the most powerful aspects of a magic show is that no matter who you are or where you’re from, you feel the same sense of awe when something impossible happens. It bonds a crowd of strangers in an instant.
How to create this effect remotely:
- Organize experiences that spark emotion and memory—something beyond the typical Zoom happy hour.
- Invite different team members to lead fun, skill-sharing sessions.
- Schedule cross-functional projects or rotating coffee chats to mix up your team’s regular interactions.
- Develop rituals—monthly storytelling meetings, challenge weeks, or group learning experiences—to create common ground.
The magic of connection comes from emotional resonance, not physical presence or shared resumes.
3. Anchoring Bias: The First Impression Problem
Our minds latch onto the first piece of information we get about a person or situation. This becomes an “anchor” we judge all subsequent information against. In remote work, that anchor might be the chaotic early days of 2020 when teams scrambled to adjust to a new normal. If that initial experience was overwhelming or frustrating, it can be hard to let go—even if things have significantly improved.
So how do you reframe the narrative?
- Showcase progress. Create visual timelines or stories that show how far your team has come since those early days.
- Bring in outside voices. Invite remote-first team leaders or distributed work experts to share their successes. Their fresh perspective can help your team unhook from outdated anchors.
- Change the setting. Try different tools, meeting formats, or working hours to break the pattern and reset expectations.
In magic, anchoring is a powerful misdirection tool. In leadership, it can become a limitation—unless you actively re-anchor your team in what’s possible now.
4. Status Quo Bias: Comfort Over Change
Humans prefer the familiar. It’s safer, simpler, and more predictable. But in a rapidly shifting world, especially one where remote and hybrid work is here to stay, clinging to the old way of doing things can hold your team back.
When I transitioned from live events to virtual keynotes, I had to let go of the assumption that magic only works face-to-face. Once I did, I discovered new techniques that worked even better on screen. The result wasn’t just a workaround—it was a transformation.
To challenge the status quo bias:
- Ask your team: What are we still doing just because we always have?
- Redesign one process or ritual to better suit remote work each month.
- Empower team members to pitch improvements and run experiments.
- Celebrate what’s better about working remotely: flexibility, fewer interruptions, global talent.
If your “normal” is holding you back, it’s time to invent a new one. Leadership magic happens when you’re bold enough to redesign the rules.
5. Confirmation Bias: Believing What You Already Believe
Confirmation bias leads us to seek evidence that supports our existing opinions—and to ignore or dismiss anything that challenges them. If you’re skeptical about remote work, you’ll notice every dropped video call and missed deadline, but you might miss the increased productivity, autonomy, or job satisfaction your team is actually experiencing.
The best magicians thrive in the unknown. We don’t fear uncertainty—we use it to create wonder. Likewise, the best leaders embrace being wrong, being surprised, and learning something new.
To beat confirmation bias:
- Look for counterevidence. What’s one way remote work has benefited your team?
- Invite feedback from multiple levels—not just your inner circle.
- Try one thing that feels risky or unconventional in your remote leadership style.
- Encourage open debate and curiosity, even around sacred cows.
When you challenge your own assumptions, you not only grow—you give your team permission to do the same.
6. Availability Heuristic
The trap: We tend to overestimate the importance or frequency of information that comes easily to mind—like that one time someone missed a meeting or dropped the ball in a remote setup.
Why it matters remotely: In the absence of face-to-face interaction, small missteps may stick in your memory more vividly and color your view of someone’s overall performance.
What to do:
- Keep track of performance patterns over time, not just standout moments.
- Build regular 1:1s into your schedule to create more consistent and balanced mental impressions.
- Use objective data—like project timelines or client feedback—to counterbalance your memory’s natural bias.
7. Attribution Bias
The trap: We tend to attribute other people’s actions to their personality or character (“They’re lazy”), while attributing our own actions to external circumstances (“I was just having a rough day”).
Why it matters remotely: Without the nuance of body language or tone, it’s easy to misread messages or actions. A short message might feel dismissive when it’s just rushed. A late reply might seem like disinterest when it’s just poor Wi-Fi.
What to do:
- Assume positive intent. If you wouldn’t jump to conclusions in person, don’t do it online.
- Use video and voice for sensitive conversations to reintroduce emotional context.
- Encourage openness around context: normalize saying, “Hey, I’m under pressure today, but I’ll circle back.”
8. The Dunning-Kruger Effect
The trap: People with low ability at a task often overestimate their ability, while high performers may underestimate themselves.
Why it matters remotely: It’s harder to spot when someone is struggling silently or when another team member is quietly excelling. The loudest voice in a Zoom meeting might not have the best ideas, and the quietest one may be a hidden gem.
What to do:
- Use written follow-ups or collaborative documents to give more people space to express their ideas.
- Regularly rotate facilitation or leadership roles in meetings to surface untapped leadership potential.
- Pay attention to subtle cues and ask open-ended questions during check-ins.
9. Planning Fallacy
The trap: We underestimate how long tasks will take, even when we know similar tasks have taken longer in the past.
Why it matters remotely: Without the in-office structure and visible progress tracking, it’s easier to underestimate timelines and overpromise.
What to do:
- Add intentional buffers to project plans.
- Encourage teams to break down tasks into micro-deadlines.
- Use retrospectives to compare planned vs. actual effort and adjust planning accuracy.
Final Thought: Great Leadership Is a Mentalist’s Game
Being an effective remote leader isn’t just about mastering tools and time zones. It’s about understanding how the mind works—yours and your team’s. When you become aware of your own cognitive traps, you free yourself to lead with more clarity, fairness, and impact.
Want to elevate your remote leadership? Start by questioning your perceptions. Challenge your assumptions. And above all, create moments of magic—even through a screen.
Because when you lead like a magician, the impossible starts to feel natural.
