Your Boardroom Is Full of People Who Think Exactly Like You

For more thoughts, clips, and updates, follow Avetis Antaplyan on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/avetisantaplyan⁠⁠In this episode of The Tech Leader's Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan sits down with Kylee Ingram, a decision science expert and co-founder of Wizer, a platform built to help leaders design better decision-making rooms at scale. Kylee’s journey began in sports television and documentary work before pivoting into interactive media and ultimately decision intelligence—a shift inspired by her desire to remove industry gatekeepers and build systems that empower diverse thinking.Kylee unpacks the science behind why good leaders still make bad decisions, revealing how cognitive diversity—not just demographic diversity—is the missing ingredient in most executive teams. She breaks down the three hidden biases that compromise leadership groups (social, information, and capacity bias), why “smart people in the room” isn’t enough, and how decision profiles dramatically change communication, hiring, fundraising, and strategic alignment.Through research from Dr. Juliet Burke and real-world examples from organizations like Enron, Kylee illustrates how teams drift toward sameness as companies scale, quietly erasing the diversity of thought needed for innovation. She also shares practical tactics for CEOs to improve decision quality—without slowing down execution—and how leaders can tailor communication to different decision styles for more buy-in, clarity, and outcomes.This episode is a masterclass on designing better rooms, better conversations, and ultimately, better decisions. TakeawaysCognitive diversity—not demographic diversity alone—is what prevents bad decisions in leadership teams.Most CEOs fall into just two decision-making styles, which creates blind spots and groupthink at scale.The “hippo effect” (highest-paid person’s opinion) strongly influences decisions unless leaders intentionally speak last.Independence is critical in decision design; decisions made before people enter the room create false consensus.Structured diversity in decision profiles can reduce decision error by 30% and increase innovation by 20%.Decision profiles offer a practical way to identify missing perspectives (e.g., risk-focused, analytical, visionary).Leaders should audit each decision by asking: “Who is missing from this room?”Communication should match decision styles; most organizations inadvertently ignore analyzers, achievers, and risk-oriented leaders.Designing rooms—not relying on gut instinct—is the most reliable way to scale high-quality decisions.Chapters00:00 The Hidden Problem in Leadership Decisions01:12 Kylee’s Journey: From TV to Decision Intelligence03:07 Early Wins & The Birth of Wizer04:45 When Gut Instinct Isn’t Enough05:40 The Three Biases Undermining Every Leadership Team09:17 The Hippo Effect & Room Dynamics12:22 Cognitive Overload & Oversimplification14:16 Speed vs. Quality: Avoiding Paralysis by Analysis17:38 Cognitive Skew & The Enron Example19:07 The Seven Decision Profiles22:47 Small Teams & Practical Application25:55 Why Personality Tests Don’t Work30:34 Cognitive Drift in Scaling Companies33:10 Conflict Entrepreneurs & Modern Culture34:08 Why the Wrong People Keep Making the Decisions36:00 Designing Better Interviews & Panels37:29 Messaging & Decision Styles41:27 Tailoring Communication Without Manipulation43:07 One Thing CEOs Should Implement This Week45:15 Mapping Your Organization with Wizer47:30 Kylee’s Aha Moments & Reflections49:06 Closing Thoughts & What’s NextKylee Ingram’s Social Media Link:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleeingram/Resources and Links:⁠⁠⁠https://www.hireclout.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.podcast.hireclout.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hirefasthireright⁠