Ting Zhang
1. What did she study? One concept/idea
Ting Zhang studies wisdom in everyday decision-making, with a focus on how people can make better judgments by adopting different perspectives (e.g., “wise reasoning”). She also looks at interventions that improve decision quality, like reflecting from a third-person perspective or revisiting past experiences.
________________________________________
2. Why interesting for a company?
Organizations constantly face complex, high-stakes decisions. Zhang’s work is useful because it shows how managers and employees can overcome cognitive biases and make more balanced, less ego-driven decisions. This has direct impact on leadership, negotiations, conflict resolution, and strategic planning.
________________________________________
3. What did she identify? What is her main result?
One of her key findings:
• People often reason more wisely about other people’s problems than their own.
• By adopting a “fly-on-the-wall” perspective (third-person viewpoint), individuals show more humility, foresight, and balance in decision-making.
Main result: Psychological distance can improve the quality of reasoning and lead to wiser outcomes.
________________________________________
4. Managerial implication
Leaders and teams should:
• Use perspective-taking exercises before making critical choices.
• Encourage employees to frame challenges as if advising someone else.
• Design processes that foster reflection and distancing (e.g., scenario planning, post-mortems).
This reduces overconfidence and improves long-term decision outcomes.
________________________________________
5. Boundary condition
Her findings hold most strongly when:
• People have time to reflect (quick, high-pressure decisions reduce the benefit).
• Problems are open-ended/complex, not trivial.
• Cultures or individuals value humility and perspective-taking — in highly individualistic or fast-paced environments, distancing strategies may be underused.
________________________________________
👉 In short: Ting Zhang shows that shifting perspective unlocks wiser choices, which is highly relevant for companies aiming to improve leadership and decision-making quality.
By Saar Dayers & Martina Ritacco
1. What did she study? One concept/idea
Ting Zhang studies wisdom in everyday decision-making, with a focus on how people can make better judgments by adopting different perspectives (e.g., “wise reasoning”). She also looks at interventions that improve decision quality, like reflecting from a third-person perspective or revisiting past experiences.
________________________________________
2. Why interesting for a company?
Organizations constantly face complex, high-stakes decisions. Zhang’s work is useful because it shows how managers and employees can overcome cognitive biases and make more balanced, less ego-driven decisions. This has direct impact on leadership, negotiations, conflict resolution, and strategic planning.
________________________________________
3. What did she identify? What is her main result?
One of her key findings:
• People often reason more wisely about other people’s problems than their own.
• By adopting a “fly-on-the-wall” perspective (third-person viewpoint), individuals show more humility, foresight, and balance in decision-making.
Main result: Psychological distance can improve the quality of reasoning and lead to wiser outcomes.
________________________________________
4. Managerial implication
Leaders and teams should:
• Use perspective-taking exercises before making critical choices.
• Encourage employees to frame challenges as if advising someone else.
• Design processes that foster reflection and distancing (e.g., scenario planning, post-mortems).
This reduces overconfidence and improves long-term decision outcomes.
________________________________________
5. Boundary condition
Her findings hold most strongly when:
• People have time to reflect (quick, high-pressure decisions reduce the benefit).
• Problems are open-ended/complex, not trivial.
• Cultures or individuals value humility and perspective-taking — in highly individualistic or fast-paced environments, distancing strategies may be underused.
________________________________________
👉 In short: Ting Zhang shows that shifting perspective unlocks wiser choices, which is highly relevant for companies aiming to improve leadership and decision-making quality.
By Saar Dayers & Martina Ritacco