Although not the sort of topic I usually write a blog on (I don’t usually like to advertise my slightly suspect choice of weekend viewing) the furore over this week’s episode of the ‘X Factor’ struck a real chord with me - from a psychological perspective.

According to news reports, fans have been ‘up in arms’ over judge, Cheryl Cole’s, decision making. For those of you who don’t watch the programme, one of the contestants, Cher Lloyd, had a very poor final audition, and yet still ended up going through to the live finals. On the other hand, Gamu Nhengu, whose performance had been consistently excellent, was rejected.

Normally this kind of reality TV injustice wouldn’t bother me. This instance, however, strikes at the heart of the issues that we, and all organisations, face in selection. Making the best decision should be simple. In reality, our ability to make rational and objective decisions is often compromised by our unconscious bias.

The ‘similar-to-me’ effect is well documented in the research. Basically, we tend to like and respond most favourably to people whom we perceive to be similar to us. This may be a physical similarity, a personality characteristic or just from being in the same ‘group’ e.g. being fans of the same football team, having studied at the same university etc. Basically, it’s your brain’s short-cut logic telling you: ‘well I’m a good singer/accountant/manager… and they are like me. So they must also be a good singer/ accountant/manager’.

I’m not saying for a second that Cheryl deliberately chose Cher because they look alike. The point is that these effects - and our reactions - are unconscious. I do, however, think that it would have influenced her decision.

Cheryl Cole of course is not alone. We’re all subject to the ‘similar-to-me’ effect and many other unconscious biases. It is part of the human condition. Although these are short cuts that speed up our decision making process, they aren’t helpful in making considered, meritocratic decisions. This applies to any organisation when making people decisions, whether hiring, promoting, making redundant or even appraising at the end of the year.

So whilst I hope many of you won’t be losing much sleep over Cheryl’s X Factor decision, I’d encourage you all to think carefully when you’re making decisions about people at work. Recognising potential bias and focusing only on the things that matter for a decision is vital for the best outcome – not only for talent show judges, but for all of us in our everyday, working lives.