The term has its roots in old English law. Referred to as the ostrich instruction it is known as conscious avoidance, contrived ignorance, intentional ignorance, wilful ignorance, or Nelsonian (Ships, I see no ships) knowledge.

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Wilful blindness is present in all aspects of life. Use of the word wilful is a misnomer as displaying wilful blindness is often unconscious. An automation we apply to make sense of situations and interpret the acts of those around us and the institutions and organisations we work in.

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Our use of wilful blindness stems from a deep-seated need to fit in. To be excluded from the group was a death sentence for our primitive ancestors. Not rocking the boat or upsetting the hierarchy was key to remaining in the groups on whom our lives and survival once depended.

In an interdependent world, the once essential ability to turn a blind eye we acquired to ensure our survival in groups, no longer serves us well. Our inherited unwillingness to acknowledge and challenge can lead to wider systemic problems that affect all of us. 

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The collective wilful blindness we suffer from means many of the issues we should be paying attention to, fail to register on our radar. We are individually ignoring the obvious at our collective peril. 

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When we fail to challenge wrongdoing or raise concerns about poor practice or behaviours, it is often because we are afraid to speak up, of being seen as boat-rockers and risking our place in the group. But staying silent can lead to preventable harms and tragedies occurring.

The journey to improvement begins with understanding. To address wilful blindness we have to acknowledge its presence as a condition to be aware of, understood, and managed. Wilful blindness and its related biases are something we all live with, individually and collectively. 

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The aha moment comes when people see how much of their behaviours, actions, responses, and thinking are driven by a need to belong and acknowledge without judgement that the need to rationalize and ignore things that make us uncomfortable, is part of being human.

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The journey toward individual and organisational wilful awareness is continuous. The good news is there are some simple measures and tried and trusted methods that can help in the transition.