Justifying one’s own behaviour is one of the great, dominant human traits. Even in the face of some of the most damning evidence, its presence and carry can be formidable. Indeed, the greater the moment so too the tide of self-justification tends to grow in kind.
It’s a balancing act that can build and build, despite all logic.
This type of “Self-Deception” can be seen all around us with even the smallest examples at work, on the weekend sporting fields and at home.
There are all kinds of language that we have invented to smooth out such thinking. I had a wry smile on the weekend when one of the boys on my son’s football team called out “why am I the one doing all the running?”, as he held onto the ball for too long and lost it to the other team accordingly.
Possibly my favourite language of self-deception in recent times in the corporate arena is the emergence of the term “unintended consequences”. Managers have taken to this term with vigour in two distinct scenarios: -
Making one’s self feel better about a poor decision that was made
Letting someone else off the hook for a poor decision they have made
In most circumstances, it was a clear and obvious consequence that we simply chose to ignore. Calling it unintended lets us off the hook by explaining that we still think we made the right decision at that time. Effectively – I wasn’t wrong, it just turned out that way.
Even with the existence of actual unintended consequences, self-deception helps us to avoid a realistic conversation about what should have been done differently to uncover these impacts.
Managers have unintended consequences.
Leaders make mistakes that are talked about, learnt from and resolved.
Self-Deception is one of the great allies of inertia in organisations as executives and middle management continue to justify decisions and behaviours long after they are realistic, and well beyond the reason of more favourable solutions.
The text Leadership and Self-Deception (Arbinger Institute) helps us to understand that moments of Self-Deception (being “in the box”) are prevalent in our day to day and describes the characteristics of this behaviour. The greatest challenge in reading the book is your own moments of reflection where you realise at least some of the key moments in life where you have been caught in the box, and unable to get out of it.
“The greatest deception people suffer is from their own opinions” Leonardo da Vinci.*
Fortunately, getting out of the box and becoming a leader is almost as simple as understanding these moments and treating people as people at all times. Faceless people and assets are responsible for unintended consequences, people make mistakes and learn from them.
*For historical accuracy, the quote from da Vinci actually refers to “men”, rather than using the word “people”. I respectfully altered the quote on behalf of da Vinci in recognition of his more enlightened view, should his great mind have been born in more modern times.
About the Author
Stuart Nielsen
Stu has been transforming financial services business for over 2 decades with his unique style of people leadership and problem-solving acumen. Never afraid to tackle the complex problems in any facet of an organisation, Stu will bring a sense of reality to any problem and leverage the combined energy of your people to create a high performing business.
Capable of working at the strategic end right through to delivery and knowledge transfer, Stu's strength in communication is an asset to any organisation trying to make sense of its self and drive change towards a common purpose.
"Data is great, feedback is awesome, however nothing is real until it is observed"
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