People Management, 7/6/12
Jack Welch Management Institute
Fernandez Araoz (2007) identifies ten emotional biases & traps that could affect judgments, feelings and behaviors and ultimately sabotage people decisions. Higher the stakes, and more senior the appointment, the stronger these forces may be. I understand clearly the need to guard against arbitrariness when it comes to making great people decisions. As these are extremely important for the organization's success and my own career success, I discuss all of them below and rating my own risks to fall into them along with defense tactics I will carry forward into the future.
(1) Procrastination - This is the status quo trap; Waiting until a crisis blows up and then making people decisions
*****************************************************
My Risk: High; I do have a tendency to fall into this trap due to intertia and have to often remind myself to act before a full blown crisis erupts and forces a people decision.
Defense : Envision the competencies needed for the job situation and be open to the right people. Never be satisfied with the quality of the team and relentlessly improve the team (Welch, 2005)
(2) Overrating capability - believing hired people are more capable than they actually are; assuming people can change quickly, confusing motivation for capacity & competence.
***************************
My Risk: Low. I usually go through meticulous checks and balances before trusting people with assignments.
Defense: Test for competence, skills, attributes, experience. Verify capability before trusting and deciding.
(3) Snap judgments - using unreliable information and not calculating probabilities accurately; using first impressions, charisma, gossip, second hand information
***********************
My Risk: High. I have made a few bad people decisions biased by favorable first impressions only to realize months down the road the disasters they were causing
Defense: Do not rush important people decisions. Deliberate as much as time will allow. Seek internal as well as external trusted sources for advise.
(4) Branding - Branding mistake is to buy a reputation rather than an individual who embodies the reputation
***************
My Risk: Very High. I tend to give a lot of weightage to brands such as the schools and organizations candidates have been with before.
Defense: Never forget that past success of candidate does not guarantee future success. Take note of subtle cues such to pick up on overconfidence or arrogance. Cut losses early
(5) Evaluating people in absolute terms - not taking into account circumstances eg. deciding someone is outstanding, or someone is a total loser.
My Risk: Low. With my relatively high level of emotional intelligence, I tend to look at every candidate's unique circumstance. I understand that in people decisions everything is relative to a particular context.
Defense: Do not get too carried away by perceived overachievers. Do not lose faith by perceived under achievers. Develop own view of the candidate's potential for task at hand.
(6) Seeking confirmatory information - ignoring warning signs; not looking at evidence that conflicts conclusions; decisions, investments, negotiations could be sabotaged.
******************************************
My Risk: Very High. I sometimes tend to make conclusions from the subconscious and then look for evidence to support the conclusion. I now understand that hiring decisions fail because of this.
Defense: Be disciplined and assess candidates in depth, sifting through both positive and negative impressions to arrive at true qualifications
(7) Saving face - Lying to protect oneself and one's friends, gain an advantage
******************
My Risk: Low. I believe honesty is the best policy in very practical terms.
Defense: "Say what you do, Do what you say" (Welch, JWI video). Detect lies spoken by candidates ahead and react quickly with corrective actions.
(8) Sticking with familiar - Good fit with comfortable, safe & familiar rather than looking for competence, complementarity of skills, diversity
***************************
My Risk: High; I was not even aware of a trap of this kind exists but I acknowledge its existence now
Defense: Push myself to get into the discomfort zone. Evaluate candidate on own merits. As a manager and leader my job is not be friends with people but to play to people's strengths and get the job done.
(9) Emotional anchoring - failing to see individuals in their own terms; comparing with past ideals; first & last in interviews get more attention than those in middle
***************************
My Risk: Very High. I tend to have ideals in mind rather than paying more attention to the unique qualities of the individuals in front of me
Defense: Celebrate the differences in individuals and play to people's strengths
(10) Herding - Follow majority rather than acting independently; hesitating to express a different view; hide in the middle of the herd
***************
My Risk: Low. I especially take pride in developing my own view of reality and speaking my mind even if I am the only person in the room to see it that way
Defense: Think independently. Pay attention to whistle blowers and mavericks who think differently. Separate out the whack jobs from real wild ducks that would help the organization. Do not be afraid of failure but learn from it. Do not be lazy or feel you need to agree to the party line to be a team player. Definitely do not endorse a wrong candidate who favorably impressed everyone else. Walk alone if need be (Rabindranath Tagore, first Asian Nobel Laureate in Literature)
This is a very good exercise.
This is a check list I will refer to every time I engage in a people decision process going forward.
Dr. DP
Jack Welch Management Institute
Fernandez Araoz (2007) identifies ten emotional biases & traps that could affect judgments, feelings and behaviors and ultimately sabotage people decisions. Higher the stakes, and more senior the appointment, the stronger these forces may be. I understand clearly the need to guard against arbitrariness when it comes to making great people decisions. As these are extremely important for the organization's success and my own career success, I discuss all of them below and rating my own risks to fall into them along with defense tactics I will carry forward into the future.
(1) Procrastination - This is the status quo trap; Waiting until a crisis blows up and then making people decisions
*****************************************************
My Risk: High; I do have a tendency to fall into this trap due to intertia and have to often remind myself to act before a full blown crisis erupts and forces a people decision.
Defense : Envision the competencies needed for the job situation and be open to the right people. Never be satisfied with the quality of the team and relentlessly improve the team (Welch, 2005)
(2) Overrating capability - believing hired people are more capable than they actually are; assuming people can change quickly, confusing motivation for capacity & competence.
***************************
My Risk: Low. I usually go through meticulous checks and balances before trusting people with assignments.
Defense: Test for competence, skills, attributes, experience. Verify capability before trusting and deciding.
(3) Snap judgments - using unreliable information and not calculating probabilities accurately; using first impressions, charisma, gossip, second hand information
***********************
My Risk: High. I have made a few bad people decisions biased by favorable first impressions only to realize months down the road the disasters they were causing
Defense: Do not rush important people decisions. Deliberate as much as time will allow. Seek internal as well as external trusted sources for advise.
(4) Branding - Branding mistake is to buy a reputation rather than an individual who embodies the reputation
***************
My Risk: Very High. I tend to give a lot of weightage to brands such as the schools and organizations candidates have been with before.
Defense: Never forget that past success of candidate does not guarantee future success. Take note of subtle cues such to pick up on overconfidence or arrogance. Cut losses early
(5) Evaluating people in absolute terms - not taking into account circumstances eg. deciding someone is outstanding, or someone is a total loser.
My Risk: Low. With my relatively high level of emotional intelligence, I tend to look at every candidate's unique circumstance. I understand that in people decisions everything is relative to a particular context.
Defense: Do not get too carried away by perceived overachievers. Do not lose faith by perceived under achievers. Develop own view of the candidate's potential for task at hand.
(6) Seeking confirmatory information - ignoring warning signs; not looking at evidence that conflicts conclusions; decisions, investments, negotiations could be sabotaged.
******************************************
My Risk: Very High. I sometimes tend to make conclusions from the subconscious and then look for evidence to support the conclusion. I now understand that hiring decisions fail because of this.
Defense: Be disciplined and assess candidates in depth, sifting through both positive and negative impressions to arrive at true qualifications
(7) Saving face - Lying to protect oneself and one's friends, gain an advantage
******************
My Risk: Low. I believe honesty is the best policy in very practical terms.
Defense: "Say what you do, Do what you say" (Welch, JWI video). Detect lies spoken by candidates ahead and react quickly with corrective actions.
(8) Sticking with familiar - Good fit with comfortable, safe & familiar rather than looking for competence, complementarity of skills, diversity
***************************
My Risk: High; I was not even aware of a trap of this kind exists but I acknowledge its existence now
Defense: Push myself to get into the discomfort zone. Evaluate candidate on own merits. As a manager and leader my job is not be friends with people but to play to people's strengths and get the job done.
(9) Emotional anchoring - failing to see individuals in their own terms; comparing with past ideals; first & last in interviews get more attention than those in middle
***************************
My Risk: Very High. I tend to have ideals in mind rather than paying more attention to the unique qualities of the individuals in front of me
Defense: Celebrate the differences in individuals and play to people's strengths
(10) Herding - Follow majority rather than acting independently; hesitating to express a different view; hide in the middle of the herd
***************
My Risk: Low. I especially take pride in developing my own view of reality and speaking my mind even if I am the only person in the room to see it that way
Defense: Think independently. Pay attention to whistle blowers and mavericks who think differently. Separate out the whack jobs from real wild ducks that would help the organization. Do not be afraid of failure but learn from it. Do not be lazy or feel you need to agree to the party line to be a team player. Definitely do not endorse a wrong candidate who favorably impressed everyone else. Walk alone if need be (Rabindranath Tagore, first Asian Nobel Laureate in Literature)
This is a very good exercise.
This is a check list I will refer to every time I engage in a people decision process going forward.
Dr. DP
No comments:
Post a Comment