One class of errors in judgment is what psychologists call projection errors. A projection error is the unconscious assumption that others think, feel, judge, or perceive more or less what we do. For instance, those who drink (abstain from) alcohol tend to overestimate (underestimate) the drinking habits of others. This phenomenon is common, but we tend to underestimate its importance at work.
Underestimating the incidence of projection errors is itself a projection error. For instance, those who believe that they make our work-related decisions only on solid, legitimate bases tend to believe that others do, too. On the other hand, those who believe that at times it is necessary to make decisions on more "convenient" bases, regard those who make only principled choices as weak and naïve. Because the more ruthless among us want to see themselves as strong, they project their own "weakness" on others, and conclude that most people operate in a straightforward manner. From whichever side of the fence we view our colleagues, we see their choices as relatively freer of projection errors than they actually are.
Here are three examples of situations in which projection errors tend to occur at work.
- Negotiation
- In negotiations, the assumption that the negotiation partner behaves rationally (by our own lights) is a common form of the error. For example, when we "sweeten" an offer, using incentives we believe will be attractive, we rarely consider the possibility that external constraints unrelated to the negotiation might prevent the acceptance of any offer whatsoever. When our offers are rejected, we label the rejections as irrational.
- Keep an open mind about the motives of and constraints upon negotiation partners.
- Performance reviews
- Keep an open mind about
the motives of and constraints
upon negotiation partners - In performance reviews, the supervisor is at risk of making a projection error when some aspect of the subordinate's behavior happens to match a weakness of the supervisor. As a defense against his or her own feelings of fallibility, the supervisor might then "ding" the subordinate for the behavior that the supervisor unconsciously exhibits.
- When undertaking a performance review, meditate on similarities between yourself and your subordinate. When you find a shared weakness, be especially alert to projection errors.
- Workplace politics
- Most of us, from time to time, have dark motives we hold in check, and dark thoughts on which we do not act. We feel bad about them, and sometimes we have uncomfortable feelings about them. To protect ourselves from this discomfort, we sometimes project these dark thoughts onto others. We attribute dark motives to rivals, whether or not we have evidence for such motives. Relationships suffer.
- Your enemy might not really be your enemy. You might just be having difficulty with a part of yourself.
Projection errors abound elsewhere, too. To detect a possible projection error, look for strong reactions to people — positive or negative. When you find one, consider the possibility that the two of you share something of which you might not be fully aware. Top Next Issue
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Related articles
More articles on Workplace Politics:
- Devious Political Tactics: The Three-Legged Race
- The Three-Legged Race is a tactic that some managers use to avoid giving one person new authority. Some
of the more cynical among us use it to sabotage projects or even careers. How can you survive a three-legged
race?
- How to Deal with Holding Back
- When group members voluntarily restrict their contributions to group efforts, group success is threatened
and high performance becomes impossible. How can we reduce the incidence of holding back?
- Many "Stupid" Questions Aren't
- Occasionally someone asks a question that causes us to think, "Now that's a stupid question."
Rarely is that assessment correct. Knowing what alternatives are possible can help us respond more effectively
in the moment.
- Cyber Rumors in Organizations
- Rumor management practices in organizations haven't kept up with rumor propagation technology. Rumors
that propagate by digital means — cyber rumors — have longer lifetimes, spread faster, are
more credible, and are better able to reinforce each other.
- Avoiding Speed Bumps: II
- Many of the difficulties we encounter when working together don't create long-term harm, but they do
cause delays, confusion, and frustration. Here's Part II of a little catalog of tactics for avoiding
speed bumps.
See also Workplace Politics and Critical Thinking at Work for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
- Coming May 15: Should I Write or Should I Call?
- After we recognize the need to contact a colleague or colleagues to work out a way to move forward, we next must decide how to make contact. Phone? Videoconference? Text message? There are some simple criteria that can help with such decisions. Available here and by RSS on May 15.
- And on May 22: Rescheduling Collaborative Work
- Rescheduling is what we do when the schedule we have now is so desperately unachievable that we must let go of it because when we look at it we can no longer decide whether to laugh or cry. The fear is that the new schedule might come to the same end. Available here and by RSS on May 22.
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Beware any resource that speaks of "winning" at workplace politics or "defeating" it. You can benefit or not, but there is no score-keeping, and it isn't a game.
- Wikipedia has a nice article with a list of additional resources
- Some public libraries offer collections. Here's an example from Saskatoon.
- Check my own links collection
- LinkedIn's Office Politics discussion group