Show compassion (within boundaries).
One of the most common cognitive biases is the fundamental attribution error, where we attribute the failures of others to their innate characteristics (they can’t do X because they are incompetent, they are late because they are irresponsible, or they made me miserable so they are evil), but justify our own failures due to external factors (nobody taught me how to do X, I was late because there was traffic, I had to take this harsh action because my boss made me).
It is particularly common to hold leaders to a higher standard, where they “should” be better because they get paid more and have the authority. And there’s some truth to that!
But that doesn’t mean that when leaders make mistakes, they are fundamentally flawed as people. It means they made a mistake. How they respond is what matters. If they take responsibility for what they could have done differently, and do better next time, that’s a good sign. But if they blame others or circumstances, and never take responsibility for their own actions, I see that as an instance of the fundamental attribution error.
That’s why I added the (within boundaries) to the first line of this post. Most leaders are people who are doing their best but sometimes make mistakes. Some use their power and authority to make others miserable without taking personal responsibility. I’d like compassion to be shown to the former, while holding firm boundaries and accountability for the latter.
What’s an example of a leader that you wished you had shown more compassion to in the past?
#leadership #compassion #cognitivebiases