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THIS WEEK
Do You Ever Make Mistakes When Judging Character?
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
Do You Ever Make Mistakes When Judging Character?
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No one likes to admit they are a bad judge of character. We all like to think that we can just look at someone and instantly get their measure just from that moment.
It's human nature to make snap judgement calls about situations and people. If we didn't, we'd be spend days analysing our every move. Our brain forms short cuts based on our experience, and we use those short cuts to help us make our decisions.
But what if those short cuts are wrong? Or perhaps more commonly, what if these short cuts are short-circuited by other situations or emotions? That's when we make mistakes. That's when our normally solid judgement of character goes out the window, and we let some duds in the door.
Dud Recruitment Decisions
I was talking with a colleague this week about his bad run of recruitment decisions. He has had massive turnover in the past few months for this one role, whereas normally his ability to pick a great employee has been beyond question.
When we are stressed, race a decision in our need to get someone for the role, are overworked carrying extra workload, or worried if we are a good person/company to work with ... we can make mistakes.
We overlook things that are glaringly obvious in the cold light of day. We take leaps in logic, looking to people's potential rather than their reality, and talk ourselves into accepting people with skills or behaviour that, in other situations, we wouldn't tolerate.
Confession time ...
To prove it happens to the best of us (and to make my colleague feel better), my worst HR decision was a when I was quite new to the job of recruitment.
We were hiring trainees and I was being heavily pressured from the CEO to find a particular type of person. Time was running out, and I needed someone appointeed that day in order to get the government funding for the role.
I found a young woman who spoke well at the interview and had a great CV, and so I hired her on the spot. It turned out she was a stalker, with a history of repeatedly stalking her supervisors in previous companies. This girl created massive chaos in our workplace and we ended up with Workcover claims and police cases around us like confetti. All because I skimped on my usual background checks, and ignored my gut feel.
There ... feeling better about some of your hiring decisions?
Dud Business Decisions
But, it's not just in recruitment we can make bad calls about people. In business, we can be so focussed on getting money in the door, that we ignore how we are treated by clients. Or gloss over our normal procedures for contracts and sales processes, in the speed to get things done to meet our client's urgent deadlines.
One of the best lessons you can learn in business, is to trust your gut and say no to clients that don't feel right (no matter the money) and never skimp your paperwork, no matter who the person is.
Dud Love Decisions
Our personal lives are a hotbed of bad calls about people. We can be so blinded by flattery, attention, pride, vulnerability, and the need for belonging and love, that we overlook that the object of our affection is not worthy of our attention.
I have a bit of experience with duds in love, with my last major relationship turning out to have a history of running up debts he couldn't pay, and not accepting responsibility for his decisions and actions. I focussed on his words and promises and over-looked his actions (and inactions), as well as over-ruled my gut that warned me to be cautious.
Yes, actions do speak louder than words ... I just forgot that rule. I often see the potential rather than the reality, which has both good and not so great sides to it.
So, what do you do when you have made a dodgy decision?
Well, from my experience, just five things ...
1. Deal With The Immediate Fall-Out
Deal with the immediate problems. Go into fire-fighting mode, and deal with each new problem as it hits you.
2. Own Up To It
Own up to yourself, and whoever else is relevant, that you stuffed up. There's no point sugarcoating it. And when you get some space, allow yourself time to grieve, and to go through the shame and guilt – you are human after all.
3. Say Sorry And Make Amends
If your bad decision has impacted on others, then apologise and make amends if you can.
4. Find The Lessons
Bad decisions are like arson – there are always clues as to what started the blaze. Get forensic and figure out the specific situation and the emotions that lead up to your results. Were you under stress, time pressures, exhaustion, or something else? Work out what impacted on your decision, and the lessons you can take from it.
By getting clear on your decision risk factors, you can set up mental warning bells if the situations appear again. And if your gut sends up warnings that something is not right, over-rule those warnings at your peril!
5. Forgive yourself
At some point, you need to forgive yourself. You did the best you could at the time. Now you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, forgive yourself and move on.
Look, everyone makes mistakes and makes the odd bad judgement of a person's character. But, it is the actions you take after the mistake has been made, that makes the difference.
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