Perhaps one small flaw or behavior we barely even recognize is the only thing that’s keeping us from where we want to be. In his book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”, Marshall Goldsmith has a “to stop” list rather than one listing what “to do”. This “to stop” list is designed to help us overcome our unconscious annoying habits and become more successful. Here’s one habit we can strive to overcome.
Claiming credit is adding insult to the injury that comes with overlooked recognition. We’re not only depriving people of the credit they deserve, but we are hogging it for ourselves. It’s two crimes in one.
The world isn’t always paying attention when we excel. People have their own agendas to pursue. But even the most highly evolved human being would have a tough time grinning and bearing when neglect turns to larceny. That’s what it is when someone claims credit that they do not deserve: theft.
When someone you work with steals the credit for success that you created, they’re committing the most rage-inducing interpersonal “crime” in the workplace. And it creates a bitterness that’s hard to forget.
Now imagine you’re the perpetrator rather than the victim. You wouldn’t claim someone else’s resume or college degree as your own. That’s because those achievements are well documented. Your claims can be challenged. But when it comes to determining exactly who came up with the winning idea, the evidence gets fuzzy. It’s hard to say who deserves the credit. Given the choice, we fall into the success trap and give ourselves the benefit of doubt. We claim more credit than we have earned and slowly begin to believe it.
There’s no telling what a group can achieve when no one cares for the credit. We know this in our bones.
Here’s a simple drill that will transform you from a credit miser to a credit philanthropist. For one day (or longer if you can handle it) make a mental note of every time you privately congratulate yourself on an achievement, large or small. Then write it down. End of day, take apart each episode and ask yourself if it’s in any way possible that someone else might deserve the credit for “your” achievement. Was your idea inspired by an insightful comment from someone else in the room?
As you go through your list, consider this make-or-break question: if any of the other people involved in your episodes were looking at the situation, would they accord you as much credit as you are claiming for yourself? Or would they hand it out to someone else, perhaps even themselves?
We have a strong bias to remember events in a light most favorable to us. This drill exposes that bias and makes us consider the possibility that someone else’s perspective is closer to the truth.
altLearners 