Convincing Ourselves

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

You know how it is.

Your manager praises you for something that you did. You interpret that is, “I’m doing a good job.”

Maybe you even do a good job over time and someone gives you a verbal, “Atta boy,” or, “Atta girl,” for your work.

In your mind, you start to believe that you’re going to be up for promotion, you will have that next opportunity to step up.

They may even keep such praise upon you as to tell you that you have a terrific future with the firm.

We convince ourselves that it is true.

But we forget to take inventory of our environment.

At that next level, do they tend to promote from the insider hire from outside?

Good news! They promote from within! That last person who got promoted — will have they been with the firm?

Ugh! 15 years.

And when you look at their performance during the time that they been working there, you realize how the performance is mediocre.

We convince ourselves of things because you want to believe that we are told.

We like our manager or boss. They seem to like us, too.