PRODUCTIVITY KILLERS SERIES | 3
The Victim
Virus
By Fred Kofman
If you tune in to what your colleagues say when they arrive late to a meeting, you may be able to detect a grave “infection” that can manifest itself as passivity. It’s not that your colleagues’ reasons – heavy traffic or long meetings – aren’t valid. Rather, it’s their storys’ narrow scope that makes them ineffective, illustrating one of the most pernicious “productivity killers,” the victim virus. Beyond the excuses provided, your colleagues’ personal choices and actions may have helped cause their delay (i.e. they decided to stay late in a meeting.) But by focusing on the factors that are outside of their control, they shirk responsibility and adopt victimhood. Regrettably, many people choose to focus their attention on the aspects outside their control. These people are “infected” with the victim virus, and when something goes wrong, they explain blame away as fate or somebody else’s fault, just as my daughter did in regard to her broken dolls. Regrettably, many
people choose
to focus their
attention on the
aspects outside
their control.
Our typical notion of responsibility is causal – we are responsible for the consequences of our actions. In the face of success, we may be proud of our role. However, when applied to failure, “responsibility” becomes deeply associated with guilt. From an early age, we are taught that responibility and guilt are intertwined – and that both should be avoided at all costs. In my house, this became evident through dialogues with my 5‐year‐old daughter, whose beheaded dolls I used to fix. “What happened?” I’d ask when she would bring me a doll. “It broke,” she’d say, distancing herself from any causal role. It seems that her dolls had a habit of committing suicide… Unfortunately, examples of victimhood also abound among adults and in the workplace. For example, an IT manager who receives a complaint from a customer may blame the programmers. His story may be true, but it also may conveniently overlook his role in supervising the programmers’ work. In another case, an account executive may claim to have lost a client because the logistics department fell behind with the order. Though true, the explanation may omit that the executive never asked the The Victim Virus logistics department if they would be able to deliver on the terms he promised to the client. This defence mechanism shields victims’ self‐esteem. By zoning in on factors that they cannot influence, they prove that they are not “guilty”. But the price of this innocence is impotence. When attributing causality to uncontrollable factors, victims annul their ability to change the situation. And, since they don’t see themselves as part of the problem, they cannot see themselves as part of the solution either. Take the case of Steven, for example. A sales manager, he was furious when Human Resources approved his employees’ vacations without consulting him. “This is unbelievable!” he ranted, “How could they have given my people vacation during our busiest month?” After a few moments of silence, I asked, “Steven, whose problem is this?” “Human Resources’, of course,” he snapped. “They should have asked me first.” “But, who is suffering due to this situation?” “I am,” he said. Then, after a pause, he protested, “But they made the mistake, why should it be my problem?” Here, I pointed out an important distinction: who caused the problem is irrelevant. If you are suffering, you have a problem. This is the mantra of “players”. |1
PRODUCTIVITY KILLERS SERIES | 3
Unlike victims, “players” see themselves as an integral part of the system that generated an unwanted result, and as such, a leverage point for change. By simply changing our perspective, we can shed light on a fundamental truth: we have the unconditional power to choose our behavior. Players reject the “causal” definition of responsibility. Rather, they take on “response‐ability,” or the ability to respond in the face of any situation, interpreting factors outside of their control as challenges inviting a response. and our expectation that others will take care of our problems. Once Steven was able to detach from the apparent unfairness of what had happened, he was in a position to take charge of his situation and fix the problem with pride and integrity. My experience with leaders from all around the world is that the victim virus is universal. Luckily, its cure is also common to all cultures. When people start seeing themselves as the main characters of the happenings in their organizations and their lives, they become true players and start expanding with a renewed sense of power. Going from victim to player entails a change of consciousness that requires leaving behind our attachment to “being right” © 2010 Axialent Inc. All rights reserved.
The Victim Virus
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