I previously wrote about the problems of hiring high-character people and the danger of making the fundamental attribution error. In that article, I focused on how high-character people in one area are perceived as high-character in all areas and therefore receive the benefit of a “Halo Effect.”
Today I want to focus on a different aspect of the fundamental attribution error that I see with shocking regularity in the teams and businesses I have consulted with. It’s called the “Devil Effect” and, as you’ve probably guessed, it’s the reverse of the Halo Effect.
In these cases, if a person or a player is perceived as deficient in one area, it is taken as proof that they are deficient in all areas. I see it all the time with freshman college athletes and novice pro athletes. If they don’t meet expectations upon arrival, they enter the coach’s house and once inside it is extremely difficult to get out.
In the case of college athletes, I have seen players languish in the program for two or three years progressing, but they are not given credit for their growth until their third or fourth year. In professionals, you are more likely to be fired or cut before you have a chance to prove your true worth. Sometimes you get tagged after a single offense for something as simple as being late or chasing you in a drill or practice.
In the business world, I have seen similar cases, as well as people placed in a different position than they were originally hired to do and who did not meet unrealistic expectations. In companies, it is more common to set aside and work once they have concluded that you are not what they thought you were, which makes it even more difficult to prove your worth.
Another example is a professional athlete I was called to work with who was having trouble managing his finances. In this case, the player was making a lot of money but spending it even faster than he was making it. His team thought this was evidence that he was impulsive and lacked the discipline required to be an accomplished professional athlete, and was cut off before I met him.
What I found in him was a boy who simply lacked knowledge of finances and the value of saving. He had an incredible work ethic and impressive self-discipline when it came to his career. I contend that I would never have made the league in the first place if I hadn’t had discipline. So what the team saw as immature impulsiveness, I saw as a simple lack of understanding and prioritization.
I found that once he understood the costs of his impulsiveness around money, he was able to build a good nest of eggs that worked for him and he had a successful career with another team. I’m pretty sure the team that cut it soon regretted that decision once they saw what it became. I’ve seen the devil effect ruin many players who might otherwise have had successful or even exceptional careers.
Having documented all of the above, the bottom line is that it is up to the person to avoid giving their boss or coach reasons to make an attribution error. You have to take advantage of all the things that are under your control, because when you don’t, you open yourself up to the possibility of others making attribution errors about you.
A final note for coaches, managers, etc. If you have an employee who is performing well but has some behaviors that bother him, it is better to separate the two and work on the behaviors that he does not like, rather than painting the employee with a thick brush and flushing the baby with the bath. water, as they say.
