90% of “people problems” at work are caused by the Fundamental Attribution Error

Stop making the error. See your relationships improve. Here endeth the lesson.

90% of “people problems” at work are caused by the Fundamental Attribution Error.

That’s a completely unscientific number of course. Rather, it’s just based on a few decades of lived experience and a few thousand coaching hours working with people at all levels in organizations. 🤣

What is the the Fundamental Attribution Error?

“The fundamental attribution error refers to an individual's tendency to attribute another's actions to their character or personality, while attributing their behavior to external situational factors outside of their control. In other words, you tend to cut yourself a break while holding others 100 percent accountable for their actions. For instance, if you've ever chastised a ‘lazy employee’ for being late to a meeting and then proceeded to make an excuse for being late yourself that same day, you've made the fundamental attribution error.

The fundamental attribution error exists because of how people perceive the world. While you have at least some idea of your character, motivations, and situational factors that affect your day-to-day, you rarely know everything that's going on with someone else.

Within organizations, the FAE can cause everything from arguments to firings and ruptures in organizational culture. In fact, it's at the root of any misunderstanding in which human motivations have the potential to be misinterpreted.”

Source: https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/the-fundamental-attribution-error

Pay attention

Be vigilant. Stop committing the fundamental attribution error.

Watch your relationships improve.

Here endeth the lesson.