Jeffrey Saltzman, CEO of OrgVitality, reflects on the theme of wishful or superstitious thinking and its carryover into the workplace.
Back when my daughter was 7, and my father was fighting a serious illness, my daughter asked my wife and me whether her grandfather was going to be okay. As most parents would do in this situation, we both tried to make her feel better by assuring her that doctors were working hard to make him feel better without giving her false hope. But she persisted in asking us repeatedly to ensure that he would be okay; she desperately longed for reassurance we could not give her.
Wishing for a specific outcome isn’t limited to just children. We all find ourselves wishing for things, whether it’s health for an ailing relative or friend, a promotion or new job offer, or even for a favorite sports team to win a big championship. The New York Times article, “Do You Believe in Magic,” explores the origins of superstitions, where people believe that certain behaviors or items might affect an outcome. Some people carry “lucky” coins or wear “lucky” shirts; others choose specific seats in an arena. As the article explains, the brain may be hardwired for a tendency towards superstitious behavior, stating that “The appetite for such beliefs appears to be rooted in the circuitry of the brain, and for good reason. The sense of having special powers buoys people in threatening situations, and helps soothe everyday fears and ward off mental distress”. Yet taken to the extreme, the article goes on to say, it can lead to compulsive or delusional behavior.
It’s one thing for magical thinking to be applied to the outcome of a baseball game. But what happens when serious real-world challenges are dealt with in the same way? We can’t wish our way to global peace, for an end to war and genocide, or a solution to world poverty and hunger.
Magical thinking and superstitious behavior can raise its head in the workplace as well, with similarly harmful consequences. How many people sit there wishing for a larger raise or for recognition that isn’t coming? Or that with the coming reorganization, they won’t be laid off? Why do people choose to make wishes rather than take a hard look at their own behaviors to better understand what actually might be able to impact the outcome? Worse still is when leadership does this, sometimes choosing specific paths that may not make the most sense from a business perspective but nevertheless suggest a “magical thinking” outcome that might be too hard to resist.
Magical or wishful thinking is detrimental to an organization’s performance, yet it’s clear that all humans have a natural tendency towards this type of thinking. Awareness of it can help reduce its occurrence; organizations should prioritize transparency, clarity of decision-making, and communications as a way to actively push back against the temptation.
