A Short List of Unhealthy Beliefs

I try to focus my writing on presenting a situation or problem and a way to move forward from it. In this article, I’m going to only focus on the problematic beliefs I encounter in organizations and individuals. The entire point of this little article is to put down the unhealthy things I deal with so you can empathize and maybe be honest about where you might have some of these as well.

Oof

• Need to create a sense of urgency for people to work faster
• They’re lucky to have this job
• If I’m working, you’re working
• We all work outside normal hours
• If you’re not coding at night or on the weekends, you’ll never make it
• I never give anyone a 5 out of 5 on performance reviews
• They can’t handle the truth, so I’ll lie or avoid telling it
• It’s more important to be liked than effective
• When folks are busy, things are working well
• People who are idle aren’t motivated enough
• If I don’t check in often, people will slack off
• The more senior people are at this company, the more valuable their ideas or input compared to more junior folks
• The status is never red or at risk
• It’s better to present a palatable version of the story than an honest one
• Why would I want to know their names? They’re contractors
• She’s probably just going to go on maternity leave soon anyway
• Of course it was a group effort, but I needed to make my contribution stand out
• Setting aggressive goals is important for growth; just don’t miss them
• If I don’t pin people down to a date, they’ll never get it done
• The issue is serious, but let’s not tell my superiors. They’ll freak out.
• They just don’t get how hard my job is
• They don’t take this job seriously enough
• You’re either in the club or you’re not
• There just aren’t enough qualified people

I could keep going, but I thought I’d pause here. I suspect there are a few here you’ve seen, felt, and maybe even perpetrated. We’re all imperfect, and we all get another day to try and improve.