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Human Performance

Published May 2008

Beware Common Sense

Harold D. Stolovitch, Ph.D.

 

One of the strongest admonitions pounded into young researchers is, "Don't trust what common sense tells you." So-called common sense is the greatest enemy of science. After all, in the name of common sense, people accepted the earth was flat with the sun moving around it.

As performance professionals, we too must stand vigilant against the powerful sway of our own common sense, especially in unfamiliar work settings. Our training, experiences and logic can lead to grossly misleading interpretations of phenomena and events, resulting in inappropriate performance solutions. The following tale shows how easily perceptions can misguide us.

Jessica's Story

Having recently graduated with a HR master's degree, Jessica was excited about her new job as HR development manager at a multinational pharmaceutical firm. She was a young woman imbued with a strong work ethic and a powerful desire to help improve plant worker performance.

Soon after she had settled into her new environment, she began reviewing her duties, which included training and performance support of manufacturing personnel. She noticed plant supervisors wandered about often shouting at assembly-line workers and packers. She was horrified at what appeared to be abusive language and tone. It became her mission to eliminate this behavior and improve supervisory performance. Fortunately, a mentor intervened before her zeal drove her to action. He advised Jessica to spend time working on the plant floor.

At first, she found herself isolated. Then, taken under the wing of an experienced worker, she discovered a world far different from what she had initially perceived. Yes, supervisors strutted about shouting at workers and pointing out errors. However, her fellow workers explained, all of this behavior was simply to show management that supervisors took their jobs seriously. They were demonstrating conscientiousness. The assembly-line workers and packers clearly understood the rules of the game and paid no heed to supervisors' noisemaking. Everything was just fine.

A West African Experience

Several years ago, our team designed and implemented a development program for high-potential new hires in a West African brewery. We patterned it on successful models tested in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Yet, it soon became apparent our plan, which had made sense given the brewery's needs and constraints, was untenable in this environment.

• Trainers-mentors selected based on technical competence and ability to communicate. Reality: Trainers-mentors selected based on seniority, tribal compatibility and social status.
• Feedback delivered based on performance. Reality: While feedback included discussing performance, delivery was based on recipients' current family and life issues, and social status.
• Best performers selected to demonstrate exemplary performance. Reality: Demonstrators all male since the high potentials were male, older than the persons being developed and culturally appropriate.
• Managers judge performer progress based on objective measures. Reality: Manager is a father figure who protects subordinates in return for their respect and obedience.
• Workers expected to be at work on time. Reality: Time is elastic. Family and clan responsibilities often supersede work requirements.
• Selection of program managers and supervisors based on objective criteria. Reality: Selection subjective, often based on family ties, external pressures, political connections and clan obligations.

Despite what appeared to be an unworkable situation — far removed from what common sense told us was right — adjustments and adaptations resulted in a wonderfully successful program. The team gathered information, verified then reverified assumptions, made continuous changes and produced a viable program.

Like scientific researchers, performance professionals undertake new endeavors with mental models and tools that generate visions of how things should work. While this good sense usually serves us well, it can become an enemy to performance. Our professional duties require us to lay aside preconceived notions, especially in unfamiliar settings. Our job is to observe, gather credible information and test-retest our perceptions before we draw conclusions or make performance improvement decisions.

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