Psychoanalysis of the effect of an undervalued specialist. Part 1. Who and why

1. Introduction

Injustice is incalculable: correcting one, you risk doing another.
Romain rolland

Working as a programmer since the beginning of the 90s, I have not once had to deal with the problems of undervaluing. For example, I am so young, smart, positive on all sides, for some reason I do not move up the career ladder. Well, not that I don’t move at all, but I’m moving somehow not in the way I deserve. Or my work is assessed insufficiently enthusiastically, without noticing all the beauty of the decisions and the gigantic contribution that I, namely I, contribute to the common cause. Compared to others, I clearly do not get enough buns and privileges. That is, the ladder of professional knowledge, I climbed quickly and efficiently, but on the service level - my height is stubbornly underestimated and clamped. Are they all blind and indifferent, or is it a conspiracy?

While you are reading and no one hears, confess honestly, you have encountered similar problems!

Having lived up to the age of “Argentina - Jamaica”, having traveled from a developer to a system analyst, a project manager and to a director and co-owner of an IT company, I often observed a similar picture, but from the other side. Many scenarios of the behavior of the undervalued employee and the manager who underestimated him became clear and obvious. Many questions that have complicated my life and hindered my self-realization for a long time have finally received answers.
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This article can be useful for both undervalued employees and their managers.

2. Analysis of the reasons for undervaluing

Our lives are determined by possibilities. Even those that we miss ...
(The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

As a systems analyst, I will try to analyze this problem, systematize the reasons for its occurrence and propose solutions.

I was pushed to think about this topic by reading the book “Think slowly ... Decide quickly” by D. Kahneman [1]. Why, then, is Psychoanalysis mentioned in the title of the article? Yes, because this branch of psychology is often called non-scientific, though it is constantly remembered as a non-binding philosophy. And consequently demand from me for quackery will be minimal. So, “Psychoanalysis is a theory that helps to reflect how unconscious confrontation affects the self-esteem of the individual and the emotional side of the personality, its interactions with the rest of the environment and other social institutions” [2]. Therefore, we will try to analyze the motives and factors that influence the behavior of a specialist, and are “highly likely” imposed by his past life experience.

In order not to be deceived by illusions, let's clarify the key point. In our age of speed of decision-making, the assessment of the employee and the applicant is often given once or twice, based on its presentability. The image that develops on the basis of the impression made, as well as the messages that a person involuntarily (or deliberately) transmits to the “evaluator”. After all, this is the little, individual, that remains after the template summary, curved questionnaires and stereotypical methods for evaluating the answers.

As expected, we will begin our review with problems. Let us determine the factors that can negatively affect the performance mentioned above. Let's go from problems tickling nerves to novice specialists to problem-pulling veins to experienced professionals.

A representative sample from me includes:

1. The inability to formulate your thoughts qualitatively

The ability to express one's thoughts is no less important than the thoughts themselves,
for most people have a rumor to be pleased,
and only a few have a mind capable of judging what has been said.
Philip D.S. Chesterfield

Once at the interview, a young man, who highly appreciated his potential, nevertheless unable to answer plainly any standard question and made a very faded impression in the thematic discussion, was very indignant at receiving a refusal. Based on my experience and intuition, I decided that he was not very well oriented in the subject. I was interested to know his impressions in the current situation. It turned out that he felt like a person who is perfectly grounded in this material, everything is clear and understandable to him, but at the same time, he simply cannot express his thoughts, formulate answers, convey his point of view, etc. I can quite allow such an option. Perhaps intuition let me down, and he is really very talented. But: first, how can I get confirmation of this? And most importantly, how will he communicate with his colleagues, fulfilling his professional duties, if he cannot simply communicate with people?

Such an intelligent system, completely devoid of an interface for transmitting signals to the outside world. Who is she interested in?

As experts say, this behavior can be caused by such an innocent diagnosis as Social phobia. “Social phobia (social phobia) is an irrational fear of being in or in various situations related to social interaction. We are talking about situations that are in one way or another connected with contacts with other people: public speaking, the performance of their professional duties, even the simple presence of people in society. ” [3]

For the convenience of further analysis, we label our psycho-types. The first type we consider is “# Neformal”, emphasizing once again that we cannot accurately identify it as “# Dunno,” as well as refute it.

2. Bias in assessing the level of professionalism

It all depends on the environment.
The sun in the sky is not so high an opinion of itself, like a candle lit in a cellar.
Maria von Ebner Eschenbach

It is absolutely objectively possible to say that any assessment of the professional capabilities of a specialist is subjective. But there is always the opportunity to establish certain levels of employee qualifications for various key indicators that affect the performance. For example, skills, abilities, life principles, physical and mental state, etc.

The main problem of specialist self-esteem, often becomes misunderstanding (very strong underreporting) of the amount required for the assessment of knowledge, skills and abilities.

At the beginning of the 2000s, I was impressed by the interview of one young man for the position of Delphi programmer, during which the applicant stated that he still just had a good command of the language and development environment, as he had been studying them for more than a month, but for objectivity, another two weeks - three, to thoroughly comprehend all the wisdom of the instrument. This is not a joke, so it was.

Probably, everyone had their first program, which displayed some Helou. Most often this event is perceived as a pass to the world of programmers, raising self-esteem to the skies. And there, like thunder, the first real task appears, returning back to the mortal earth.

This problem is endless, like eternity. Most often, it is simply transformed with life experience, each time moving to a higher level of misunderstanding. The first delivery of the project to the customer, the first distributed system, the first integration, and also high architecture, strategic management, etc.

This problem can be measured by such a metric as - "The level of claims." The level that a person seeks to achieve in various areas of life (career, status, welfare, etc.).

Simplified indicator can be calculated as follows: Level of claims = The magnitude of success - The magnitude of the failure . Moreover, this coefficient may even be empty - null .

From the point of view of cognitive distortions [4] here on the face:

• “The effect of over-confidence” is the tendency to overestimate your own abilities.
• "Selective perception" - taking into account only those facts that are consistent with expectations.

We call this type - "#Munchhausen". As if the character is generally positive, but a little bit, exaggerates a little.

3. Unwillingness to invest in their development for the future

Do not look for a needle in a haystack. Just buy the whole haystack!
John (Jack) Bogle

Another characteristic case that leads to the effect of invalidity is the unwillingness of a specialist to penetrate into something new on their own, to study something promising, arguing something like this: “Why waste too much time? The task requiring new competence will fall to me, and I will master it. ”

But often, a task requiring new competence will fall to the one who works on anticipation. The one who has already tried to dive into it and is discussing a new problem will be able to most clearly and fully describe the options for solving it.

This situation can be illustrated by such an allegory. You came to the doctor to do the surgery, and it seems to you: “I have never done surgery in general, but I’m a professional, now I’ll quickly go over the Human Atlas of the Anatomy of the Man, and I will cut everything out to you in the best possible way. Be calm.

For this case, the following cognitive distortions are viewed [4]:

• “Deviation towards the result” is the tendency to judge decisions by their final results, instead of assessing the quality of decisions by the circumstances of the time when they were taken (“the winners are not judged”).
• “Deviation towards the status quo” is the tendency of people to want things to remain approximately the same.

For this type we will use a relatively fresh label - "# Zhdun".

4. Unaware of their weaknesses and not the manifestation of strengths

Injustice is not always associated with any action;
Often it consists precisely in inaction.
(Marcus Aurelius)

Another important problem in my opinion, both for self-assessment and specialist assessment, is an attempt to add an opinion about professional opportunities as a single and indivisible whole. Good, medium, bad, etc. But it also happens that a very mediocre developer seems to be starting to perform some new function, for example, to control and motivate the team, and the team’s productivity goes uphill. And sometimes it happens the other way around - an excellent developer, a clever person, who is on a very good account, cannot simply organize his colleagues into the most ordinary feat in case of an emergency. And the project flies derailed, dragging his faith in himself. Morally psychological state flattens and smears, with all the ensuing consequences.

At the same time, for all that, management, by virtue of its limitations, possibly related to employment, lack of insight or disbelief in a miracle, is inclined to see only the visible part of an iceberg in its employees, namely the result produced by them. And as a result of the lack of results, following the fall in self-esteem, management's assessments fly into tartars, there is discomfort in the team and "as before, they will have nothing ...".

The set of parameters itself, for evaluating a specialist in different directions, is likely to be more or less universal. But the weight of each specific indicator for different specializations and functions, to a large extent, differs. And how vividly you demonstrate and demonstrate your strengths in the business depends on how positively your side can be noted - your contribution to the team’s activities. After all, you are not assessed for strengths as such, but by how effectively you apply them. If you don’t show them, how will your colleagues find out about them? Not every organization has the ability to delve into the depths of your inner world and expose your talents.

Such cognitive distortions appear here [4], such as:

• “The effect of craze, conformism” is the fear of standing out from the crowd, the tendency to do (or believe in) things, because many other people do it (or believe in it). Refers to group thinking, herd behavior and mania.
• "Regulation" is a trap of continuous orders to do something for yourself, instead of sometimes acting impulsively, spontaneously, when it is more acceptable.

In my opinion, this type, as well as possible, will suit the label - "#Common".

5. Adjustment of its obligations, under its alternative assessment of the contribution

Injustice is relatively easy to carry;
what really hurts us is justice.
Henry Louis Mencken

There have been such cases in my practice when an employee’s attempts to independently determine his or her value in a team, or in the local labor market, led to the conclusion that they don’t pay extra in comparison with other colleagues. Here they are close by, exactly the same, they do the exact same job, and they have higher salaries and more respect for them. There is a disturbing feeling of injustice. Often, such conclusions are connected with the above-mentioned errors of self-esteem, in which the perception of one’s place in the global IT industry is objectively distorted and not in the direction of understatement.

The next step, such an employee, in order to somehow restore justice on Earth, tries to do a little less work. Well, about as much as they do not pay extra. He defiantly refuses to rework, enters into conflicts with other members of the team, who are so undeservedly exalted and, in all likelihood, because of this, behave arrogantly and pompously.

No matter how positioned the situation is “offended”: restoring justice, deserving, etc., from the outside - this is perceived exclusively as confrontation and demarche.

It is quite logical that, following the decline in its productivity and efficiency, its wages may decrease. And the saddest thing in such a situation is that the pseudo-employee associates the deterioration of his position not with his actions (or rather with inaction and opposition), but with further discrimination of his own person with hard-faced leadership. The offense complex grows and deepens.

If a person is not stupid, then during the second, third repetition of a similar situation in different teams, he begins to look askance at himself, and he has vague doubts about his exclusivity. Otherwise, such people become forever wandering wanderers in firms and teams, cursing everyone around.

Characteristic cognitive distortions [4] for this case:

• "The effect of waiting for the observer" - unconscious manipulation of the course of experience to detect the expected result (as the Rosenthal effect);
• "The fallacy in the spirit of apt shooter from Texas" - the choice or adjustment of the hypothesis under the measurement results;
• “Confirmation bias” - the tendency to seek or interpret information in such a way as to confirm concepts that were available in advance;

Separately, select:

• “Resistance” is a person’s need to do something opposite to what someone is urging him to do, because of the need to resist seeming attempts to limit freedom of choice.
• “Opposition” is a manifestation of mental inertia, disbelief in a threat, a continuation of the previous course of action in conditions of an urgent need to switch: when delaying the transition is fraught with deterioration of the state; when procrastination can lead to loss of opportunity to improve the situation; when confronted with emergency situations, unexpected opportunities and sudden interference.

Let's call this type - "# Wanderer".

6. Formal approach to business

Formalism as a personality trait - inclination contrary to common sense
to give excess importance to the external side of the business, to fulfill their duties without putting their heart into them.

Often in a team one may encounter an individual who is very demanding of everyone around but himself. He can be extremely annoyed, for example, by non-punctual people, whom he grumbles endlessly, being late for work by himself for 20-30 minutes. Or a disgusting service, which daily immerses him in a sea of ​​indifference and heartlessness of stupid performers who do not even try to guess his desires and provide for evon needs. When you jointly begin to dig into the causes of frustration, then come to the opinion that most often it is connected with the formal approach to problems, with the refusal to take responsibility and the reluctance to engage in supposedly not their business.

But if you do not stop at this and go further, scrolling through his (employee's) workday already, then, oh God, his behavior reveals all the same signs that have just so infuriated others. At first, anxiety arises in his eyes, with some chill some analogies run through the chill and the lightning is beaten by a hunch that he is just as formalist. At the same time, for some reason, all those, he owes everything, but he just has principles: from this to this — this is my work, and further on, excuse my responsibility and nothing personal.

For sketching a typical portrait of such behavior, we can cite the following story. An employee, having read the text of the task in the tracker and seeing in it that the problem was consecrated somehow not sufficiently expanded and informative and does not allow him, without straining to solve it right away, simply writes in the commentary: “There is not enough information to solve”. After that, with peace of mind and a sense of accomplishment, is immersed in the news feed.

In dynamic and low-budget projects, it happens that in the absence of full-scale bureaucratic descriptions, work efficiency is not lost, due to the constant tight intra-team communication. And most importantly, due to non-indifference, non-indifference, non-indifference and other “not”. A team player, does not divide the responsibility on his own and others, and in every possible way tries to push the stuck problem - to the surface. Such people are the most valuable and, accordingly, most often have a higher price tag.

From the point of view of cognitive distortions [4] in this case manifests itself:

• “Framing effect” - the dependence of the choice of a solution on the form of presentation of the initial information. Thus, a change in the form of the question, with semantically identical content, can cause a change in the percentage of positive (negative) answers from 20% to 80% and more.
• “Blind spot in relation to distortions” - easier detection of deficiencies in other people than in one’s own (in a strange eye he sees a speck, he does not notice his log).
• “The effect of moral trust” - a person who believes that he has no prejudice, has a great chance of showing prejudice. He perceives himself to be sinless, he has the illusion that any of his actions will also be sinless.

For this type we will label - "#Officer". Oh, and so come down.

7. Indecision in decision making

Fearful and dreamy indecision crawls over laziness and entails helplessness and poverty ...
William Shakespeare

Sometimes a good specialist is listed as an outsider. If you look at the results of his work against the background of other employees, his achievements look above average. But, his opinions are not heard. Remember when he last insisted on his point of view is impossible. Most likely his point of view went into a piggy bank to some gorlopan.

Since he is not initiative, he also gets second-class work, which is hard to prove himself. It turns out some kind of vicious circle.

His constant doubts and fears prevent him from adequately assessing his own actions and presenting them in proportion to the contribution.

In addition to just phobias, from the point of view of cognitive distortions [4], this type can be seen:

• “Reversion” is a systematic return to thoughts about hypothetical actions in the past to prevent losses resulting from irreversible events that have occurred, to correct the unrecoverable, to change the irreversible past. Forms of reversion are guilt and shame.
• “Delaying (procrastination)” is a systematic unjustified postponement, delaying the beginning of inevitable work.
• “Underestimating inaction” is the preference for more harm due to inaction than harm due to action due to non-recognition of inaction.
• “Submission to authority” - the tendency of people to obey authority, ignoring their own judgments about the appropriateness of action.

These harmless people are often impressed and do not cause irritation. Therefore, for them we introduce a gentle label - "Avoska #" (from the word Avos). Yes, they are also not representative, but extremely reliable.

8. Revaluation (exaggeration) of the role of previous experience

Experience increases our wisdom, but does not reduce our stupidity.
Mr. Shaw

Sometimes a positive experience can play a cruel joke. Such a phenomenon manifests itself, for example, at the moment when the successful use of the “easy” methodology is attempted to be mirrored in a larger project.

A specialist, as it were, has already passed several times the way of producing something. The path is thorny, requiring for the first time the maximum stress, analysis, consultation and the development of certain solutions. Each subsequent similar project was going easier and more efficiently, sliding on the grooved track. Appears complacency. The body relaxes, the eyelids become heavy, pleasant warmth runs along your hands, sweet slumber envelops you, peace and tranquility fill you ...

And here is a new project. And oh-go, it is more ambitious and complex. I want more to fight. Well, what's the point again to waste time on its detailed study, if everything rolls so well along the beaten track.

Unfortunately, in such a situation, the majority of specialists, sometimes very intelligent and diligent, do not even think that their past experience in the new conditions does not work at all. Rather, it can work on individual parts of the project, but also with nuances.

This inspiration usually comes at a time when all the deadlines have been misplaced, there is no mention of the required product, and the client, to put it mildly, begins to worry. In turn, this excitement pretty much swayed the management of the project, forcing people to invent all sorts of excuses and carry the brains out to the performers. Oil painting

But the most annoying thing is that with the subsequent repetition of a similar situation, the same picture is reproduced with all the same oil. That is, on the one hand, the positive experience remained the benchmark, and on the other, it was negative, only by a monstrous coincidence of circumstances, which we must quickly forget about as a nightmare.

This situation is a manifestation of the following cognitive distortions [4]:

• “Generalization of particular cases” is the unjustified transfer of the characteristics of particular or even isolated cases to their vast sets.
• The “focus effect” is an error in the predictions that occurs when people pay too much attention to any one aspect of the phenomenon; causes errors in correctly predicting the utility of a future outcome.
• “The illusion of control” is the tendency of people to believe that they can control, or at least influence, the results of events that they cannot really influence.

The label - "We Know-Floated", in my approach.

Usually # Know-Swam becomes former # Munchausen. Well, and here already the phrase itself suggests: “#Munchhauseni are no ex”.

9. The unwillingness of a professional to start over

It would not hurt us all to start all over again - preferably from kindergarten.
Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle)

And it is also interesting to observe already accomplished specialists, whom life pushed to the side of the IT industry and forced them to look for a new place of work. Shaking off the husk of frustration and uncertainty, they "with a bang" pass the first interview. Their resumes with enthusiasm show each other the impressed HR_shchiki, saying that this is how to write. Everything is on the rise, waiting for at least the creation of a miracle, and in the very near future.

But here everyday work flowed, day after day passes, and magic does not happen.
This is a look from one side. And on the other hand, the established specialist, at the subconscious level, has already developed his own habits and ideas about how everything should turn around. And it’s not a fact that it coincides with the foundations established at the new firm. And should it coincide? Often, there is no longer any strength or desire for arguing, proving something with jaded copper pipes, ears tired by fire and water to a specialist. I don’t want to change my habits either, and somehow it is undignified, yet not a boy.

All together they fall into the zone of turbulence and discomfort, unfulfilled hopes and unfulfilled expectations.

For experienced people, a bunch of cognitive distortions [4] will certainly be richer:

• “Distortion in the perception of the choice made” - excessive persistence, attachment to your choices, perception of them as more correct than they really are, with their further justification.
• The “effect of acquaintance with an object” is the tendency of people to express unreasonable sympathy for an object only because they are familiar with it.
• Irrational escalation is the tendency to remember your choices as more correct than they really were.
• "The curse of knowledge" - the difficulties of informed people when trying to consider a problem from the point of view of people less informed.

And finally - the crown of creativity:

• “Professional deformation” - psychological personality disorientation in the course of professional activity. The tendency to look at things according to the rules generally accepted for their profession, rejecting a more general point of view.

There is nothing to invent with a label for this type, it has long been known - "#Okello". The one that missed. Well, yes, yes, they helped him to miss. But he is a moral landmark, he should somehow not plunge into such a story.

10. Attempting to compete with managers without training

We are not utopians. We know that any laborer and any cook are not able to immediately enter into government.
IN AND. Lenin

The section was created after the publication of the article, so to speak, after her comments. Many young and ambitious specialists sincerely believe that they are embarrassed and have little knowledge of the manager, who is mainly engaged in two types of activities: 1) the main thing is to interfere in every way with his subordinates, who create an IT product with their own hands, 2) additional heights, to which they climbed completely randomly and undeservedly, rudely and harshly preventing all attempts to even look at their place to more worthy people.

In most cases, this opinion manifests itself when management is really frankly weak in the realization of its managerial qualities, for one reason or another. We will not consider these reasons yet. After all, we are not talking about this now, but about the distortions in the perception of a similar situation by a specialist, which prevent him from moving up the career ladder.

Therefore, it is important to focus your attention on the other. Most of the reasoning in this way, categorically believes that they could certainly organize everything differently, right now without leaving their place. Moreover, most of this majority have neither management skills nor an appropriate education. It is assumed that if I’m a better manager, I’m good at creating a certain IT product (or semi-finished product), then I can manage the production process definitely more efficiently. I don’t ask the manager about the product, it’s all up to the top, from the words of others, to vskidku and sometimes ridiculous.

It is very important to realize that the work on the production of something and the organization of the production of this something are two completely different functions that require for their effective realization of different skills and competencies, different personal characteristics, psychological and ethical preparedness, etc.

In this case, there is such an interesting distortion as:

• “Fundamental attribution error” - Also known as “distortion of transference” The tendency of people to explain the behavior of other people by their personal qualities, underestimating situational factors, and at the same time overestimate the role and strength of situational influences on their own behavior, underestimating the personal aspect.

Representatives of this type, let's call it “If I Was the Queen”

For example, despite the fact that I spent most of my career combining the work of a developer with management activities, I tensed and got an additional MBA education, which allowed me to put everything in my place in This section of the topic and helped rise in his career to a new level.

11. Summary of the section

There are walls through which one can climb, dig under them, bypass or even blow up. But if the wall exists in your mind, it will be immeasurably more reliable than any of the highest fence.
Chiun, the Royal Master of Sinanju

Summarizing the above.

Often, the specialist's idea of ​​his place, role and importance in a team or project is significantly distorted. More correctly, you can say this: what he sees, and what most people around him see, differs greatly in his assessment. If he outdid the others, they didn’t grow, they did not prioritize assessing them from different lives, but one thing is clear - there is a dissonance in cooperation.

In young professionals, such problems are most often associated with a lack of understanding of the criteria for their assessment, as well as a distortion of the idea of ​​the scope and quality of the requirements for their knowledge and skills.

Mature specialists often build in their minds the fences of ideas, how things should be arranged and prevent any dissent, even more preferable and progressive, from manifesting.

Having identified the motives that cause negative behavioral patterns of employees that hinder career growth, then we will try to find scenarios to level their influence. If possible, drug-free.