Bad Apples? A Fundemental Attribution Error Leaders Make

Many leaders I've worked with often make the mistake of labeling "problem" teams or departments as "hopeless" or "worthless". By seeing the problem as occuring at the individual level rather than the organization level, these leaders are making a mistake.

A fundamental mistake.

Referred to by social scientists as a "fundamental attribution error," this error occurs when leaders attribute the source of problems to personal defects/flaws, while ignoring the larger systemic factors as play.

In an excellent article entitled, "Bad Apples or Sour Pickles?
Fundamental Attribution Error and the Columbine Massacre" authors Gary K. Clabaugh & Alison A. Clabaugh point out the fundamental attribution error that many leaders, including the FBI, made around the Columbine school shooting.


Bottom Line:
The next time you're tempted as a leader to blame the "bad apples," have the courage to step up to the plate and consider the organizational and systemic factors that might be supporting the "problem" behavior.