Company's Self-deception

Encyclopedia defines self-deception as "the result of a mental process that makes an individual, at a certain time, accept as true an information regarded as false by himself at another time", and exemplifies this process as the habit of advancing his own watch for not to be late for appointments. That is, self-deception is the simple lack of reality consciousness. This phenomenon is more common than we think and we can see it also manifested inside companies, where it causes on managers the lack of ability to understand the whole of the organization, that is, to have a systemic view of the company.


The problem of practicing self-deception everyday in life of people and organizations is that it ends up undermining the ability to make appropriate decisions and also compromises the relationships between the company and its customers, suppliers and partners, employees and managers, and finally among its stakeholders.
Some examples of self-deception in business can be cited here:

• The Board that does not admit to be responsible for the poor company's results;
• The CFO that does not believe to be largely responsible for the company's debt;
• HR that claims to have no fault in the great exodus of employees to the market;
• The Employee that does not agree that needs to improve in certain theme;
• The manager that not consider himself as responsible for the welfare of his subordinates.

For the purpose to create a real systemic view of the company, ignoring the traps of self-deception, the educator and researcher Dulce Magalhães, in her class on Management of Competence and Systemic View from a self-diagnosis of systemic view, recommends that:

1. Be perceived in a regular analysis past acts that generated present results;
2. Be modified behaviors, light of a review or a feeling of the consequences of these behaviors;
3. Be perceived life as a chain of attitudes;
4. Be scheduled the desired results for the future and that be started acting today within this programming to reach them;
5. Be developed a side view, a listening and an active perception so that we can really understand the world around;
6. Be accepted and understood, and not avoided, people who differ from the behavioral pattern of a group or, especially, the standard of responsible for it.

These are not simple recommendations to follow, but if taken one at a time for a month, very positive changes can be generated for managers and the authorities of an organization in six months, as well as their results.
Armando Correa S. Neto, psychologist and Professor of Leadership, argues in his blog that "While the responsibility does not bring upon oneself, the childishness remains disguised as a misfortune". And citing an ancient "holy man" of American tribe of the Sioux, Black Elk (1863-1950): "It is in the darkness of their own eyes that men get lost".

References:
MAGALHÃES, Dulce. 11th class on Competency Management. Systemic Vision. Available at http://carreiras.empregos.com.br/carreira/administracao/planejamento/120902-curso_sistemica_dulce.shtm. Accessed on 14/05/2012;
NETO, Armando Correa S. Blog Educasam. Available in: http://educasam-educasam.blogspot.com.br/2011/09/nao-e-estranho.html. Accessed on 14/05/2012
GASSENFERTH, Walter. Blog Gestão Empresarial em Gotas.