Who are you to judge?

Have you ever made a judgment about someone or something without all the information? Have you made decisions in relation to your business without having all the information? Risky business. But sometimes risks pay off right? Life would be boring if we didn’t take a risk or two.

Seriously though, how often do we make judgements about people within the first five minutes of meeting them? Once upon a time, I did that all the time. Now, I still make an ‘assessment’ whilst gathering further information. Okay, sometimes I still judge people and I won’t change my mind. The majority of the time though my judgment was right.

What if those judgments are costing us? We may be making judgements regarding promoting people based on how we do things and behave. Or we’re making those decisions based on bad information we are given by others around us. I was reading an article regarding the number of psychopaths within businesses and how they often find themselves in leadership positions. They manage to manipulate and swathe in charisma those who will make the decision regarding the promotion. Too often, these people leave a trail of destruction behind them.

Remember them? We’ve all worked with them. We wondered how they got in that position in the first place. Did they have incriminating photos of those in power? There didn’t seem to be any logical explanation.

Neil Harvey, Australian cricketer and last of the Invincibles, had an impressive career. He was captain of the Victorian team and vice-captain of the Australian team but never its appointed captain. This despite many believing he should have been the captain. What judgment was made that Harvey should not be captain? It may have been his outspokenness, his humble beginnings, his propensity to criticise or maybe he didn’t go to the right school.

Who are you overlooking or who are you promoting without having all the information you need to make a sound judgment? Are you listening to what others are telling you? Are you looking at the surface results?

What will your judgments cost you?