Déformation Professionnelle
Photo by vnwayne fan on Unsplash
Déformation professionnelle is the tendency to look at people, events and situations from the vantage point (or filter) of our own profession or expertise or training.
This is understandable because we put a lot of our lives into that training and development, and if we believe in what we do, we consider that worldview ‘defining’. We, therefore, filter our views and perspectives through that lens: whatever aligns with that world view is right and whatever doesn’t is wrong.
For example, if we’re Finance folks, we assess and evaluate through a quantitative lens. If we’re Marketing folks, then our branding and positioning and messaging matter most. If we’re sales focused, then it’s all about revenue and little else. (You can apply this in pretty much any field - from politics to science and beyond. You can also apply this across professions.)
The problem, of course, is that this stops us from assessing situations from broader, more human points of view. We ignore the fact that there is a complexity to human nature and human behavior that defies structured, model-driven interpretations of life.
People aren’t always rational. They aren’t only driven by self-interest. They don’t make the same trade-offs given the same set of situational variables. In other words, we’re human and we’re complex and we’re nuanced. And that doesn’t align well with defined models of behavior.
So, it’s worth stepping back and asking ourselves if we aren’t limiting ourselves through our own knowledge and training.
It’s worth reading outside of our domain for insight and inspiration, and asking how that perspective applies here?
It’s worth asking for and assimilating opposing points of view, by asking what about this makes sense?
It’s worth asking ourselves how someone with no expertise might view this particular situation?
Look, our development and education matter and they help make us who we are. So there’s no need to discount its value so, by all means, use it.
But it is worth asking ourselves if the lens we’re using is as complete as it could be.
