Don't Let THIS Tear Your Team Apart
- Leslie Speas
- Jun 13
- 3 min read
When someone on your team misses a deadline or snaps during a meeting, what’s your first reaction? If you’re like most people, you might assume they’re lazy, disorganized, or just not a team player. There is a sneaky psychological trap that we may fall into that can erode trust, damage relationships, and hurt team performance.
It’s called the fundamental attribution error.
What Is the Fundamental Attribution Error?
The fundamental attribution error is a common cognitive bias where we blame someone’s behavior on their personality or character, while ignoring external factors that may be at play.
And here’s the kicker—we often don’t do that to ourselves. When we mess up, we’re more likely to blame the situation.
For example:
“Tom missed the deadline because he’s irresponsible,” instead of “Tom might be overwhelmed or dealing with something personal.”
But when we miss a deadline? “That timeline was totally unrealistic, and I’ve got a million things on my plate.”
This double standard can be incredibly damaging on a team.
How This Shows Up at Work
If we’re not careful, the fundamental attribution error can sneak into day-to-day interactions and create real dysfunction. Here’s how:
Erodes trust because we don't give each other the benefit of the doubt
Blocks communication because we rush to judgment and don’t seek to understand
Short-circuits empathy by replacing curiosity with assumption
Hinders problem-solving because we label others as the problem
What Can We Do Instead?
Here are a few ways to combat the fundamental attribution error and build a more connected, compassionate team culture:
✔️ Pause and Consider the Situation
Before jumping to conclusions, take a breath and ask: “What else might be going on here?” That small pause can help you shift from blame to understanding.
✔️ Ask, Don’t Assume
Lead with curiosity. A simple, open-ended question like “I noticed this didn’t get done—can you walk me through what happened?” can open the door to real insight and connection.
✔️ Promote Self and Other-Awareness
Understanding yourself and the people you work with is a game-changer. One of my favorite tools for building this awareness is the Working Genius model by Patrick Lencioni.
The Working Genius framework identifies six types of genius (natural ways we contribute to work):
Wonder – Loves asking big-picture questions and noticing potential opportunities.
Invention – Brings creativity and generates original solutions to problems.
Discernment – Has strong intuition and judgment about what will work.
Galvanizing – Energizes and rallies others around ideas and initiatives.
Enablement – Brings support, encouragement, and responsiveness to the table.
Tenacity – Pushes things across the finish line with drive and precision.
We all have different geniuses, and understanding which ones come naturally (and which ones don’t) can increase empathy and reduce friction. All the geniuses are equally valuable and critical to getting work done.
How NOT understanding this can be problematic:
We label someone with the genius of Wonder as ‘pie in the sky” and not productive. However, Wonder is critical to kicking off new projects and ideas.
We label someone with Tenacity as pushy because they are driven by getting things done. But we need Tenacity on a team to get things done in a timely manner.
When we know our own geniuses and frustrations as well as those of others. we stop making assumptions and start building stronger partnerships.
PRO TIP - Educate your team about this tendency and what they can do about it!
Interested in learning more?
You can find more information on the Working Genius here. www.workinggenius.com
If you'd like to consider a Working Genius or other team development program, reach out to leslie@influencehrconsulting.com.
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