The Negative Impact of Emotions in Ownership

The State Department's Oral Assessment, the final step in joining the Foreign Service, involves three exercises. One of them is a group negotiation in which six or so applicants are given mock projects and the group has to come to consensus on which project to fully fund, which couple to partially fund, and which ones to not fund, all based on the U.S. Government's stated interests in the overview documents.

In this exercise, which I went through in 2011, it's very easy to "own" the project placed in front of you, and therefore it's very easy to say "my" project. It seems logical; it is the project placed in front of you and the instructions say you must advocate for that project to at least some degree, even if you think it is not worth "funding" when compared to the other projects in the group.

Because of this sense of implied ownership, and the usage of "my" project, you can unintentionally draw an emotional connection to the project, which can sway your true sense of judgment. Basically, calling it "my" project increases the likelihood that you'll become emotionally connected to it and not see things as clearly or as logically as you could otherwise.

Considering the activity is judged by observers, each watching how you advocate for the project you have been tasked with promoting and how you eventually come to agreement with others.

I was reminded of this with a recent coaching client, who seemed to have a very strong emotional connection to "his" project. When I shared this experience about the State Department activity, he realized that he might have become too attached to his project and that reframing the project as a "company" project, or even one for his department, might increase the likelihood that people will get on board and support the project with extra work. He might also see things more clearly and less emotionally as a result.

The next time you catch yourself saying "my" project, pause and ask: is that ownership helping you lead, or is it keeping you from seeing clearly?