In a conversation I had today, someone told me that they were very objective when it came to issues in an organization. I asked why did they think that? They said because they are not involved in the day to day operations. This allows them to not be as biased as someone who is in the middle of “stuff”.
What was interesting to me, as they talked, was that some of their information was simply wrong. They were sharing things that they were told first hand were true but were not. Never did they attempt to validate what they heard with a third person who either was detached from the first person or was the person responsible for the operation within the story that they were told.
This is the problem with our objectivity. We believe we are objective because we convince ourselves that our beliefs are true. The stories we tell ourselves are true. What we heard and how we interpreted what we heard was fair and objective.
To cultivate objectivity, you must seek out information from the most responsible person directly and to actively search for disconfirming evidence to disprove what you believe is objective truth.
Most people I meet don’t take the time to do this. They rush to conclusions. Their objectivity gets bent to align with their biases or worldview.
It happens to all of us at times, for we are only human. Understanding this tendency to over-value our objectivity can lead to better outcomes through greater clarity of thought if you are willing to put in the work.