Reflecting back on my first supervisor job, many thoughts and memories are relived. The excitement of a new opportunity, being proud of the promotion, and wanting to contribute more are some things that come up. Yes, there were challenges too. Many I did not anticipate nor feel prepared to handle.
While digging into my professional growth, I found attribution theory, which provided a useful framework to keep me grounded and more in control of my emotions, improving my productivity and ultimately my leadership capabilities.
Attribution theory focuses on how people perceive and understand the causes of their behavior, behavior of others, and subsequent outcomes. There are three prongs of this theory for its framework:
- Permanent vs. Temporary: Once something happens, it’s always going to be this way vs. this will change over time, so let’s go with the flow.
- Global vs. Specific: Once something happens, it happens this way every time vs. this is a moment in time and this is how it worked.
- Internal vs. External: Once something happens, it’s my fault; I’m to blame vs. the environment or conditions were wrong, etc.
Developing mental skills is essential for any profession because we’re always striving, facing challenges, and trying to make sense of the world around us. Being aware of what you’re attributing outcomes to can be key to help stave off frustration, heightened emotions, and burnout.
During my early days of supervision, I was bouncing around the entire framework. At times, I was blaming myself for results such as poor teamwork or communication. Other times, I’d feel positive about my approach, despite less desirable results, and wonder what external factor got in the way. I had a solid grasp on the temporary piece, yet had moments where it felt like deja vu and thus global in nature. Those feelings mostly involved employee management situations because of personality and/or team dynamics.
Understanding attribution theory and how it applies to your world can provide a solid approach to stay in command of your thoughts and emotions. Focusing on what’s out of your control while thinking circumstances always happen “this way” and always will continue “this way”, can truly undermine your resilience and well-being.
Concentrating on thoughts, feelings and beliefs that align with permanent, global, and external can develop negative results, because “there’s nothing you can do with the never-ending circumstances.”
Knowing everything will change and every moment is unique, while also examining what you can do, allows you to operate from a strong and positive position. This outlook lets you take ownership over your actions, knowing they matter, while understanding that your approach applies to this temporary, unique situation. Every outcome is different and unique and there’s nothing to gain from ruminating over it.
Focusing on what you can control while evaluating situations for exactly what they are can help you be more successful and effective. Having a healthy team starts with you being a healthy leader. Knowing where and how to attribute outcomes is a step on that path.
Matt Wallat serves as a District Ranger with the National Park Service (NPS) in Colorado. His 20-year career spans eight different NPS units in six different states with assignments in patrol, investigations, program management, court liaison, training officer, and supervisor for 11+ years.
With a strong background in employee development as an agency instructor, Matt continues to evolve with his coaching practice, creating leadership training programs, engaging in curriculum design work, and leading a recent international training program in Tanzania.
He enjoys family time and many other interests including fly fishing, creative DIY projects, music, craft beer and Boston sports.
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