Deflectors

I think I’ve ran into a new type of human!!  I am calling them “Deflectors” – these are the people that deflect all questions/repercussions away from themselves when they don’t do something, don’t do it well, or do it entirely wrong.

Ok, maybe this type of human has been around for awhile…..  🙂   Maybe I’ve just never seen it exhibited so clearly and so often by any one person as I am now.

This is simply an amazing thing to experience (in my opinion). It is like dealing with a three-year old child.  You watch them spill their glass of milk on the table, immediately ask them if they did it, and they tell you that they did not.  WHAT???  Or, maybe better, you watch one of them kick the kid next to them. When asked why this did that they tell you that they didn’t but if they had it would have been due to some writings by King Xeres which commanded …. blah.. blah.. Blah…   I’ve raised three children so I know how it works but dealing with the exact same behavior in a grown adult is not something I have had the pleasure of experiencing until recently.

 I figured some research was in order to try and understand this person.  What I found is interesting – kind of a spread of possibilities:

• No one else will excuse them, they have to excuse themselves. Their only relief is from giving themselves reason to forgive themselves.
• It is easier for most people to be insincere than to be introspective or self-critical.
• They believe they are more perfect than everyone else (when none of us are perfect).
• They lack self confidence and their emotional needs are satisfied by the responses of others to them. Admitting being wrong causes huge negative feelings so they deflect the issue.

 I don’t even know what to do with that information. As a software developer and system architect, the vast majority of people that I have worked with understand the value of admitting mistakes. Being able to discuss and learn from them is extremely valuable to any business.  Perhaps that is why this “new type of human” is so confusing to me.  The subject does not matter, my goal is to learn, improve, be more productive, and move forward.  I wonder what the American economy would be like today if everyone worked that way….