The Magic of Merit

I didn't believe it until I experienced it myself. Did you know that what you see can change what you hear? Not what you think you heard, but what you actually hear. Allow me to explain.

Our hearing is not exactly like a microphone, with our ears registering with high fidelity the vibrations in the air. Instead, there is a layer of brain processing that constructs what we actually hear. Included in this processing is what we see.

A mind-boggling demonstration of this is the McGurk Effect. If you watch a video of a person saying "Bah" you will hear "Bah." However, this is where it gets tricky. If the same exact "Bah" audio is played, but this time you see a video of the person saying "Fah", you will hear "Fah" instead of "Bah."

What we see influences what we hear and in this case, overrides it completely!

Don't believe me? Curious? Confused? In any case, you don't have to take my word for it.

Experience it yourself in the video below.

Incredible, right? The part that really astonished me was that no matter how much you know about the effect, it doesn't matter. You still can't help hearing "Fah." We are all seemingly powerless to correct this error of perception, even with the full knowledge that it exists. But are we truly powerless?

This reminds me of a common limitation of unconscious bias trainings that seek to reduce bias and increase inclusion. Like the McGurk Effect, learning about the existence and impact of your biased perceptions does nothing to eliminate them. You will still see and hear everything through a lens of bias. "Fah, fah, fah."

The Misperception of Merit

This limitation raises an unsettling truth: the belief in “merit” as a champion of fairness and driver of excellence is built on a false foundation. In a world where bias distorts perception, how can we be sure our assessments of someone’s ability—or lack thereof—are rooted in reality rather than bias?

And if we misjudge people when making decisions about hiring, developing, and promoting, what ripple effect does that have on the performance of our teams?

Imagine an experiment where you watch a video of 2 different people leading a meeting, where their speech and actions are exactly the same. The only difference is one person shares many outward characteristics (e.g., race, gender, or age) of the majority of leaders in your company and the other doesn't. Then, you are asked to rate them along the following lines.

• Are they being confident or arrogant?

• Are they passionate or too emotional?

• Is their appearance authentic or unprofessional?

• Are they speaking English as a second language or less unintelligent?

Now ask yourself: would your ratings be the same for both people? Consider how your ratings may reveal less about their performance—and more about the unconscious filters through which you’re viewing it.

So where does this leave us? Are we doomed to a choice between always questioning our perceptions vs. ignoring reality at our own peril? How can we override our own brain's operating system to see people and their performance more clearly? Is it even possible for us to create a team that truly operates under a state of, "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose?"

Unconscious Bias, Meet Magic.

One way I've found useful to tackle seemingly intractable problems is an approach I call "parallel problem solving"—looking at similar challenges in different contexts to uncover solutions that might apply to my own. This is a form of analogical problem solving, where insights from one domain help reframe and address problems in another.

Magic tricks take advantage of your brain's normal processing to create a magical illusion. Similar to the McGurk Effect, because the trick is designed around how your brain actually works, knowing how the trick is executed will not matter. Despite knowing it is not real magic, you can't help but see what the magician wants you to see.

What if there were ways you could overcome this? And could we take those methods and apply them to the very real world of work and leadership?

Piercing the Illusion of Magic

As a live audience member in a magic show, the magician controls where you sit, the lighting, the sound, and their own movements. This is all optimized to fool you into seeing what they want you to see, rather than what is actually happening. It can be equally disturbing and delightful, which is why magic has been around since ancient times and continues to thrive today. However, there are ways you can pierce the illusion and begin to see what is actually happening, once you take some measure of control back.

Here are a few strategies.

1. Change your Perspective – When you view the trick from a different vantage point, you may see things you couldn't see from your seat.

2. Slow it down – If you were allowed to record the trick and watched it using slo-motion, you may see things that were too quick for the human eye to register.

3. Ignore the Misdirection – If you train yourself to ignore the hand the magician wants you to watch and instead look at their other hand, you may get a glimpse of what is really happening.

But we're not here to talk about magic. We're here to talk about seeing a person's potential and performance more clearly so we can foster excellence in our teams. Let's apply the three methods above to the context of seeing merit more clearly.

Piercing the Illusion of Merit

The way we perceive a magic trick is similar to how we perceive people, especially those from groups that are underrepresented. Our brains use shortcuts, influenced by past experiences, social conditioning, and biases, creating a misperception of someone’s capabilities or potential. So when we see and feel "merit" and when we evaluate behavior and performance, it's quite possible and even likely that we are not seeing clearly.

By leveraging the strategies we used above to pierce the illusion of a magic trick, we can discover ways to pierce the illusion of merit.

Strategy #1: Changing Your Perspective

Evaluating a colleague fairly isn’t just about what you see—it’s about where you’re looking from. Your default vantage point is limited by your own experience, biases, and assumptions. But while you can’t become them, you can get closer to their reality—and in doing so, address blind spots in your own judgment.

Here’s how to apply this strategy:

1. Get to know them – Find opportunities to connect to them on a human level to improve your understanding

2. Ask, don't assume – Leverage curiosity instead of relying on assumptions if something doesn't make sense to you

3. Expand your vantage points – Get out of your comfort zone and get to know the viewpoints of people who are not in your usual circles

Strategy #2: Leveraging the Power of Slow Thinking

When evaluating a colleague's performance, your brain naturally defaults to System 1 thinking (fast, automatic thinking) – which is prone to biases. To counteract this, you might deliberately engage System 2 thinking (slow, analytical thinking), as described by Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman in Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Here’s how to apply this strategy:

1. Pause your snap judgments – Recognize when your brain jumps to conclusions.

2. Question first impressions – Ask: "Is this assessment based on facts or assumptions?"

3. Incorporate evidence-based evaluation – Use objective data, structured criteria, and additional evaluations besides your own.

Strategy #3: Looking Beyond the Obvious

To fairly evaluate a colleague, train yourself to look past the surface and spot the unseen reasons and circumstances behind their behavior. The misdirection here might be based on what society wants you to see or what the individual wants to keep private. In either case, what you see is never the whole story.

Here’s how to apply this strategy:

1. Question the Spotlight – Consider what you are missing by being focused on a single behavior

2. Watch the Other Hand – Actively look for what isn't visible, like systemic barriers, hidden challenges, or unique pressures to gain a more holistic view of their performance

3. Flip the Script – Challenge your initial interpretations by asking: "How might this perceived weakness actually be a strength in different contexts?"

The Problem with Our Evaluations of Merit

In theory, I have no problem with merit, which simply means "the quality of being particularly good or worthy." My problem is that in practice, even when we are aware of the existence of our own biases, awareness alone does not remove the bias with which we view people's merit.

But as we've learned with the help of our magical analogy, all is not lost. There are specific steps you can take to pierce the illusion of merit, by:

Changing Your Perspective

Leveraging the Power of Slow Thinking

Looking Beyond the Obvious

The real magic? Recognizing that fairness isn't about ignoring differences or even about understanding the role that biases play in our evaluations. Fairness can only exist when we take actions that reduce the impact of our biases and in doing so, move us closer to seeing people—especially those from underrepresented groups—as they truly are, not as our biases would have us believe.

By actively challenging how we perceive merit and making an effort to see beyond our own biases, we can build more inclusive, high-performing teams with the talent we already have, while also making smarter hiring and promotion decisions for the future.

Finally, to everyone who insists on using "merit" as a weapon to question, besmirch, or exclude underrepresented professionals, I leave you with the immortal words of Inigo Montoya to his bossy leader, Vizzini...

If you’re ready to take your performance to to the next level, let’s connect. Explore how applying connection principles can enhance your leadership or team’s performance. Whether it’s building trust, fostering innovation, or resolving conflicts, small shifts can lead to transformative results. You can find me at joe@connectioncounselor.com.