You Did Most of the Work on That Project and So Did Everyone Else

The retro session was cordial. Everyone agreed it was a collaborative effort. Later, over coffee, three individuals each shared the same sentiment. They were sincere in their statements. You felt you carried the bulk of the responsibility. Each of them believed it wholeheartedly. You were present for the late nights, the tasks others shunned, and the weekend when the system import failed.

You could vividly recall every moment. That presents a challenge. In 1979, Michael Ross and Fiore Sicoly posed a straightforward question to married couples. Each person answered independently. For a variety of household chores, such as cleaning, shopping, and planning weekend activities, they were asked to estimate their contribution.

They then combined the two responses. In most cases, the combined total exceeded the entire task. No one was deceiving. Each partner had a clear memory of their own contributions, detailing when they were busy and how exhausted they felt. The contributions of the other person typically occurred without their direct observation. They manifested as a result – a tidy kitchen, a scheduled outing – rather than through individual efforts.

The perception of one's own work feeling more significant is similar to working in a team with more members and longer memories. Your own efforts are documented in a personal log. Other team members' contributions are recorded as a series of code merges. You observed the bug you rectified. You did not witness the time someone spent persuading a customer to stay.

Or the review that prevented a flawed design from being implemented before you even read it. Or the on-call night that concluded peacefully because someone had previously resolved the alert. Research later identified a factor that alleviates this issue. Before individuals evaluate their own share, they should contemplate each colleague's role, one by one.

By doing so, their self-assessed contributions decrease. Thus, it is advisable to adopt this practice intentionally, prior to retrospectives, promotion discussions, or casual coffee conversations. Before discussing the split, or making a promotion case, or enjoying coffee, write a single line for each team member. Document the contributions they made that you did not personally observe.

If unable to pen such a line, you lack sufficient insight to accurately assess the division of labor. Maintain a shared record throughout the project, encompassing both visible and invisible contributions. Additionally, when feeling as though you shouldered the entire burden, recognize that those around you likely feel the same way.

In most situations, each team member accurately perceives their own effort. However, they often miscalculate the overall effort.