Metaperception in Investment Banking

In all industries, particularly Investment Banking, people struggle with the idea of perception. Sticky images, self-fulfilling prophecy, you name it. Ultimately, it really comes down to one concept: Metaperception.

People fail to realize the inherent traits of human nature and therefore form fundamental behavioral flaws that may ultimately lead to an undesired culture

Metaperception: How an individual perceives others' perceptions of themselves

Analyst: You think you're the lifesaver of the firm. Underpaid and undervalued. You want to be respected and do only the work that you think is relevant. No pitches, no charts, no comps, just live deals and complex valuations. Somehow you forget that you're the bottom of the totem pole, but hell, you plan on leaving in 2 years anyways.

Associate: You think people don't understand you. You're "managing up" and you're "managing down". If there is a problem, up or down, it somehow falls on your plate. You don't have enough authority to tell an analyst to prioritize your work and your ass is on the line if the analyst won't do it, can't do it or does it and gets it wrong. Your VP will say you need to be the quarterback of the team, but all your VP wants is for you to do his/her work. You think you got the hardest position in the firm.

Vice President: You're at this stage where you're not a junior banker anymore but you're not truly a senior banker either. You think you finally made it, but you have really only become a glorified associate. You tell yourself you're an officer, but you're really the senior banker 'analyst'. If you got a bad associate and a bad analyst, you are responsible. Not only do you need to prepare for client meetings, but you also got to manage a process.

Director: You're basically Robin and your MD is Batman. You feel pressured to bring in deals, yet your MD will somehow find a way to take credit. You got more authority now, but you're still in that hybrid stage where you have to balance between a VP and a MD. If you act like a VP, you're not going to get promoted. If you act like a MD (and given you're good), you're probably also not going to get promoted. Catch 22, no kidding right? People below you think your life is chill, but they don't know the half of it. You're one of the first to be let go if the firm has a bad year and not only do you need to make sure the engine is running, you need to start sourcing. You're flying more now and the hours don't get better. You're now a pseudo-consultant with the number of miles you've gotten.

Managing Director: You're finally there, but no, you don't feel like Gordon Gekko. You realize there's a lot more politics at this stage. You're constantly pressured to find a work-life balance. Sure, you're making more, but you're still being passed the hot potato. Now, it's about making sure you get a seat on the musical chair. You get 2 years to prove yourself, 2 years to source a deal, or you're out. When you were a director, it was your MD that wanted to take credit for your deals. Now you're an MD, it's your group head. Will this ever end? Why is that MD from EMEA and APAC trying to take credit for the deal that you brought in? M&A deals just don't come by easily and your firm has a minimum threshold policy. Okay, the end of year reviews are coming. You ask your analysts to put some deal codes into the pipeline. It's all theatrics at the end anyways.