No Blame by Michael Carroll from Awake at Work from Shambhala Publications Because work is a mess,
It is inevitable that we make mistakes.
Some are small,
Like dialing the wrong number,
And some are monumental,
Like permitting the Challenger Space Shuttle to launch.
When we do our jobs well,
We try to limit our mistakes.
We work hard to accomplish our goals,
And we never intentionally mess up.
We dislike making mistakes because they create confusion and doubt,
And can leave us and our colleagues feeling inadequate or embarrassed.
Mistakes require that we retrace our steps,
Repair damage,
And reassess our views.
In many instances,
Mistakes can be our best teachers,
Demanding that we learn vital lessons about ourselves and how we do our jobs.
They require that we stop and consider our circumstances carefully,
Right here,
Right now.
At work,
Unfortunately,
Mistakes are too often treated more like enemies than teachers.
Since they invade our routines,
Slow us down,
Cost money,
And wreak havoc on plans,
The conventional attitude is that mistakes are unacceptable and must be defeated.
We can find ourselves hunting down and punishing mistakes or avoiding them at all costs.
We learn quickly that if mistakes are the enemy,
Then mistakes are best made by someone else.
When we treat mistakes as enemies rather than teachers,
We inevitably end up behaving like cowards.
Rather than accepting responsibility,
We distance ourselves from problems and difficulties.
Rather than facing facts with accountability and precision,
We blame or make excuses.
I recall a publishing colleague,
Greg,
Who was uniquely skilled in the art of avoiding responsibility and placing blame.
He was renowned as the Teflon sales manager because he could cook up endless justifications while ensuring that no mistakes stuck to his record.
Greg running a financial meeting was a marvel to behold.
If an accountant pointed out that Greg's department was over budget,
Greg would calmly recall that he had forecast such an overage six months ago and was surprised that the adjustment had not been made.
Or if his travel and entertainment expenses were high,
He would patiently remind people that each dollar was targeted to close a critical deal.
If someone questioned his low sales forecast,
Greg would talk about the realities of sales cycles.
If someone pointed out his escalating marketing costs,
Greg would show growing market share.
Greg was smooth,
Confident,
And reassuring,
And management loved the showmanship.
Inevitably,
Of course,
Greg would get cornered,
And just as inevitably,
He would pass the blame onto sales representatives and managers who weren't pulling their weight.
Greg's showmanship was so perfected that when he spoke about the need to fire those who had made the mistakes,
He would portray himself as anguished and genuinely troubled.
Greg was the supreme Teflon man,
And he was also considered by many to be the company's number one coward.
When organizations treat mistakes as the enemy,
The results can be disastrous.
In the 90s,
Dozens of companies chose the Teflon route rather than precise accountability.
Arthur Andersen,
Merrill Lynch,
Putnam Investments,
Enron,
WorldCom,
And Global Crossing,
Among others.
Rather than acknowledge business failures and learn from mistakes,
Hundreds of corporate executives at these firms chose to restate profits,
Book questionable sales,
Or even manipulate stock prices in order to maintain the façade.
Of course,
When the criminal charges and lawsuits were filed,
No one took responsibility.
Others were always to blame.
When mistakes are the enemy,
The game of hide and blame becomes a high art.
No blame encourages us to respect errors at work,
Our own and others.
Of course,
We need not announce our failures from atop the tallest building.
In fact,
Being honest about mistakes at work requires tact,
Humility,
And skill.
When we permit mistakes to teach us,
We discuss problems discreetly and listen to others' points of view.
We treat facts as friendly,
And we learn ways to improve our jobs.
We may have to come to some tough conclusions about ourselves and others along the way.
When we are honest about mistakes,
We slow down and take full stock of our circumstances.
This requires us to open ourselves fully to the discomfort and detail,
Rather than rush past our circumstances,
Papering over the failures to regain a false sense of mastery.
No blame counteracts the cowardice of avoiding our responsibilities at work.
We can bravely learn from our failures without blaming others.
Such courage is both demanding and refreshing.
Since we're willing to be truthful,
Precise,
And accountable,
We're not confused by self-deception.
Since we're willing to be honest,
There is no struggle.
