When something goes wrong, how does your boss behave? Is he/she interested in finding out “Who is at Fault” or “What is at Fault” 1st? What are your experiences with your bosses, mom, dad, colleagues, and siblings?
Have you ever experienced certain colleagues trying to save face by saying “not my fault” or “it happened because of you” etc.?
For instance:
– When you depend on some data from another colleague to finalize a report for your boss and don’t receive the data on time, you might become the victim in front of your boss.
– As a customer service agent facing clients, you might receive a low score for your service levels due to lack of support from the head office.
– The customer service department might rate you as “below expectations” when you face challenges with system breakdowns and poor technological support.
Similar scenarios can occur within groups too:
– The sales department might blame the finance department for not issuing an invoice to a client, even though the sales department was responsible for submitting necessary information.
– The customer service team might shift blame to the delivery team for delayed goods, while the delivery team’s inability to deliver could be due to the purchasing team not ordering stocks on time.
These behaviors reflect a “Who is at Fault Culture” (කාගෙද වැරැද්ද Cultures).
Managers and colleagues who isolate the context from a situation might identify someone to blame, often unfairly. This tendency ignores underlying issues and can result in unjust blame being placed on you.
Leadership maturity involves putting things in perspective and understanding the context before drawing conclusions. When I mention “Leadership,” I refer to a mindset rather than a position.
Especially, if your company upholds values like “Collaborative Leadership,” “Teamwork,” and “Trust,” dealing with a team that embraces a “Who is at Fault” mindset will make your crazy. People will draw down comparisons on what is expressed by the company against what they experience. Blame-shifting and negative talk about the company may occur, although such experiences stem from individual behavior, not the company itself.
Leadership maturity involves questioning oneself continually. Prioritizing understanding “What is at Fault” over “Who is at Fault” offers a choice. However, the “What is at Fault” mindset requires effort and understanding the context. It’s not a quick fix, unlike the expedient approach of placing blame.
Consider the example from my first workplace:
Starting my career as a banker, I worked at the clearing counters, where we had to work with lot of numbers. One of my colleagues was repeatedly making mistakes with numbers, leading me to assume carelessness. Yet, I later realized his vision has been the reasons for repetitive mistakes. This experience taught me the importance of “What is at Fault” perspective and the impact that can have on us and others as well.
We will never be able to understand why things happen that way unless we try see to the world from other’s lenses.
Your choice matters:
Shaping a desired culture involves embracing the power of the “What is at Fault” mindset (කොතනද වැරද්ද?. However, I don’t want to go with direct translation on කොතනද).This doesn’t negate the “WHO” aspect, but rather balances it. Imagine working with colleagues who constantly live with the “Who is at Fault Syndrome.” It’s like chasing a ball around the court.
However, you are one step above the rest…and choice is yours!
Are we to start from “WHO” or “WHAT” is what I would like to put in front of you to reflect.
Wish you all the best!
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Charitha Bandara is an HR Professional with more than 23+ years of corporate exposure, specializes & passionate in the areas of Coaching, Culture, Leadership/Management/Team/People Development. As a trainer & a consultant, he has conducted 1,000+ corporate training sessions during last 15 years and trained over 66,000+ participants.
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