So You Were Wrong
I once worked for a boss who was never wrong, never made a
mistake or a bad decision. All you had to do was ask him. To his
staff he was Teflon-man. Nothing stuck to him and everything
came sliding toward us.
Accountability was not a concept he practiced unless things
turned out well and then, he claimed the credit. But if they
didn't, he immediately embarked on endeavors to identify someone
responsible. Being called to his office typically meant he was
looking for information and trying to decide whom to blame.
Justify. Justify. Justify. Like a battle cry, he commissioned
reports, graphs, charts and enhanced documentation whenever his
boss questioned him. He found it easier to dig his heels into a
position than admit he might have been wrong or change his mind.
Working for someone I couldn't respect eventually led me to
transfer departments.
But it still baffles me. People do make mistakes, they do trip
up sometimes and they do, on occasion, speak or act in error.
And while there's nothing that says we should be happy about it
when we do it ourselves, trying to act like it didn't happen,
covering up our mistakes, or trying to justify inaccurate
positions leads nowhere.
You see, unlike that early boss of mine, people who are winning
at working speak up and admit when they've made a mistake. They
take accountability for fixing resulting problems. And even if
they have to gather their courage and swallow hard, they
acknowledge when they're wrong.
I learned in twenty years in management that playing it safe,
isn't. One of the biggest mistakes you can make if you want to
be winning at working is pointing fingers, blaming others or
offering excuses. Own your decisions, choices and actions. Admit
when you're wrong. Fix your mistakes. Then learn from them and
move on. These are the signs of confident, accountable,
initiative-filled people. And these are the people you want on
your team.
There's a story I love about the famed British economist, John
Maynard Keynes, who was confronted by a young man after one of
his lectures. The man insisted Keynes give him an explanation of
why he contradicted himself with something written years before.
"Well," Keynes replied. "When I'm wrong, I change my mind."
Seems to me, that's pretty good advice for work and for life.
(c) 2005 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.