By Daniel Bobinski
The workplace seems to be spinning faster these days. We live in a hyper-connected world of instant messaging, video calls, and digital paper trails. But one thing hasn’t changed much, and that’s the impulse to point the finger of blame as soon as possible when something goes wrong.
Granted, some person or some department may ultimately need to be identified as being at fault for a problem, but simply identifying who gets the blame and stopping there does not solve the problem. In fact, placing a spotlight on who’s to blame and making a big deal of it often creates more problems than it solves.
This blame game is as old as time. In the book of Genesis, when God asked Adam if he ate the forbidden fruit, Adam immediately blamed Eve. When God questioned Eve, she promptly blamed the serpent. This is the first story we have of something going wrong and blame was everyone’s first choice!
If you’re a parent or you’ve spent time around children, you know this tendency seems to be hardwired in our genetic makeup. Ask any young child about something that went wrong and they’ll instantly tell us someone else is to blame. It’s remarkable how humans of all ages deflect personal responsibility. It’s even more interesting that nobody teaches us this behavior. It comes naturally.
Blame at the Manager Level
Let’s consider someone who’s been promoted into management but practices the blame game. You’ve probably seen it. A project deadline is missed, and the manager immediately opens up the project management program to learn which person or team is the guilty party. That’s reasonable enough, but if all the manager does is contact that person or department and gets on their case, the manager isn’t making progress for improving the team.
Another situation might be managers spending too much time in meetings talking about why mistakes are bad. We know these things. A better use of time is discussing ways to prevent a mistake from happening again.
In other words, pointing only to who caused a problem does nothing. However, if true solutions are discussed and implemented, the likelihood of similar future problems occurring is greatly diminished.
Digital Age Blame
I hope the blame game isn’t an issue at your workplace, but if you see it happening – whether in-person or through emails or text messages – I urge you to work toward changing it. Having consulted across numerous industries, I’ve observed how a culture in which blame runs rampant leads to lower commitment levels and reduced effectiveness, as well as plummeting morale.
In fact, over the past decade, you’ve probably noticed an increase in people feeling it’s OK to be snide and snippy in their digital communications. I am regularly appalled as I see people say things digitally that they would never say to someone’s face. This is particularly dangerous because the absence of face-to-face interaction makes restoration of trust even more challenging.
Solving Problems in a Healthy Way
To err is human, so it really helps if us humans have a way to get past the blame game. A structured approach helps, and the following four-step plan creates an easy-to-remember framework:
- Analyze and define the problem. For larger problems that have complex situations, I strongly recommend conducting a “root cause analysis” (an online search will reveal several methodologies). Without a clearly defined target, it’s impossible to develop solutions that address the actual problem rather than just putting bandages on its symptoms.
- Identify viable solutions. Too many people think good leadership means solving problems quickly. Sometimes that’s absolutely necessary, but more often, an effective solution developed over time is better than a quick, efficient one.
- Evaluate and implement a solution. This means working collaboratively, even if it’s over distances. More than one set of eyes should evaluate potential solutions to ensure the best chances for long-term success, and with phones and video conferencing readily available anyplace and anytime, take advantage of those communication avenues.
- Determine prevention strategies. Identify which systems, training, or changes can be implemented to prevent similar issues in the future.
One effective technique when going through these steps is examining what’s known as the four P’s: People, Products, Policies, and Procedures. For each category, we can ask – and answer – some direct questions:
People: Do team members have adequate training? Are communication problems occurring? (This is especially important in remote settings where nonverbal cues may be missed.) Are the right people in the right roles? What feedback do those closest to the problem have about preventing recurrence? Is management willing to make necessary adjustments?
Products: Did the problem result from using incorrect tools or platforms? Was the right technology used incorrectly? Are better tools available? Is there a system for regularly evaluating and updating our technology and resources?
Policies: Do clear policies exist for both in-office and remote work? Are they documented or just assumed? Who creates them? How are they communicated and enforced across different work environments? How can policies be reviewed more effectively?
Procedures: Do procedures exist for the circumstances surrounding the problem? If not, can they be created? How are procedures taught, especially to remote team members? Is there a better way to document and share procedures in your digital workplace?
The list of questions above is not exhaustive, but notice one thing. Nowhere do you see, “Who screwed up?” If we’ve hired someone not suited to the job and that person is the cause of multiple problems, it’s one thing to blame that person. However, in reality, we have another root issue to solve, and it likely involves our hiring process, our training or our onboarding procedures.
The bottom line is that the blame game is shortsighted and should be avoided by those who consider themselves professionals. A better approach is to first ask the right questions, identify what caused the problem in the first place, and then take corrective actions.
Daniel Bobinski, Th.D. is the author of the best-selling book “Creating Passion-Driven Teams” and the owner of Workplace Excellence. Also a certified behavioral analyst, Daniel consults and conducts training on workplace effectiveness and leadership development. He can be reached at danielbobinski@protonmail.com or eqfactor.net.
