Why blaming doesn’t work
In a previous posting we referred to the idea that a workplace can have a culture of blame. In such a workplace, when things do go wrong (as they inevitably do in every workplace) the accepted strategy is is to blame someone (or something) else. Blaming becomes the norm. This is an unhealthy work environment.
Blaming someone else for a problem can sometimes give the blamer a sense of claiming the high moral ground. He (or she) stands proud—seemingly above the problem: “It wasn’t my fault!” they say, pointing the accusing finger ‘down’ at somebody else. The blamer feels self-satisfied that he or she is ‘safe’ and someone else will cop the wrap and a ‘blast’ from the manager.
However blaming is rarely an effective strategy. Blaming doesn’t help to fix the problem or facilitate change. There are several reasons for this:
Often too, the person casting blame is effectively side-stepping his or her responsibilities and not addressing what they might have done (or could do) to prevent such problems from occurring.
When we engage with people in workplaces we sometimes need to ask: “Do you want the satisfaction of the problem being solved? Or do you want the satisfaction of being able to blame someone else?” You can’t have both.
Do you have a culture of blame in your workplace? Or have you seen this happening in other workplaces? Share your stories and experiences with us. We look forward to hearing from you.
Peter Waterhouse
Work Doctor at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd
Related Articles:
Blaming someone else for a problem can sometimes give the blamer a sense of claiming the high moral ground. He (or she) stands proud—seemingly above the problem: “It wasn’t my fault!” they say, pointing the accusing finger ‘down’ at somebody else. The blamer feels self-satisfied that he or she is ‘safe’ and someone else will cop the wrap and a ‘blast’ from the manager.
However blaming is rarely an effective strategy. Blaming doesn’t help to fix the problem or facilitate change. There are several reasons for this:
- Blaming generates resentment & defensiveness
- Blaming erodes relationships
- Blaming compromises effective communication & cooperation
- Blaming doesn’t help get to the root cause of a problem or issue
- Blaming is just another form of ‘passing the buck’—in the end people need to accept responsibility if things are to change.
Often too, the person casting blame is effectively side-stepping his or her responsibilities and not addressing what they might have done (or could do) to prevent such problems from occurring.
When we engage with people in workplaces we sometimes need to ask: “Do you want the satisfaction of the problem being solved? Or do you want the satisfaction of being able to blame someone else?” You can’t have both.
Do you have a culture of blame in your workplace? Or have you seen this happening in other workplaces? Share your stories and experiences with us. We look forward to hearing from you.
Peter Waterhouse
Work Doctor at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd
Related Articles:
- Is your workplace sick?
- Symptoms of a sick workplace
- Curing a sick workplace: Coffee and cake, or onions?
- Why focus on workplace learning?
Labels: blame, communication, problem solving, workplace culture
posted by Workplace Learning Initiatives at
2:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home