Blame Game BS
I need to vent about a very frustrating day of work. I discovered a mistake that I made on a pretty important project today. The size of the mistake was relatively insignificant (worth more than my salary but only a small portion of what my company makes in a given quarter). I was not entirely at fault for the mistake, but I was probably 75% at fault. The rest of the blame lies within another division of the company due to poor communication in response to an instruction e-mail I sent out two weeks ago.
I sent an e-mail outlining my mistake to the related parties around noon today. The head of that said department read the e-mail around 4:30 and flipped out. He came by my desk unannounced with three of his direct reports who were loosely involved with the situation. His goal was merely to assign blame. Once his finger pointing game was done and he was comfortable that I was mostly to blame for the mistake, he told his reports to work with me to fix the problem and let him know when we were all set. He then proceeded to walk back twice in the next half hour to interrogate me some more and then insist that nothing be changed until my manager has called him and given approval to any changes.
It's not like we were talking about a $25 million error, or even a $5 million error. The amount was relatively insignificant for this company. I have a good working relationship with this individual that came down hard on me today, but he does not manage adverse situations very well. The way he comes down on people when things go wrong is terrible. As a division leader at the company, he should encourage you not to be afraid to admit to a mistake so that the problem can be resolved appropriately. I imagine that most of the people in his area often hide their mistakes so that they don't get yelled at. This finger pointing game is pure bullshit. All the leaders in that general area are notorious for coming down hard on people that make mistakes. He would have been much more effective if he accepted that a mistake was made and helped be part of the solution. It's not like I didn't understand the magnitude of the situation. That's why I spoke up and admitted my mistake today before it was too late to resolve.
Needless to say, I was very upset that I was embarrassed in front of other people. However, I kept my mouth shut and worked to resolve the situation until I finally left work this evening around 8PM. I am dreading the potential backlash tomorrow morning. I may have fucked up, but I am still irritated on how I was blindsided and called out in front of others.
I sent an e-mail outlining my mistake to the related parties around noon today. The head of that said department read the e-mail around 4:30 and flipped out. He came by my desk unannounced with three of his direct reports who were loosely involved with the situation. His goal was merely to assign blame. Once his finger pointing game was done and he was comfortable that I was mostly to blame for the mistake, he told his reports to work with me to fix the problem and let him know when we were all set. He then proceeded to walk back twice in the next half hour to interrogate me some more and then insist that nothing be changed until my manager has called him and given approval to any changes.
It's not like we were talking about a $25 million error, or even a $5 million error. The amount was relatively insignificant for this company. I have a good working relationship with this individual that came down hard on me today, but he does not manage adverse situations very well. The way he comes down on people when things go wrong is terrible. As a division leader at the company, he should encourage you not to be afraid to admit to a mistake so that the problem can be resolved appropriately. I imagine that most of the people in his area often hide their mistakes so that they don't get yelled at. This finger pointing game is pure bullshit. All the leaders in that general area are notorious for coming down hard on people that make mistakes. He would have been much more effective if he accepted that a mistake was made and helped be part of the solution. It's not like I didn't understand the magnitude of the situation. That's why I spoke up and admitted my mistake today before it was too late to resolve.
Needless to say, I was very upset that I was embarrassed in front of other people. However, I kept my mouth shut and worked to resolve the situation until I finally left work this evening around 8PM. I am dreading the potential backlash tomorrow morning. I may have fucked up, but I am still irritated on how I was blindsided and called out in front of others.
posted by GaryGinew at 9:54 PM
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