Photo by law_keven

Yesterday, we had our monthly program review with our director.  One program manager had bad news about one of their projects.  Let’s call him Larry.  He did a good job explaining, in great detail, about where they went wrong, and the steps that his team needed to take to finish the job.  He didn’t get ripped too badly.  But then, he said something that will come back to haunt him, and earned him the Mark of the Weasel!

Pointing the finger

The item that was being produced under Larry had firmware that was developed under another job, headed by Mike.  Larry was almost finished with his explanation, when he threw in a parting shot.  He blamed the “poor” design of the firmware as a contributing factor to the cost growth.  I know for a fact that this was not true.  Mike, who also knew that this was bullshit, also was in the room, and I could see the smoke start to pour out of his ears.  He kept his mouth shut, but I don’t think Mike will be helping Larry the Weasel again any time soon.

Incurring wrath

The point was, Larry is the program manager.  He’s ultimately responsible for the success or failure of his projects.  He gets all of the credit when things go right, so he should be prepared to take his lumps when things go wrong.  Blaming an innocent bystander just to avoid the wrath of your boss is a weak tactic.  Plus, you run the risk of incurring the wrath of the person who you blamed.  I know that Mike is sharpening his knives, and will probably inform the director that the firmware passed all of the required tests, and that Larry is full of shit.  The director will probably ask himself: Is this type of leadership acceptable?  Has he no character?

Corrective action

When you’ve “screwed the pooch”, so to speak, here are the steps that you should take to keep your credibility and your job:

Rule #1: Fess up, and right away

Raise your hand and take the blame.  You want to leave as much time as possible to correct the mistake.  Don’t sit on the problem, and hope that it just goes away.  As one wise man said, “Bad news doesn’t improve with age.” Deal with it now, swiftly,  like ripping off a band aid.

Rule #2: Accept responsibility

Don’t try to weasel out of taking the blame.  If you screwed up, admit it.  People will think more highly of you.  They will eventually find out the truth, anyway.  Admitting your faults will help you keep your credibility.  People like working with those who have character; people of character can be depended upon.

Rule #3: Have a recovery plan

Even though Larry broke Rule #2, he did have a plan to mitigate the problem.  Don’t just drop a load of crap for someone else to clean up; explain how you’re going to make things right.  And make sure that you have the concurrence of everyone involved; you don’t need any dissension.

Rule #4: Execute the plan

Now that you’ve identified the problem and planned a recovery, follow the plan.  There’s nothing worse than not following through on your promises.  It’s that character thing again.  Get to work!

Rule #5: Lessons learned

At the end of each South Park episode, either Kyle or Stan will sum up their latest misadventure by saying, “You know, I’ve learned something today.” Don’t just file this lesson in the deep recesses of your mind.  Write it down, and share it with your peers.  You might be able to save someone else, and your employer, additional heartache in the future.

So the next time that you mess up at work, rather than trying to weasel out of responsibility, follow my rules and accept the blame.  You’ll show that you have character, and everyone will like you better for it.

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