Discussion on:

Why some co-workers will never admit to mistakes

Employees who are secure in their capacity to learn and improve on their mistakes will most likely have no problem admitting that they messed up.

The incompetent ones drag an issue, the "when all is said and done, there are more things said than done"-types that waste other people's time. After a long discussion, they have not learned anything new nor contributed any solutions to the trouble that they created.

You know blame, sheesh, who am I kidding, different.

You want people to admit to their mistakes, fine, you first, then we'll see !

I always admit to my mistakes, I just don't have many to admit to......

No really, by the way you spelt chnage wrong in this code.

to ending your sentence in a preposition?

I always admit to my mistakes, I just don't have many to admit to.

Correct grammer would have made it, "I just don't have many to which I need to admit."

Now correct grammar.....



Tried and tested technique that, divert attention from your own mistakes by pointing out those of others.

Well done grasshopper.

I guess I'll just have to suffer through life being improper.

Maybe even beyond... I think I'll have Tony's reply etched onto my headstone.

There is definitely a correlation between the lower economy and people that feel they need to always hide their mistakes.
Also the 20 something generations seems to have been hand held to much by their parents, and cannot handle constructive criticism in the workplace.

This is generalization at its worst ... Accusing younger/older people of being the sole cause of a problem. Look beyond your bias and you will see it crosses all boundaries.

I saw it from day 1.

I still see it today.

I'm am the first to say, I am not perfect. And if I tried that defensive not my fault stuff with my boss, he would beat me up badly.

But we have post mortems where everyone blames everyone else, but never looks at their own performance. So we are doomed to repeat these mistakes over and over.

James

At least you HAVE post mortems so there is a chance something might change some day. We don't even get a chance to do that. The biggest screw-up simply refuses to talk about it and has the position and power to get away with it.

But we have post mortems where everyone blames everyone else, but never looks at their own performance. So we are doomed to repeat these mistakes over and over.
-----------------------
I have been involved with many of these, and good exercise they are too, if conducted right.

You need to set down some ground rules before conducting a postmortem.

It is a team effort. All mistakes were made by the TEAM. No individual should be mentioned.

Remove the word 'you' from these type of meetings. This word can cause more disputes than any other.

Remember the postmortem meeting is a learning and education effort. We are here to learn, not to point fingers.

If you conduct the postmortem as a 'team' meeting, it can be very useful, although in my experience few of these lessons learnt are followed up on.

Les.

And always more successfully than my current employer.(where someone senior to me conducts the meeting)

While they lay out the ground rules, it doesn' last.

Its a shame.

James

Bah...I hate that mentality. What really drives me batty is that it's FAR faster to own your mistake and drive on than to finger point until we finally find out what the problem was and fix it.

A prime example is I had a coworker drop an LCD monitor, not a big deal, but it LOOKED ok...so when it gets plugged in, it has all kinds of freaky display problems. We spend hours trouble shooting drivers and video cards and other hardware (this was on a problem machine anyway, we had video issues on it before), until we get to the monitor...we change it out and all of a sudden, everything is fine. Had the coworker said "I dropped that one, we need to return it and pay for a new one," it would have cost FAR less than it did to try to "fix" a problem that shouldn't have been.

The absolute worst cuplrits for not owning up to mistakes, covering up, finger pointing and accountibility dodging are management.

Well you boss types are meant to lead by example, congratulations !

You taught us well.

By the way I did not make the mistake of responding to this drivel, it was him.

In the 30+ years I've been in the workforce, I've encountered more managers who are willing to admit their errors than rank-and-file employees. When I moved into management, it became far more critical to my employer that I admit to, and accept the responsibility for my mistakes - including mistakes that the people in the IT department make as a result of poor direction or bad information from me. In order for me to keep my credibility with my bosses AND my staff, I have to recognize and acknowledge when I am ultimately responsible for an error that one of my staff made.

Perhaps I've been been blessed with working with better managers than most other folks, I don't know.

"By the way I did not make the mistake of responding to this drivel, it was him."

Well then, all three of us are fired...

Not one, not even the guy with his mouse to his ear wondering why his phone was still ringing.

It wouldn't even matter if I wanted to hide my mistakes, they have my name written all over them. Perhaps I'm making a virtue out of necessity.

The rank and file, they're the ones who get sacked when managment screw up yes?

Start right at the top.
CEO of ailing corporate giant X leaves the company. It's a sad day he say, if my workforce had tried harder, I've have got another million in my golden handshake.

Thes git's get more money than I'll earn in my entire successful career for making a complete and total arse of things. I mispell chnge and it's tea and biscuits with my boss and a nice letter telling me I've one more chance.

Rank and file....

To my experience you work in a rare place. Most management egos won't work that way...

I don't see some much of the workers who won't admit their mistakes, but make excuses for why they made the mistake. Sometimes it does amount to blaming others for their short-comings but quite often includes blaming management for not providing them with the support they think they need to do the job right.

Take a look at the company culture and the response to mistakes. If mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn and improve, people are more likely to admit the mistake and what they learned from it. If the company response to any mistake or even the smell of a mistake by firing, berating and threatening, then you can be sure no one will try anything new, or will do anything that can be labeled as a mistake.

We also need to separate events where people were trying but made a mistake from the ones created by people blundering along without the skills, knowledge or experience to know they made a mistake. Typically those are also the people who are ready to blame everyone else.

then I realized I was wrong

NT

Problem Resolution Flow Chart

http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/info_and_tech/assets/problem_resolution.jpg

but thanks now I have a copy of it.

LOL

in Kim Stanley Robinson's Antarctica.
He's a good researcher though, so he may have plucked it from the Corporate Management 101 course.

The mentality of an organization has to be cultivated where mistakes are seen as Edison said, "what does not work" which means you have learned something valuable from each mistake. Also mistakes happen, just not the same one each time.

I used to work for a boss who would never admit to her mistakes. That along with her other unprofessional behavior, took away all respect that I ever had for her. She was perfectly competent, but even competent people make mistakes.

I remember when we got a new phone system (her responsibility) and she forgot to explain to the second shift guy what he needed do to close the system for a holiday. She told upper management that he forgot to make the change, without ever saying anything to him. He didn't know it, but she let him take all of the blame for the company receiving calls all day that would not be answered. He was somewhat irresponsible so she figured it was a safe bet to blame him. Not only that, but after the guy left the company she would bring it up every holiday - "I still remember when ___ forgot to set the holiday announcement, what a mess that was." She would say this in front of me, apparently forgetting that I was there at the time and I knew what really happened.

Although as I said she was competent in her technical skills, she was without a doubt the most unprofessional person I have ever worked with or for. It was very difficult to work for someone who commanded no respect whatsoever.

You should have called her on that if not publicly, then privately. If she's allowed to get away w/ something like that then her behavior can't be expected to change.

And if she's above you in the power chain, you very well will have cut your own throat with a public embarrassment of her like that. If everyone else really knows, she is just making herself look even worse. This is the kind of thing that is revealed as you leave a company for your already acquired new job.

I try to own up to my mistakes. Whenever I do, a certain co-worker takes me aside and tells me I didn't need to do so, and that I'm undermining myself. I think it's better to say "I misunderstood" (which is usually why I make a mistake) or to ask for help/clarification so I'm not spinning my wheels or working on something that isn't what people are expecting.

Hmmm...is not asking for help related to not taking responsibility for one's mistakes?

Maybe I'm willing to admit mistakes or ask for help because I'm not a careerist...???

A lot has to do with a corporation's culture. Some organizations have zero tolerance for mistakes, which leads to minimal risk taking and lots of spending to make the failures appear to be successful. You won't ever see someone admitting to a mistake in this type of culture, regardless of their mindset.

People from different cultures often handle this differently, due to the society in which they were raised. For example (and I am in no way prejudiced), it seems that many people who have a Russian upbringing have an extremely hard time admitting mistakes. This might be because they were raised in an environment that encouraged them to appear strong and in control at all times, and to never show weakness. Today, they may consider admitting a mistake as a clear sign of weakness. I see this behavior almost daily, and am finally coming to understand the possible cause. It's not so much a personality issue as it is an upbringing issue, perhaps.

Part of this issue is work-environment driven so the problem often escalates to twice its size. The work environment and management are not committed to the excellence of the company but whether the spot light of good favor is or isn't shining on them. Consequently, a lack of trust permeates. Admitting a mistake or misjudgment is the first important step toward a solution. Someone said (I wish I could remember who) that a good manager isn't someone who never makes a mistake, but someone who hardly ever makes a mistake. Never admitting an error or being an "I'm sorry" person (continually saying "I'm sorry" without proactive commitment toward a resolution is just an excuse for substandard performance) is just as devastating as a work environment or a manager that punishes or worse, humiliates personnel for mistakes.

.. there are ways of doing things and there are better ways of doing things. There is no wrong way.

I have no problem that I could have done that better. I do have a problem admitting that I was wrong.

Les.

what pills are you taking, I want some! Must be some very powerful meds. So, If I was to say that I can create a fission reacter with 3 twigs and a shoestring, I would be right? Wow, just an alternate (universe) way to do it!

Everyone makes mistakes. Most learn from them (but not all). I made a huge one recently, and when I caught it (a bit late), I informed all of the people that needed to know, with details.
yeah, I felt like a tardboy afterwards, but the fact that everyone that needed to, knew when I did, it meant that nobody was out of the loop and the proper corrections could be made. In this case, it was data loss that was partially unrecoverable, however it is better than being totally unrecoverable...

advisable to admit mistakes is, eventually you start believing the bollocks you came out with when someone tried to get you to.

At that point you stop learning anything except effective covering up.

I guess that's when you finally reached the point in your career when you can finally work in government...

It's a way of looking at other people. There are no absolutes in life .. if you really believe that you created a nuclear reactor who am I to contradict? You are not wrong, but I may consider that you come from another universe .. I don't know .. apparently there are other universes where anything is possible.

Going through life judging everything you encounter to be 'right' or 'wrong' is a sad way to live. Try to be a little more open-minded.

Les.

So, that's right? Because I want it to be right?

Beyond bizarre, honestly...

.. yes absolutely.

2+2=11 .. yes it does, see if you can work it out for yourself.

I can find a way to make 2+2=!%&* if I want.

The answer to 2+2 was invented by humans. Because someone tells you 2+2=4 and only 4 does make it right.

Think laterally, use your imagination and almost anything can become true.

Ever see The Matrix? How do you know the movie isn't based on fact?

Les.

those drugs you are on. That way I can make sense of other items.

Hmmm. If I beleive my taxes to be only $5 then that is all I need to send the IRS and they cannot come after me, right?

Believe your taxes are $5 for the year and send them $5.

Use the rest of the money to relocate to another country.

Les.