Once, two friends saw a sinking ship full of passengers in it. They watched helplessly from the shore but could not do anything to save them. One of them guessed that maybe God wanted to punish one felon amongst them and ended up killing many innocent ones. Suddenly, a red ant bit his toe, and he started stamping his feet, crushing many ants in the area. After that, the second boy ended up blaming the first for killing the whole lot against one.
Every company is built on a specific set of goals. When this goal is not accomplished fully, the temptation is enormous for the guilty to point a finger elsewhere after committing a mistake. Clearly, human nature is a reservoir of such instincts and cannot permanently be changed. In layman’s language, this is called the “blame game”. However, as one of the severe detriments to positive company culture, this play can also help managers improve the commands of a workspace. A cynical environment has its own advantages, and here is how you can use it for your benefit.
Managing Employee Vocation
There is a strong sense of purpose while helping the staff manage vocations, and sometimes this may often lead to self-sacrifice. Selflessness is one of the significant aspects of leadership. But, it can be as depleting as admirable it can be. Therefore, setting up boundaries is a preventive method of avoiding employee relations burnout. It is not solely your responsibility to fix everything for everyone. Remember that you do not have to fix everything for everyone. Employees must be heard and allowed to emerge with their solutions and conclusions to help them stay dedicated and hold a strong feeling of their suitability for the work.
Depersonalizing the Blame
To build a healthy relationship with and amongst employees, the members should not dissipate too much energy on complaining. Rather than finding the author of the situation, depersonalize the problem by asking for a solution from the team. A remedy to the issue will be more efficient than hunting for the real culprit. The situation should be taken as an example for monitoring an opportunity to learn and grow. Politely, make the employees understand their mistake, its consequences and explain how they can avoid it in the future. It will serve as a valuable lesson for future innovation.
Learn and Teach Acceptance
The blame culture in the workplace is often a consequence of the insecure leadership that tries to deflect mistakes. While working as a team, an individual cannot be held fully responsible for the error. All members should be taught to take the blame equally. Shared responsibilities and the outcomes define teamwork. Similarly, every member will be equally accountable for the blunder, including the leader. As a leader, it’s okay to make mistakes. By accepting your part in each problem, you will be able to mend your techniques next time. Uniform coordination will equip you and your team with better tools to avoid the same problem in the future.
Effective Delegation
Effective Delegation is a method adopted by managers or supervisors where responsibility and authority are distributed to subordinate members to complete a task. Here, the working team maps out the whole task proposal to achieve the final results and provide it to the managers. This technique will help employees set their own targets, thereby becoming more fulfilled and productive. On the other hand, not providing your team with a set of clear expectations will increase the tendency of giving more room for error. Under the technique of effective Delegation, the team regularly communicates the progress of the work while the superior provides them with whatever resources they need to achieve those results. Checking in on them throughout the way and trusting the employees will boost their collective involvement, leaving no space for micromanagement and individual flaws.
A recent study by Kronos Inc. in 2017 revealed that employee burnout is one of the biggest threats to constructing an engaged workforce. Indeed, the amount of work-related stress revolving around the space to achieve a target can leave the employees physically and emotionally exhausted. Blaming others can be a primary way to relieve oneself of the burden of unachieved results. Therefore, nurturing emotional intelligence and empathy amongst employees will be a powerful gear for building a happy, non-toxic environment. Personal encouragement and accountability will avoid the blame culture and gradually coach away from the unwanted frustrating habitat for all.
The reflective, “we are all accountable” mindset puts everyone in a co-creative and learning orientation. It builds relationships, trust, and a solid foundation for achieving the breakthrough you are going for. It encourages all involved to achieve their collective best.