What I got out of Keith's example of the weather and blame is that
the "blamers" are really inflexible. Things either go the way they
think they should, or life just sucks!
Geez, life must really suck for a lot of people! (I think it was
Senge who said a cynic is an idealist whose expectations were
violated. . .)
How refreshing it is to work with those people who see things as
whole, and who understand that action plans are really nothing more
than "guides" and that they will change as progress is made. Indeed,
I cherish working with those who view unexpected obstacles as rich
learning opportunities!
As one who works in a department that is saturated with blame, I
agree with all that Rol and Keith have said on the subject. Here's a
real life example:
In our department we have five teams. Two of the teams share the same
responsibilities: They take incoming phone calls, help customers
resolve technical problems, and answer technical questions about our
product. Last month one of the teams took 1,000 more calls. So I went
to lunch with the team whose performance needed to be improved. I
asked what the problem was. Their answer: "Well, management did this
and that, and we didn't like it. If management would do this and that
we would perform better. The problem is with management. Why can't
you do something about the way management operates?"
My first question was: Have you told management how you feel? The
answer: No! Geez, all that blaming cost Novell a fortune! And it will
have a profound impact on their evaluations.
--Ben Compton <bcompton@novell.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>