It’s a well known fact that nobody’s perfect. Maybe that’s why it’s extra grating when people pretend to be. Some people refuse to fess up to any slip ups. Usually they are either afraid that they will be fired or just genuinely consider themselves better than everyone else and above making any sort of error. The later is obviously more frustrating to deal with but both can be genuinely infuriating especially if the blame consistently falls onto your shoulders.
One of the worst feelings in the world is being reprimanded for a mistake someone else made. If you speak up and say who was really responsible for the slip up it can seem like you’re being a tattle tale and pointing fingers like everyone else.
If you find yourself in the position of office scapegoat there are several strategies you can use to safeguard your reputation from coworker cover ups.
Always admit your mistakes – Once I crashed the company website right when the board of directors sat down in a meeting to discuss it. They looked around confused until I popped my head in and told them I accidently broke the link but I would have it fixed very shortly. They appreciated that I owned up to the mistake. Later when other flubs were being flung around they figured I would have told them it was me so they looked at other possible culprits in the office instead.
Keep a log – Make notes on the process along the way and it will be easier to see where things went wrong later. Note what pieces of the project particular people are working on. Documentation of you progress, deadlines, and collaborative contributions at least once a week is a good way to verify what you were doing when the boss asks, “What went wrong?”
Take your job seriously – Blowing it big time on a rare occasion is easier to forgive and forget if you’re otherwise an outstanding employee. Explain to the boss the problem you caused, how it was fixed and what you will do to avoid making any similar mistakes in the future. Show that you are willing to learn and move on from your mistake. Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts author Carol Tarvis explains why honesty is the best policy, “If you are a good employee, hard-working and care about the quality of your work, and make a rare mistake, then I think admitting it is the best thing to do, so long as you offer corrective measures when you disclose the fumble.”
The important thing is to keep your integrity in tact as your employer tries to deal with the situation at hand. Paul Facella, CEO of consulting firm Inside Management sums up what many companies feel about employee mistakes saying, "In most situations, if people are honest and explain what they did, and it had no true malicious intent, then most organizations will acquiesce and like that."
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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