What is it about people that they can’t be truthful with simple things? admit they made a mistake.
Recently I had someone pass the buck to me. It was innocent enough. A simple error on their part. An oversight you could say, but instead of taking responsibility they passed on the blame for the sake of looking good. Saying it was this other persons fault decentralized the problem and made them look like they were a hero (fixing the problem) while I look like the fool (the dunce that apparently doesn’t know better).
Why do people do this? It’s all about egos these days and appearing like you’re completely on top of everything. I’m not perfect myself, and make my fair share of mistakes, Does the buck stops here where you are?
2 responses to “Passing the Buck”
I find the people most likely to pass the buck are hiding a bigger skeleton in their closet. They are afraid that even the slightest perceived fault would throw open the door to the endless amount of poor foresight, bad decisions or plain dumb behaviour that they so far have been able to keep hidden.
For the honest folks it’s an extra obstacle but that’s corporate life sometimes. Be proud that you can be honest and admit fault. If the right people can see through the weasel then you just gained a peg or two.
I tend to take all the bucks onto myself whether they should stop with me or not. Sometimes this is negative but most of the time people admire you for admitting mistake and figuring out how to fix them.