Imagine you’re working at your job. Your boss tells you that this hot new task needs to be completed within the next two months. You gladly accept it, thinking to yourself, “I have all the time in the world to complete this.” You over the next few days you get to some of it here and there, all the while thinking, “two months is a long time for this.” A few weeks go by and you have done about a quarter of what it is you need to completed. You still have time. You show up to work on morning, all excited to complete you task. You boss walks in and ask you this question, “Why haven’t you completed that task I assigned you two months ago?” “Crap how did he know.” You say to yourself. Your mind races with all the things you did instead of this task. You seek answers. Then you blurt out, “Well if so-and-so would have helped me I would have done it by now.” So at this moment you have just blindsided your co-worker. Or to use another term, you threw them under the bus. In this brief instance you have saved yourself. The focus is now off of you and on the other person. Your boss leaves intent on speaking with the second person. You sit at your desk thinking, “Wow that other guy is screwed. I’m glad I’m not him.” you go back to doing what it was you did for the last two months, nothing.
Do you see a problem with this? You have failed to own your failures. You cast fault on to a second unsuspecting person who probably did nothing to warrant this action. The sad reality is that all the blame rest solely on you. You simply failed to complete the task.
This is what I do not understand. Why can’t you own your failures? You missed the opportunity, blame yourself. You missed a deadline, blame yourself. Sure there are things outside your control, like the speed at which the bureaucracy moves. But you can plan for it. You can adjust for its limitations. But you don’t.
All I ask is this, please do not throw me under the bus so you can save face.
-Matt