Written by: Ewa Adams, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Imagine an organisation with emotionally mature team members that feel responsible for their actions and understand that company’s success and company’s culture is a direct result of how they work and communicate with one another. Organisation, where you are allowed to make mistakes; organisation with “no blame” culture.
It’s a place of transparency and understanding where you are encouraged to experiment and be creative. Who wouldn’t like to work in a place like this?
Paraphrasing Eleanor Roosevelt “with freedom comes responsibility”, it is no different in the case of a “no blame” culture within organisations. It’s a great concept that can become a company culture when implemented correctly. And the main ingredient needed is the understanding of ownership and accountability. You are given the freedom to experiment, to try and fail, to be bold, and implement a new way of thinking or doing things.
It was a necessity of high-reliability organisations like hospitals or airlines to report quickly about any possible errors to avoid catastrophic consequences. Reporting is crucial in a “no blame” organisation; it is not about pointing fingers “you’re guilty” but creating a safe place to encourage error reporting in order to find a solution and to do so quickly.
These principles are getting more and more popular in the office environment. Organisations of any size or in any sector can benefit from it. We just have to watch out for some common pitfalls.
If you are creating a culture without blaming, you must have accountability in the first place.
And this is not the same as blame. To be accountable means to take responsibility for own actions and their results, it doesn’t matter good or bad. Accountability puts pressure on finding solutions and learning from mistakes to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future. Being accountable means being responsible and respectful, understand that we do not live or work in isolation, that our actions impact others. Accountability looks at the future, with the anchor in “now” to determine how our actions today will impact our results in the future.
Accountability comes with process ownership and understanding of the role and processes of other team members, in the end, the principle of communicating vessels applies here too.
We can point out processes, errors, broken links, blockages but once that is identified and someone is asked to do a certain thing to improve the process, they, yes, these people must be held accountable, otherwise, we will have anarchy, where no one feels responsible, and everything is allowed. Focus however is on finding the solution, not stigmatising someone for making a mistake.
Few important points on how to maximise successful implementation of “no blame” culture in (your) organisation
It is in human nature to connect errors with people rather than process. Take time to educate your team, set clear rules, and explain why the focus is on the process and finding solutions.
Allocate time to explain and demonstrate the processes of all team members so everyone can understand the workflow of others. If they understand the process, they will more likely understand where the error is coming from, rather than just blame the person and their performance.
As an organisation, team, and individual, know your values and your mission. Set your standard and be consequent. That’s your anchor to do things right.
As humans, we understand that we are not perfect, and mistakes are part of our life. Ideally, we should learn from failure and move on. Often, the minute we enter the office, we forget about it, and when the results are far from expected, and a witch-hunt begins to find someone to blame.
Trust yourself and others. Experiment and encourage experimentation. Create, test, and implement; fail to succeed. Balance “no blame” culture with accountability and your organisation will be one step closer to the place where people can’t wait to come to work on Monday. And that’s exciting.
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Ewa Adams, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Ewa Adams is a professional coach and business improvement specialist, proud founder of Your Everest Coaching. Over the past 15 years, with successes, she gained hands-on experience in business management, recruitment, and team building. Coaching and Lean are her two passions, and she combines them to find the best solution when working with her clients on their personal or professional goals. She believes in holistic approach in coaching, while she looks at all aspects of her clients’ life. This way she can support her clients by identifying areas for improvement, eliminating unproductive habits and limiting beliefs. Ewa supports her clients and leads them to a re-designed harmonious life and profitable business.
