It’s Not You. It’s Me.

I had a conversation the other day with a friend. He had apologized to someone at work about something that wasn’t really his fault.

At least it wouldn’t look that way to most of us.

He told me that someone had told him once that “it’s always the apprentice’s fault”.

That’s just garbage.

It’s the kind of thing that a terrible leader, poor mentor, and otherwise bad team member would say.

In a work situation, we should be more inclined to say this when something goes wrong.

What did I do to make this go wrong?

How could I have helped make it go better?

Did I fail to plan, prepare, or communicate in such a way that did not create conditions for success?

Rather than looking to place blame on someone else, if everyone looks for what pieces they could have done better, the whole team will improve, and next time, their chances of success increase.