Forgiveness

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Forgiveness

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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Points: 736212
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February 6, 2019 at 9:17 pm

#416676

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Forgiveness

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call.copse SSCoach Points: 18050 More actions · Answer 1

Grace Hopper is attributed with 'It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission'. Not quite what you were on about but obliquely relevant. A prevailing attitude of forgiveness permits employees to get off the leash and really act sometimes.

erikb 90350 SSC Journeyman Points: 92 More actions · Answer 2

call.copse - Thursday, February 7, 2019 4:23 AM
Grace Hopper is attributed with 'It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission'. Not quite what you were on about but obliquely relevant. A prevailing attitude of forgiveness permits employees to get off the leash and really act sometimes.

Yes, although I think the context of the statement implies an unwillingness of the authority to try a new action followed by the success of the action. I agree with the article that we learn from mistakes, and to suppress mistakes is to suppress learning. However it is culturally difficult to let people "off the leash" and allow them to fail.

Leon Page SSC Rookie Points: 44 More actions · Answer 3

I think forgiveness is one of the most important things for each of us at work and in life in general. Since we are imperfect people we will always make mistakes. Each one of us needs a way to deal with those mistakes by learning from them and then moving on, without the mistake hanging over us in the future.
Here is a great book on the topic: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/life/forgiveness/why-forgive

Rod at work SSC-Dedicated Points: 34007 More actions · Answer 4

I think this might be your best article so far this year, Steve. I've been around a long time in this field and have witnessed too many "witch hunts". Early in my career to my shame I would sometimes participate in finding the guilty party and assigning blame to them. Later on I became more sympathetic to them, as I was called out on mistakes I had made. I'm not saying call the mistake a "non-mistake", but don't be as harsh as you may be tempted to be.

I will say, though, that in today's culture in which it appears people are actively going about researching politicians, entertainers, athletes, etc. past behaviors, sometimes going back decades, just so that they can call them out on it, punishing them indefinitely and doing their best to make sure that person will never get employed again, it influences all sorts of failure assigning behavior. I really believe it is much harder today to buck that trend, when we deal with people who are not famous.

Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

jarick 15608 Ten Centuries Points: 1253 More actions · Answer 5

I am fortunate that I work for a boss who understands this and as long as we can recover and not repeat the same mistakes, it's just part of learning new technologies. Sadly there are a lot of places where this is not the case and I've worked with a few individuals who are so afraid of being called out for mistakes that they conceal them when it happens. This mindset is dangerous because the rest of us are sent down multiple, incorrect paths when we try and troubleshoot the issue when it could have been fixed easily.

Mea culpa should not be seen as a bad thing unless you keep repeating the same mistakes.

SqlOnMyMind SSCertifiable Points: 5062 More actions · Answer 6

I SO AGREE with the learning aspect.
I have experienced so many software/hardware issues that were out of my control, and when it was fixed, I never heard back what the problem was. I just want to learn, so the next time I see that error message, I have a good idea of where to go to fix it. That's all I want. I am not interested in pointing fingers.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736212 More actions · Answer 7

Rod at work - Thursday, February 7, 2019 7:56 AM
I think this might be your best article so far this year, Steve. I've been around a long time in this field and have witnessed too many "witch hunts". Early in my career to my shame I would sometimes participate in finding the guilty party and assigning blame to them. Later on I became more sympathetic to them, as I was called out on mistakes I had made. I'm not saying call the mistake a "non-mistake", but don't be as harsh as you may be tempted to be.
I will say, though, that in today's culture in which it appears people are actively going about researching politicians, entertainers, athletes, etc. past behaviors, sometimes going back decades, just so that they can call them out on it, punishing them indefinitely and doing their best to make sure that person will never get employed again, it influences all sorts of failure assigning behavior. I really believe it is much harder today to buck that trend, when we deal with people who are not famous.

The infamous "black mark" on your permanent record many of us were threatened with. Not too true, though maybe coming back for politicians and some others.

I try to coach to be relentlessly positive. Mistakes are opportunities to learn or focus our effort next time. Successes are yours.

Eric M Russell SSC Guru Points: 125561 More actions · Answer 8

I've believed for many years that when a work environment is toxic, one where witch hunts and blaming are commonplace, it's actually a sign of corporate weakness and a "canary in the mine-shaft" indicator that it's time to polish up the resume and move on. I've never subscribed to the "Better the Devil you know" idiom, because it's essentially a form of pessimism.

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

Rod at work SSC-Dedicated Points: 34007 More actions · Answer 9

Eric M Russell - Thursday, February 7, 2019 10:11 AM
I've believed for many years that when a work environment is toxic, one where witch hunts and blaming are commonplace, it's actually a sign of corporate weakness and a "canary in the mine-shaft" indicator that it's time to polish up the resume and move on. I've never subscribed to the "Better the Devil you know" idiom, because it's essentially a form of pessimism.

Very insightful, Eric.

Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

HighPlainsDBA SSCrazy Points: 2611 More actions · Answer 10

I generally see two kinds of mistakes: process and technical. The process mistakes happen usually because the process isn't well defined in the organization and that's management's fault for not ensuring that it is and followed. The technical ones usually happen due to a lack of training or a lack of redundant checks (code reviews or what have you). Most people are trying to do a good job, but nobody remembers everything and that's all the more reason to structure and organize what you do as a team like an engineer might do it. Checklists come to mind for example.