“Do not find fault; find a remedy.”~Henry Ford
My kids are six years apart in age. It’s almost like having two only children.
Maybe because of their age spread, they don’t fight very often. But every now and then, they squabble. And when they do, I invariably say to them, “Stop acting like siblings!” Because they so rarely bicker and tease each other that I forget they are siblings, at least in that manner.
The other thing I usually say is, “I don’t care who started it!” Granted, their blaming of each other is usually joking, perhaps again, because they’re so far apart in age, but joking or no, I don’t care who started it, I just want them to figure out how to work it out, preferably without getting me involved.
The same is true at work – for me and for my clients. One of the main things that nearly all of my clients want from their direct reports is that they come not just with problems and challenges, but also with solutions. Or at least ideas on what to try. And they especially don’t want blame and fault-finding. They want their direct reports to stop pointing fingers at each other, or at anyone or anything, and instead harness their energy to solving the problem and remedying the situation. Besides, I once heard that when you point your finger of blame at someone else, you still have at least three fingers pointing back at yourself.
Finding fault is generally a waste of time and energy – unless you’re maybe finding the fault, or breakdown in a system, rather than in a person. Figure out how to fix whatever’s broken or not working. Find an answer, a way out of what’s wrong.
Where do you need to find a remedy rather than fault? How will you do it?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
If you want to find more remedies, contact Robyn at rmcleod@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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