"Excuses are tools of incompetence used to build monuments of nothingness."
I've always loved that quote. And this one -
"Don't make excuses. Your friends don't need them and your enemies won't believe them anyway."
I came across this article that brought a really interesting perspective to making excuses at work.
Personally, I need to work on some of these too. (I'm notorious for #1.)
And knowing when/how to say "This wasn't necessarily my fault," but still being accountable and solution-oriented. Yeah, it may be true that the Project Manager didn't put the meeting on my calendar, but I could've asked, could've followed up, could've had the work ready on time any way. I am responsible for my successes. And my failures.
Plus, you always look bad throwing someone under the bus, so usually it's best to just say "My bad, I'm going to fix it now and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Anyway, here's the article.
3 Work Excuses That Make You Sound Bad
from LearnVest
Jennifer Winter for The Daily Muse
Posted on January 3, 2013
Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
Well, Ben must have spent some time in an office.
Yes, we all live full, busy lives, and as a result, it’s inevitable
something will come up that causes us to miss a deadline or be late for work once in a while. But while you’ll often need to
give an explanation for your blunder,
you should never make excuses.
The truth is, they don’t actually help
you save face at all, and they risk damaging your relationships at
work—or worse, convincing your boss you’re not equipped to handle your
job.
So, what exactly is the difference between an explanation and
an excuse? Your boss and colleagues probably have their own internal
B.S. meter, but there are a few universal excuses that will almost
always land you in hot water—and will never convince your audience your
“explanation” was legit.
Read on for three common excuses you’ll hear in the office, and why you should avoid them at all costs.
1. “Blame it on the Train”
Extra points to all of you who immediately started singing
Milli Vanilli—but
in any case, as the pop duo learned, use these words and eventually
everyone’s going to think you’re pulling a fast one. (Like an employee I
once had who was over an hour late to work one day and told me it was
because “the train was delayed.”)
OK, sure, sometimes the train,
or the bus, or the carpool lane is a disaster, and there’s nothing you
can do about it. But nine times out of 10, you should still make it to
work on time, because you’ve built that unpredictability into your
commute time. That’s
what responsible adults do, right? Yes. Blame the train, and your boss will see right through it.
Instead,
try being honest. I know it sounds risky, especially if you really just
hit the snooze button one too many times, but guess what? Your boss is
human, too (I hope) and I’m willing to bet she’s been tardy a time or
two in her life. Being honest about the real reason you’re late shows
you have the courage to own up to your mistakes, instead of assigning
blame whenever something goes wrong. Just remember, you only get a free
pass on flubs like this on the rare occasion—make it a habit, and honest
or not, your boss won’t be so sympathetic.
2. “I’m Waiting for Bob in Accounting to Call Me Back”
The
guys in accounting—or HR, or at the Post Office—really get a bad rap.
Somehow, they’re always the ones to blame when a deadline has been
missed or a project is taking longer than planned.
If you find
yourself in this situation, it’s tempting to just stick it to Bob in
accounting and hope your boss will roll her eyes and send you on your
way. But trust me, it’ll never work out that smoothly.
First and
foremost, the last thing your boss wants to hear when a deadline is
near—or missed—is that it’s someone else’s fault. Chances are, if you’re
responsible for reporting the status to your boss, you’re probably on
the hook for making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes as
well. That pretty much means it doesn’t matter if Bob (or anyone else,
for that matter) is asleep at the wheel, because it’s your
responsibility to make sure it gets done.
Secondly, not only will
using this excuse make you look pretty lame to your boss, you won’t be
making any friends in accounting, either. Blame Bob and you can bet he’s
going to hear about it, and believe me when I tell you, you don’t want
to be on the accounting team’s bad side.
Instead, make sure you’re
fully engaged with everyone that plays a part in your project. A good
rule of thumb is to always have enough information about the
status—including any potential delays—that you could give an executive
summary to your boss if surprised in the elevator. Your boss (and Bob)
will thank you for it.
3. “I Don’t Know How”
This may be
the granddaddy of all excuses, and should never—I repeat, never—be used
when explaining why you whiffed on an assignment. Admitting you don’t
know how to do something at the start of a project, immediately followed
by “Please show me how,” is obviously OK—in fact, it’s essential to
progressing in your career.
But simply shrugging off duties or turning in projects incomplete due
to ignorance will make you come across as, well, ignorant.
Fortunately,
handling this situation is pretty straightforward—but you’ll have to
roll up your sleeves. If you’re stuck, do some research. Try to figure
out how to address the issue, and if you’re not making progress, start
asking questions. Start with a colleague—
who just might appreciate the coaching opportunity—and work your way up until you get it right.
And
more importantly, next time you’re presented with an assignment that
may be a tad out of your wheelhouse, be honest about it. Tell your boss
you’d like to take on the responsibility, but also ask for a
recommendation for an expert on the team you can use as a resource. Your
boss knows you don’t know how to do everything—but she does want to
know that you’re willing to figure it out, and that you’ll take some
initiative if you’re stuck.
The difference between explaining
yourself and making excuses is definitely a grey area, but if you keep
these tips in mind, you’ll steer clear of most of those murky waters and
cement your reputation in your boss’ mind as a star, not a slouch.
[images are my choices, not the article's]
