I worked with the Yashraj Group for almost a decade. The group has some written and many unwritten principles defined by the founder. These are not mere words. He practices what he preaches.
One of the principles is taking responsibility for failures. Therefore, when anything goes wrong, the thinking is along these lines.
People who work make mistakes. Action, failure, learning, improvement is any day better than inaction.
Secondly, everybody individually is responsible for failure.
An expensive centrifuge was damaged in operation. The operation manager investigated the failure and pinned the responsibility on an operator. The operator did not agree. His defense was that he was given multiple tasks simultaneously. Both of them came to my office.
I remembered the principle and told both of them that I was responsible for the failure. There had been similar failures in the past. However, I had ignored them. Instead, I should have urgently looked at some means of mistake-proofing. I then asked both of them to present the case using the same principle. Each had to narrate how they were responsible for the failure. The manager presented his case but added that it was the operator's fault. I interjected. I asked him to focus on his part of the responsibility. Finally, after 15 minutes, both came up with things that should have been done to prevent failure. I decided to speak with the vendor to find a way to prevent the machine from starting while its lid was open. The manager developed a checklist and re-trained the operator to avoid such failures. The operator agreed to follow the SOP. We found a practical solution to the problem without any investment.
Metrics:
Keep a watch on yourself and the conversations in your organization. If you find anyone blaming others, stop them. Ask them how they are personally responsible for the mistake.
Critically review your responses in meetings and through emails. Are you holding someone responsible for a failure? Introspect.
Pat yourself on the back even if you catch and correct one instance every week.
Subodh
Σχόλια