It may be true that you:
- didn’t have the data needed to complete the report
- didn’t expect traffic to be bad
- were unable to find the document
- disagree with the decisions of leadership
- ran out of time
- didn’t understand the instructions.
And this is also true: You didn’t get your job done.
How Accountable Are You?
The frequency with which you use excuses has a multiplier effect. For example, an excuse today, on top of efforts made to justify a shortcoming last week, broadcasts unintended messages.
Consider these 5 stages of excuses and their consequences:
Stage 1: One excuse is interpreted as a regretful inconvenience. Your colleagues won’t think twice about forgiving you.
Stage 2: Using an excuse within a period that your colleagues can remember your first offense will agitate or annoy them. For the first time this crosses their minds: doubt.
Stage 3: A third attempt to rationalize a break in your accountability sends the unspoken message to colleagues that they must begin doing elements of your work – for fear that if they don’t, they won’t be accountable for getting their own job done. Resentment builds and alignment is fractured.
Stage 4: Given the frequency with which you blame external causes, you broadcast that you are somehow entitled. Even though everyone has the same amount of time, luck and pressures, you believe you’re unique – and therefore justified.
Stage 5: At this point, an excuse causes a near-total collapse in trust. You have effectively informed others that they cannot rely on you. As a result, colleagues build entire systems or workarounds, so their performance won’t be impeded by your lack of accountability.
In every excuse you give, the common denominator is you.
No one expects perfection. Being perfectly imperfect means:
- owning your mistakes (translation: giving no excuses)
- accepting responsibility
- apologizing to others
- and managing your affairs more effectively.
Those who do big things know: There’s no excuse for excuses.
