老板不厚道,功勞都攬到自己頭上,過(guò)錯都推到手下身上。攤上這種老板怎么辦?專(zhuān)家建議,先別著(zhù)急下結論,平靜地跟老板好好談?wù),為什么他認為責任在手下身上?其次,事前以書(shū)面形式明確分工和職責,避免事后出了問(wèn)題說(shuō)不清楚。最后,積極拓展公司內外的人脈,建立強有力的后援團,讓老板意識到你的能量,從而心生忌憚。
Anne Fisher為《財富》雜志《向Anne提問(wèn)》的專(zhuān)欄作者,這個(gè)職場(chǎng)專(zhuān)欄始于1996年,幫助讀者適應經(jīng)濟的興衰起落、行業(yè)轉換,以及工作中面臨的各種困惑。
親愛(ài)的安妮:您曾寫(xiě)過(guò)一篇關(guān)于如何走出失敗陰影的文章,其中建議對于錯誤要用于承擔責任。我的上司卻從來(lái)不會(huì )這樣。相反,尤其是在他與公司高層報告的時(shí)候,他總是把我們的成功歸結到他一個(gè)人身上,卻把不太順利的事情都推卸給我和我的八位同事。
人無(wú)完人,但由于我那個(gè)上司的錯誤或疏忽導致出現問(wèn)題的情況已經(jīng)有很多次,代人受過(guò)讓我很憤怒。我擔心這會(huì )影響到我在公司的聲譽(yù)。下一次我的上司因為他做過(guò)(或沒(méi)做過(guò))某件事來(lái)責備我們的時(shí)候,我們應該如何應對?有沒(méi)有什么高明的方法,可以越過(guò)他把問(wèn)題澄清,還是說(shuō)這無(wú)異于是一種政治上的自殺行為?——J.J.
親愛(ài)的J.J.:你不知道有多少人最近給我寫(xiě)信抱怨同樣的情形——你應該會(huì )想象得到。本•達特納發(fā)現:“在職場(chǎng)上,一旦某件事出了差錯,人們會(huì )把更多的精力用于相互指責,而不是努力找出解決方案,這樣的情況太常見(jiàn)了!彼a充道,經(jīng)濟衰退加劇了這個(gè)問(wèn)題,所以現在轉嫁責任的做法比以前更要普遍!翱纯慈A盛頓就知道了。連政府都關(guān)門(mén)了,而國會(huì )依然在為誰(shuí)是誰(shuí)非爭論不休!
達特納是一位組織心理學(xué)家和顧問(wèn),曾寫(xiě)過(guò)一本書(shū),名為《責備游戲:榮譽(yù)潛規則和責備如何決定我們的成敗》( The Blame Game: How the Hidden Rules of Credit and Blame Determine Our Success or Failure)。關(guān)于你的上司經(jīng)常把你推下火坑這件事,不知道你是否與他交流過(guò),如果還沒(méi)有,現在是時(shí)候了。達特納表示:“直接與他對質(zhì)會(huì )有風(fēng)險,但沉默和逆來(lái)順受同樣有風(fēng)險!
關(guān)鍵是如何發(fā)起對話(huà)。達特納建議,問(wèn)一些具體的問(wèn)題,比如你的上司為什么認為錯誤是別人造成的。跟他討論出問(wèn)題的細節,以此迫使他停止誣陷——當然要以平靜、而不是責難的方式。這會(huì )讓他意識到,你已經(jīng)受夠了繼續做他的替罪羊,你希望在未來(lái)阻止這樣的事情再次發(fā)生。你還可能了解到一些有用的東西,比如他如何看待你的角色和他的職責。
達特納說(shuō):“盡量弄清楚事情的真相!北热,有沒(méi)有可能是因為在最開(kāi)始,大家并沒(méi)有明確誰(shuí)應該負責某個(gè)項目的哪個(gè)部分,所以你的上司真的以為是你和你的同事犯了錯誤?“我遇到過(guò)人們犯的最大的錯誤,是非常憤怒地對這種情況做出反應,而并沒(méi)有首先了解事實(shí)的真相!
員工安置公司OfficeTeam執行董事羅伯特•霍斯金同意達特納的觀(guān)點(diǎn)。他說(shuō):“必須弄清楚,到底是什么使你因為某個(gè)問(wèn)題而受到責備。之后再去討論如何防止同樣的事情再次發(fā)生!
霍斯金表示,防止未來(lái)被嫁禍的一種方法是,開(kāi)始記錄你和同事做的每一件事。他說(shuō):“通常情況下,人們太忙了,忽視、錯過(guò)了許多事情。所以在每一個(gè)項目開(kāi)始之前,用書(shū)面方式列出每個(gè)人的職責,同時(shí)確保所有人,包括上司本人在內,人手一份,并在上面簽字!痹敿毜呢熑畏峙渖踔量梢苑乐瑰e誤的發(fā)生。
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| Dear Annie: Your column on how to recover from a failure recommended accepting the responsibility for what's gone wrong. I report to a boss who never does that. Instead, and especially when he's talking to higher-ups in the company, he hogs all the credit for our successes, while pointing the finger at me or at one of my eight teammates for things that haven't gone so well.
Nobody's perfect, but there have been times when problems arose because of mistakes or oversights on this manager's part, and I resent taking the fall. I also worry about what this is doing to my reputation here. Next time our boss blames one of us for something he did (or didn't do), how should we respond? Is there a diplomatic way to go over his head and set the record straight, or would that be a political suicide mission? -- Just Jason
Dear J.J.: You wouldn't believe how many people have written to me recently to complain about that situation -- or, then again, maybe you would. "In too many workplaces, when something goes wrong, people waste far more time and energy assigning blame for it than trying to find a solution," observes Ben Dattner, adding that the recession exacerbated the problem, so that finger-pointing is now more widespread than ever. "Just look at Washington. The government is shut down, and Congress is still bickering over whose fault it is."
An organizational psychologist and consultant, Dattner wrote a book called The Blame Game: How the Hidden Rules of Credit and Blame Determine Our Success or Failure. You don't mention whether you've ever talked with your boss about his habit of throwing you under the bus but, if not, it's time to start. "Confronting him is risky, but saying nothing and letting this go on is risky too," Dattner notes.
The key is in how you approach the conversation. Dattner suggests asking lots of questions about exactly why your boss believes a mistake was someone else's fault. Pinning him down on the details -- in a calm, non-accusatory way, of course -- will put him on notice that you're tired of being a scapegoat and you want to prevent it in the future. You may also learn something useful about how he perceives your role, and his own.
"Try to get to the bottom of what's really going on here," Dattner advises. Is it possible, for instance, that who was accountable for which parts of a given project wasn't clear at the outset, so your boss genuinely believes you or a teammate dropped the ball? "The biggest mistake I've seen people make is reacting to a situation, usually angrily, without really understanding it first."
Robert Hosking, executive director of staffing company OfficeTeam, agrees. "You need to know exactly how the blame for a problem got assigned to you," he says. "Then steer the discussion toward how to prevent the same thing from happening again."
One way to head off future finger-pointing, Hosking says, is to start documenting everything you and your teammates do. "Often everyone is so busy that things get overlooked or slip through the cracks," he says. "So begin each project with a written outline of who is responsible for what, and make sure everyone, including the boss, has a copy and signs off on it." Detailed accountability might even prevent mistakes from happening in the first place.
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正如你所懷疑的,越過(guò)自己的上司提出投訴,可能會(huì )適得其反,所以這只能作為最后的手段;羲菇鹫f(shuō):“如果你因為某件事受到不公平的指責,而這件事會(huì )嚴重損害你的職業(yè)發(fā)展,這時(shí)候可以考慮向更高層投訴,并可考慮由人力資源部出面解決。但首先要警告你的上司,以免他會(huì )措手不及。邀請他參加會(huì )議。把這作為消除誤會(huì ),澄清事實(shí)的一次機會(huì )!
雖然這么說(shuō)只能作為一個(gè)小小的安慰,但霍斯金指出,你上司的上級或許早已察覺(jué)到事情不正常。他說(shuō):“如果你的上司表現出從來(lái)不肯承擔責任的態(tài)度,高層肯定會(huì )注意到這一點(diǎn)。不要假設他們對此并不在意。最終,肯定會(huì )有人找他清算的!
此外,本•達特納還有另外一條建議:集中精力建立一個(gè)強有力的人際關(guān)系網(wǎng)絡(luò )。他在《責備游戲》中寫(xiě)道:“如果你的上司否認你的功勞,還對你橫加指責,等他意識到公司內外都認可你的才能時(shí),他或許會(huì )改變自己的態(tài)度!
達特納表示,強有力的粉絲網(wǎng)絡(luò )讓你更有可能從內部和外部獲得其他工作機會(huì ),即便是“最貪圖功勞和熱衷嫁禍他人的上司,也不希望自己被認為與公司其他人步調不一致,也不希望因為一位優(yōu)秀的、難以替代的員工離職而受到指責!
一旦停止拿你當替罪羊成為對你上司最有好處的事情,他自然就會(huì )改變之前的做法。
反饋:你的上司是否曾因為他或她自己的不足而對你或你的同事橫加指責?你如何應對這樣的狀況?歡迎評論。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓
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| As you already suspect, going over your boss's head to complain is so likely to backfire that it has to be a last resort. "If you're being unfairly accused of something that could seriously damage your career, do take it upstairs, and think about involving someone from human resources as well," Hosking says. "But warn your boss first, so he's not blindsided. Invite him to sit in on the meeting. Frame it as a chance to clear the air."
Small consolation though it might be, Hosking points out that the people your boss reports to are probably already aware that something's amiss. "If this manager has shown a pattern over time of never accepting responsibility for problems, higher-ups are going to notice that," he says. "Don't assume they're oblivious. Eventually, someone will call him on it."
In the meantime, Ben Dattner has one additional suggestion for you: Concentrate on building a strong network. "A boss who denies you credit and unfairly blames you may change [his] tune when he realizes that others, both inside and outside the organization, recognize your talent," he writes in The Blame Game.
A robust network of fans can make you more likely to be offered other jobs, inside and outside the company, Dattner notes, and "even the most credit-hogging and blame-dumping boss will not want to be viewed as out of step with others in the organization, or to be blamed for being the reason why a talented, hard-to-replace employee left."
Once it's in your boss's own best interest to stop scapegoating you, in other words, he probably will.
Talkback: Have you ever worked for someone who blamed you, or colleagues, for his or her own shortcomings? How did you handle it? Leave a comment below.
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