Being blamed for subordinate mistake

[ChainsBeGone]

I will offer a slightly differnt opinion. The deadline was met, correct? If it was, then all of this is a tempest in a teapot. For those higher-ups that are on your back, you should point out that the deadline was met, so maybe their focus should now move elsewhere. If they persist, the next question to ask is: "Do you want me to fire her or do you want to do it yourself?" When they decline to fire her, reiterate no foul, no harm and ask them to get past it. Then have a talk with this lady and set new expectations and make sure she knows her job depends on it. You are not totally without blame for the near miss, but you are totally to blame with how you have handled the aftermath.

If one of my subordinate managers posed the issue to me in this way and told me to "get past it," then I would find another manager who could understand that the senior manager sets the priorities, not the subordinate. Perhaps not the way the message was intended, but I don't think the senior manager would receive this message very well.

 

[jon-nyc]

Nothing to add. Be apologetic and contrite on Monday. Own it.

Then, per the OP, decide if you want to keep owning it or move to an individual-contributor role.

 

[Texas Proud]

I will offer a slightly differnt opinion. The deadline was met, correct? If it was, then all of this is a tempest in a teapot. For those higher-ups that are on your back, you should point out that the deadline was met, so maybe their focus should now move elsewhere. If they persist, the next question to ask is: "Do you want me to fire her or do you want to do it yourself?" When they decline to fire her, reiterate no foul, no harm and ask them to get past it. Then have a talk with this lady and set new expectations and make sure she knows her job depends on it. You are not totally without blame for the near miss, but you are totally to blame with how you have handled the aftermath.

If one of my subordinate managers posed the issue to me in this way and told me to "get past it," then I would find another manager who could understand that the senior manager sets the priorities, not the subordinate. Perhaps not the way the message was intended, but I don't think the senior manager would receive this message very well.

heevy.... not enough info from the OP as to how close to the deadline it was... so maybe what you write is OK, but....

I agree with CBG that it is not a wise idea to tell a senior manager to 'get over it'... the higher ups are ASKING about why the deadline was almost missed... and the cost of this miss is $100K, so it is very important to them... so dismissing it is not wise at all....


We also do not know if the deadline mentioned is a regulatory deadline and an internal deadline was missed... IOW, anything that I did that had a regulatory deadline I needed to have done a long time before to give the higher ups the ability to review... then things were filed timely... I think the higher ups did not get to review what was done.... and this is the real problem... but as mentioned, we really do not know...

 

[Midpack]

It won't seem like it with what follows, but it saddens me to read a story like the OP. I know posts like the OP are intended to elicit support but there are so many red flags...

• One of my staff...just barely made a deadline and missing said deadline would have been about a 100K hit to the company.
• With this particular task I literally have nothing to do with the completion of it.
• She was informed of the deadline and when it became clear that she may not be able to handle it, was offered assistance which was declined.
• I am starting to get everything in writing with this person to CYA myself.

You either don't understand or don't accept what it means to be a supervisor/manager, as others have pointed out.

• Honestly, it felt good but I know this is inappropriate behavior and I intend to apologize on Monday.
• I also have no concern over what impact this will have on me as I am pretty in-expendable and generally everyone has got good things to say about me. I have plenty of "FU money" stashed away if the worst case plays out.
• I literally do not care about 99% of the issues at work.
• I think I have crossed over to the literally do not give a crap side of the fence which probably is a sign of something.

No organization benefits from having people with attitudes like this (and co-workers know it, it doesn't have to be said), it's a cancer on an organization. You read countless posts here about people who hate their jobs, having a supervisor/manager with an attitude like this has to be one of the primary reasons why.

And believe me, no one is "in-expendable." CEOs are shown the door all the time. I personally watched dozens of people who grossly overestimated their value demoted, terminated or "voluntarily" driven out (I did all three after trying very hard to improve the situation first) - and the organization not only survived, they usually got better when all was said and done.

Sorry but if you were part of my organization, you'd be getting a lot of my attention. If you still feel as your OP says, it is time for a change for you one way or another, make it a positive change while you've still got the ball.

 

[pb4uski]

......And believe me, no one is "in-expendable." CEOs are shown the door all the time. I personally watched dozens of people who grossly overestimated their value demoted, terminated or driven out - a the organization not only survived, they got better. ...

I found this out in the last year or so. When I decided to retire all my colleagues kept telling me how valuable and indispensable I was and that they didn't know what they would do without me. I responded that while I appreciated their kind words, that what I was doing wasn't rocket science and that the firm had a lot of smart people and I was sure they would be fine. But just in case, I was willing to do some consultations here and there.

Have yet to get a call. I guess they figured it out.

 

[RunningBum]

So take that, OP! No softheaded sympathy to be found here, at least not today.

Ha

Do you think any is warranted in this case? Are people supposed to give accurate, useful advice and guidance, or just misguided sympathy?

 

[HFWR]

Do you think any is warranted in this case? Are people supposed to give accurate, useful advice and guidance, or just misguided sympathy?

On a forum where the primary goal is to get the heck out of Dodge as possible?

This thread reminds me why I never thought much about going into management. Crap from above, crap from below...

As for practical advice, if management says it's important, it is...

 

[haha]

Do you think any is warranted in this case? Are people supposed to give accurate, useful advice and guidance, or just misguided sympathy?

Obviously, people are going to say whatever they wish, even if the exact same thing has already been said 30 times.

I have no real knowledge of organizational behavior, so no basis on which to form an opinion.

I would say however that OP may feel that a dump truck suddenly lost a load of bowling balls right onto his head.

 

[RunningBum]

Someone who thinks they have no responsibility for their subordinates' performance probably needs a load of bowling balls dropped on their head.

 

[youbet]

I would say however that OP may feel that a dump truck suddenly lost a load of bowling balls right onto his head.

If we didn't respond in this manner, wouldn't we be forgoing the board's tradition of "piling on?"

 

[jollystomper]

To the OP - my years at Megacorp as a manager, team leader (same as manager but without personnel responsibility), and project manager taught me one key thing: uppper management does not like surprises. And as a manager/leader. a key aspect of your job is to avoid surprising your upper management.

Your are responsible for the deadlines your subordinates commit to, and if they are having trouble you either get them help or you get someone else to take on the the responsibility. Sometimes folks decline help because they feel it will show they are not up to the task (been there, done that). Sometimes they decline because they feel it will take away from their "glory". As the supervisor your job is to focus on getting the job done, even if that means taking a more active role in the situation by getting them help.

Meanwhile, as soon as you sense an issue, you need to convey this to upper management - not in a transparent way, but in a warning way - along with the actions you intend to take to address the situation. You simply cannot say "its their fault" as you are responsible as well. The earlier you do this, the better upper management will see you as doing the job they put you in the position to do. When you blow up as you did, they are going to wonder if you are right for the position, or for the company. As others have mentioned, *never* assume that you are not expendable - I have come across a lot of folks like that who were very surprised.

If you really are fed up and do not give a crap, IMHO you need to go talk to your management about looking for another assignment. They have no assurance that, if something like this happens again, you will not do the same thing. It is better to own up and take the first step of finding a position more suitable for your talents that does not leave you as frustrated. You will do both your upper management and the people you supervise a favor.

 

[heeyy_joe]

When senior management obsesses negatively about something that met a deadline, and would then be incapable of accepting some pushback from the manager then I would seriously question the wisdom of these senior people. These are not people I would ever want to work for. I expect people who work for me to have a spine and to push back in a situation like this one, provided we are attacking the problem and not the person(s).

Telling someone to get over it or get past it is in fact inadvisable. But as I wrote earlier, ASKING them to get past it is IMO diplomatic.

 

[John Galt III]

AccountingSucks,

I don't judge you negatively. Would you be happier in an "individual contributor" role, though? Might even be worth a drop in pay.

And no, I don't think you are a bad person.

 

[caninelover]

Someone who thinks they have no responsibility for their subordinates' performance probably needs a load of bowling balls dropped on their head.

+1. Sorry to be blunt about it but I have worked for and with people like this, and they drag everyone else down around them and make w*rk more miserable than it needs to be. Its great that OP has FU money, but his subordinates or peers may not, so he should consider making a change as he is impacting the livelihoods of people around him as well as himself.

 

[Midpack]

When senior management obsesses negatively about something that met a deadline, and would then be incapable of accepting some pushback from the manager then I would seriously question the wisdom of these senior people. These are not people I would ever want to work for. I expect people who work for me to have a spine and to push back in a situation like this one, provided we are attacking the problem and not the person(s).

Telling someone to get over it or get past it is in fact inadvisable. But as I wrote earlier, ASKING them to get past it is IMO diplomatic.

You could be right, but more likely there's another side to the story. In my 33 years managing people, it was very, very rare that anyone ever told me the whole story themselves. For some unknown reason , they shared the facts that supported their POV, down played (or omitted) other circumstances, all from their understandably biased perspective...we are only human.

 

[foxfirev5]

Ultimate responsibility goes with the territory. I have to admit that I would be a terrible manager. As a lone wolf I am much better suited to my field sales job. I like the suggestions above about being a contributor rather than a manager. There are far too many managers that simply rose through the ranks whether they had the skills or apptitude or not. Most have moved on

 

[Lisa99]

The thing that stuck out for me in the OP is that there should be no surprises, ever.

Employee and manager should be talking regularly and that discussion should include progress on tasks. Every one of my employees are virtual and I know exactly what they're working on and when the important stuff Is due because we talk every week.

And to the person who said your manager takes the credit but dishes the blame...that's a crappy manager. A good leader does the reverse always.

 

[Milton]

I also have no concern over what impact this will have on me as at this time I am pretty in-expendable and generally everyone has got good things to say about me. Lastly I am not FI but I have plenty of "FU money" stashed away if the worst case plays out.

There is a difference between being 'close' to FI, and actually being FI. Until you have sufficient capital accumulated to allow true independence, you would be well advised to 'wear the mask' and play ball, however tedious it may be.

Multiple higher ups' have been all over this and me ... After the third person had a chat with me, another VP started talking to me about this. I had reached my breaking point

I think this is the real problem. When you forget to include the cover sheet with your T.P.S. report, you don't mind being reminded of it, but there is no need for multiple people to independently do so. Presumably the OP has (only) one boss, and all of the concerns/criticisms/questions should properly have been communicated through that person.

 

[clifp]

When multiple VPs talk to you about problem it is truly serious. So in addition to apologies, you also need a convincing story about how you are going to make sure this never ever happens again. All by Monday good luck.

The wonderful thing about management you have to give credit to your subordinates when something good happens, and take responsibility when they screw up.

The other important lesson to take away, is that dogs offer much better morale support than the E-R forum. But we've all be in the doghouse in our career and many of us have survived and retired early.

 

[Meadbh]

To accountingsucks: like most other posters, I feel that you have not acquitted yourself well in this matter. As a manager, you are accountable. I believe that you will be lucky to escape being fired over this. If you are not fired, you need to ditch your attitude or get out of management.

 

[growing_older]

I may be late to this party, but I suspect that it's hard to convey all the details of a particular MegaCorp and it's internal workings in a brief post. I have worked in companies where the "manager" was responsible for the subordinates and all their work, but the allocation of resources was not controlled by the manager and often specific tasks were doled out through some "matrix management" system, that made the manager responsible for things the manager might not even know the subordinate was working on. I have no idea if any of this applies here and I'm always against the "lose your cool" approach either up or down the organization, but I suspect this situation may not be as clear cut as many responses make it seem. With remote staff, an assignment that is monitored by higher ups directly in touch with the staff not working through the manager, a deadline that was met, and some confusion about status of the task or assistance offered or needed, there seems like a lot that could be investigated to improve performance in the future. If there was a requested deadline, but an unspoken desire to have the work well before that deadline, then that miscommunication is one more item to look at in the postmortem.

Whatever OP decides to do, public outbursts up the management chain are usually not a good idea. You may in the doghouse less for the almost missed deadline, but more for the verbal out of control moment. If it were me, I would be working to mend fences and taking an active, visible role in analyzing what about this situation didn't meet the needs of the company and risk to the potentially expensive deadline so you can champion any changes needed to make sure this works more smoothly in the future. Having a problem and fixing it is good in most companies. Denying a problem that senior managers fret about, even if you are right, isn't usually going to make things any better.

I also got the impression from the original post, that you may be at or near your tolerance level for BS and corporate politics. If you have a way to unwind a little or not let that get to you, it might be easier to understand the other points of view, both from your subordinate and your higher management.

 

[Texas Proud]

I may be late to this party, but I suspect that it's hard to convey all the details of a particular MegaCorp and it's internal workings in a brief post. I have worked in companies where the "manager" was responsible for the subordinates and all their work, but the allocation of resources was not controlled by the manager and often specific tasks were doled out through some "matrix management" system, that made the manager responsible for things the manager might not even know the subordinate was working on. I have no idea if any of this applies here and I'm always against the "lose your cool" approach either up or down the organization, but I suspect this situation may not be as clear cut as many responses make it seem. With remote staff, an assignment that is monitored by higher ups directly in touch with the staff not working through the manager, a deadline that was met, and some confusion about status of the task or assistance offered or needed, there seems like a lot that could be investigated to improve performance in the future. If there was a requested deadline, but an unspoken desire to have the work well before that deadline, then that miscommunication is one more item to look at in the postmortem.

Whatever OP decides to do, public outbursts up the management chain are usually not a good idea. You may in the doghouse less for the almost missed deadline, but more for the verbal out of control moment. If it were me, I would be working to mend fences and taking an active, visible role in analyzing what about this situation didn't meet the needs of the company and risk to the potentially expensive deadline so you can champion any changes needed to make sure this works more smoothly in the future. Having a problem and fixing it is good in most companies. Denying a problem that senior managers fret about, even if you are right, isn't usually going to make things any better.

I also got the impression from the original post, that you may be at or near your tolerance level for BS and corporate politics. If you have a way to unwind a little or not let that get to you, it might be easier to understand the other points of view, both from your subordinate and your higher management.

I have been at mega with the mgmt. structure you mention.... but my direct manager was never on the line for something that they did not manage.... so even though it exists, I do not think it applies to the OP... IOW, since there were many higher ups talking to him about the problem, they must have thought he was responsible...


It is interesting that we have not heard from the OP since the first post... I am hoping we get an update today...

 

[ChiliPepr]

When folks on our team at work do a good job, our manager gets the credit and the kudos - not us. If someone on the team screws up, our manager gets blamed. Seems fair.

I have always managed slightly differently I was taught that "I take the blame, they get the credit.".... I have always taken the blame from upper management for anything my subordinates do (although, they have to hear it from me, then and at their reviews). I also give them the credit for a project no matter how much my involvement was.

At the end of the day, a manager will get the credit because their team did well, not because they did well. They are also responsible for all the screw-ups from their team.

 

[ChiliPepr]

Just curious, why was upper management so upset if the deadline was met? It sounds like the person did their job and got it done by the deadline. Was management expecting it to be done earlier?

 

[Meadbh]

It is interesting that we have not heard from the OP since the first post... I am hoping we get an update today...

There are several possible reasons for this, including

1. It is tax season and he is an accountant. Could be just too busy.
2. He has had sober second thoughts and is focusing on remediating the damage.
3. Things have blown up completely at work.

I hope it is a combination of #1 and #2.