Where Does The Wisdom Lie?

People have problems. The vast majority of my day is spent responding to many of those problems. To respond adequately, I must discuss. Sometimes I am ready to discuss problems with just about anyone who will listen, but really my discussions are with employees, supervisors, service line directors, my staff, and when appropriate, the union.

We work through emotions and initial reactions. We look at the information we have and attempt to differentiate facts from conclusions. We consider past precedents.  We go to the attorneys for what ever black and white guidelines we can find. We debate the merits, the pros and the cons. We consider second thoughts, second opinions and second-guessing. We consider mitigating circumstances.  Then, we consider what is right. Sometimes I bring us to this point, sometimes I am brought to this point, and sometimes we get to this point without knowing how we got there but the bottom line is, we are there.

I have had a number of discussions recently and at times, I find myself saying, "Yes, when you consider that, it does make a difference."  I've also said, "If this were me, I would expect the same consideration,"  or, "I didn't have that distinction before, I can see your point." I've also been known to day, "I don't agree but I can support that direction."

The discussions always go a little differently. I had a conversation recently with a colleague. As we worked through a problem, all of the issues were brought to the table. Opinions, concerns and emotions were aired, and in the end we came to an understanding. The outcome was quite different from my initial recommendation, but I can still support it.

The problem itself, the issues raised and the discussion participant is not important at all. What is important, for me, was something I did not say. As the discussion was coming to a close, I had a thought.

I thought about wisdom. I wondered how this discussion and my responses and reactions to this particular problem would have been different if I had the information, insight, and understanding I have now. Where does the wisdom lie? Is it about being all knowing? Is it about being able to surmise another's motivation, perception, preferred course of action?

Or, is it simply about being willing to engage in the conversation?

Let's Talk About Mistakes

Teaching my daughter the wrong sequence of notes for guitar lessons. Mistake. Recycling the envelope with my credit card payment. Mistake. Ordering dessert and just about missing the beginning of The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie? Mistake. Ok maybe a little bit of design but 1 hour and 31 minutes of talking vegetables, can you blame me? Putting a wool sweater in the dryer. Mistake.

Everybody makes mistakes. What can you do when you make a mistake at work? Ask a Manager takes this question on and lays out a 4-step formula for proactively and professionally addressing mistakes at work: tell your boss what happened - immediately; take responsibility for the mistake; explain how it happened, and most importantly, explain how you plan to ensure it doesn't happen again. 

As a manager, what can you do when employees come to you with a mistake? You can listen. You can assess. If the mistake was the result of a gap in knowledge or of an outdated or poorly planned process, you can provide the knowledge or revise the process. You can read Dan's advice at Great Leadership's about Turning Mistakes into Development. 

Now, consider this. You train, you improve processes, you develop SOPs. You meet to discuss issues. You use mistakes as an opportunity to learn. Yet, in the presence this and of knowledge and experience, mistakes continue to occur. The mistakes you are seeing are not process mistakes. They are mistakes that reflect poor or incomplete thinking. 

Thinking mistakes, for me, are the most difficult to get a firm grasp on. But getting a firm grasp on thinking mistakes is something I must do because with each mistake, I watch our hard earned credibility slip away.