Ephrem Endale Contributer
There is this story of a hubby and his wife getting into a real physical fight. After struggling for some time she pins him down and pummels him like a punching bag. He just couldn’t put up to her. If it goes on a few minutes more it’ll be difficult for him to explain the bruises. He has to call for help while he still can.
One thing he can say is, “Help! I am killing my wife!” Unfortunately, that’s not the story his bruised face tells. The second one is to swallow his pride and confess, “Help! My wife is killing me!” No! Not a thousand in one chance for that to happen. So what does he say, “Help! We are killing each other!” (His wife must have burst out in laughter.
Admitting you’re on the losing side, taking responsibility for things you messed up doesn’t come easy these days. Misplaced pride gets the best of us! No, you are not going to admit you have messed up things! Not when all the hounds are circling to gobbled you up!”
The hubby who didn’t have the courage to say his wife was beating him up is the perfect example of how many of us act these days; not stepping out of the shadows and confessing, “Yes, I was in the wrong!”
“This project has fallen way behind schedule. Our company has already lost a lot of money. Can any of you tell me how this happened?”
The assembly hall is so quite you could hear a fly breathing. (Ha! Those creatures do breathe, don’t they?) Then someone gets up; “Sir, this was the responsibility of so and so department. I think Ato… should explain.”
“Ato…what do you say to this?” The stern- faced boss glares.
The boss who thinks he’s supposed to wear a stern face; you now the kind of face you get when you have taken the traditional Inkoko to destroy the tapeworm for good. Inkoko is one hell of medicine. It doesn’t just kill the tapeworm. It destroys it! Believe me, if you can stand Inkoko you can stand anything.
The boss is suspicious of everyone. You have been together a decade and more in the same place and he got the guts to still suspect you? Suspect you of what! Of everything, of course!
Ato… takes the mike. Does he take the responsibility? That’s the million birr question, isn’t it? In an age where the busiest part of the hand is the index finger laying blame at anybody and everybody, admitting to mistakes is taken as being week-kneed.
“Sir, there are those in this company who want to smear the name of my department. They are trying to discredit me and…” The cunning ones turn the focus into a completely unrelated issue. The guy was being asked about specific mistakes and what does he do, get into a roll call of enemies real or imagined.
Yes, it is always the other guys who are after us; it is always those who lose sleep trying to pull us down from the ladder we think we’re climbing. Believe me, most of our problems happen because those in the wrong aren’t willing to take responsibility.
And when the source of the problem goes higher up the defensive walls grow thicker. Say some problem happens due to maladministration and the boss should take the heat. No, that wouldn’t happen. Why? Because he is the boss! That’s why.
Bosses on whose watch things get messed up and yet throw the blame all the way down are doing service neither to themselves nor to the organization they lead. Believe me, even in the present days very few. If any, would rise up and say, “I think the blame lies with the general manager.” Some bosses have too many ‘human satellites’ revolving around them even the faintest whisper could get one into real hot waters.
The boss says, “The sun revolves around the earth.”
You should probably tell him….. “What! In which planet are you living?” No way. With that kind of boss you say, “Yes sir, if you say the sun revolves around the earth then it does.” That’s taken as loyalty. Loyalty to the boss.
Of course the arrogance of some bosses who find themselves where they shouldn’t have been is so offensive you’ll experience your first migraine.
It is when you see the irresponsible ones you give credit to those who do their work efficiently; to those who don’t shiver to admit to mistakes and do their best to put things right.
There are many of those around; but since they are busy doing their work, carrying out the tasks entrusted upon them you don’t see or hear much of them. Three cheers for such guys; they are the ones who keep things going.
What is astounding is there seem to be some who make mistakes with impunity without ever acknowledging their mistakes.
In the old days whenever the Ethiopian football team loses to some country’s team there was this common ‘reason.’ the weather conditions weren’t suitable.” The fun here is that it can be any one of the four seasons, as long as they play outside and lose the games the weather conditions, and not their spindly legs are to blame! For some reason nature seemed to be always at odds with our national soccer team. Hmm, quite a strategy; shifting the blame onto the shoulders of others and whistling one’s way to the nearest pub.
Blaming others for our own shortcomings is a sport which some of us play much better than others. In fact we’ve polished the craft of blaming others so smartly we can easily deceive others.
“Yes, I am responsible. I should have been more involved. I assure you this wouldn’t happen again.”
No one would be sent to modern day guillotine for such and admission. No one would be dubbed ‘Public Enemy Number One’!
The country needs more of those confident people who do their work to the best of their abilities and whenever they make mistakes announce “I’m responsible; and I will work to make things right. I assure you it’ll never happen again!” Thinking how many problems could have been saved by this small act, you wish the time of taking responsibility for one’s mistakes came sooner than later.
The Ethiopian Herald January 31/2021