2

I am working as part of a 6 member team in an agile environment. We have our manager joining the stand-ups everyday. I also have this other guy in the team who is as experienced in the company as I am. The only difference being he is a full time employee and I am a consultant.

Now as part of daily tasks it has happened in the past that this guy gave some information (which as per the company policies only full timers usually know) and based on that we take our day to day decisions on technical tasks. But later on we came to know that what he said was incorrect and the path that we have taken is incorrect. But usually our manager doesn't pay attention as to where the information came from. He only cares about whether the job is done correctly or not.

So my question is without looking like I am blaming him, how can I make the manager aware that because of the information given by this guy, that we have taken this route? My objective here is only to fix my reputation in front of my manager.

Note: This question is not duplicate of this one. The OP is outright blaming others to be incompetent. That is not my issue. The other guys is in this environment for long time and he adds immense value to the team. It is just that some information came from him which was incorrect. I am not even criticised by the managers to be incompetent. I have a proven track record at this place.

Edit: We sit in a closed room together and generally this information comes verbally.

|improve this question
  • Possible duplicate of How to deal with low quality colleagues in a way that satisfies management – gnat Nov 22 at 19:37
  • 1
    @gnat - This question is NOT duplicate of the one you mentioned. look at my edits. – user979189 Nov 22 at 19:55
  • What do you hope to gain by making the manager aware of where the information came from? What's your desired outcome? If the manager cares about whether the job is done correctly or not (and we can assume that he is ultimately successful at making sure the job is correct), what are you trying to change and why? – dwizum Nov 22 at 20:31
  • What is the nature of the information (generally speaking) and how did you receive it (verbal, email, etc.)? – John Spiegel Nov 22 at 20:47
  • 1
    You may want to consider retitling this? Are you really looking to blame someone or defend yourself? There is a difference in presentation between focusing on facts and clearing your name (which may indirectly lead to blaming another) vs. an outright goal of trying to get the other person blamed (which may indirectly lead to the blame coming off you). – John Spiegel Nov 22 at 20:54
9

Simple: you don't. Especially as a consultant (it may be helpful to mentally translate this in your mind to what it means: a non-employee, a temp worker, expendable), trying to throw clients under the bus rarely ends in your favor.

You should state the issues factually, without emotion, and without attempting to blame someone specific. Any reasonably confident manager will see what caused it, but ultimately, what matters is how it's resolved.

Casting blame on a specific individual is rarely the constructive response to a situation, and more often than not, backfires.

|improve this answer
5

You don't, because you cannot win.

THIS is the only sentence that matters

But usually our manager doesn't pay attention as to where the information came from. He only cares about whether the job is done correctly or not.

If you get into "blamestorming" with a person like this, you will only damage your career.

In a case like this, if I were your manager, and you tried to put any blame on him, I would have some questions for you

  1. You know that this information is only available to our full time employees, why did you take his word for it?
  2. Why didn't you verify it with someone else on staff?

Just to start with...

Focus on the solution, not the problem.

Edited to add:

To protect your reputation in the future, CC your manager on emails. When dealing with this individual, follow up with any conversations in emails, and CC the manager.

To Coworker: CC: Manager:
Hi Coworker, I just wanted to follow up on our conversation earlier. Just to verify, we are making 10 widgets next week, and not 15, correct?

|improve this answer
  • 1
    And what do i do if my reputation is damaged due to this in front of my manager? Or in other words my question is how do i fix my reputation? – user979189 Nov 22 at 20:25
  • 2
    When I read "you know this info is only available to our full time employees" I had to go back to the OP's question, because it sounded like you were saying the guy the OP got the info from wasn't full time. But in fact he is full time. Are you saying the OP should have double-checked with a 2nd full timer? – DaveG Nov 22 at 20:34
  • "Are you saying the OP should have double-checked with a 2nd full timer" - Yes thats exactly what i mean – user979189 Nov 22 at 20:36
  • @user979189 what do i do if my reputation is damaged due to this in front of my manager? - that seems like a very different question than "how do I blame someone and get away with it." You may want to edit your question or ask a new one. – dwizum Nov 22 at 20:45
  • @user979189 I did an edit, but the most important thing is not to try to shift blame for this one, but prevent it from happening again. Just go with it for now, and fix the problem – Richard Says Reinstate Monica Nov 22 at 20:49

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.