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GLOBAL RISK LANDSCAPE 2021
GLOBAL RISK LANDSCAPE 2021 13
ERADICATING BLAME CULTURE
Leaders with a positive mindset, free from blame culture, have steered their organization through the COVID asteroid storm without being hit and broken
“Newark Airport cab stand is broken. There are 75 cabs, and 75 people in line, and it takes an hour. Broken.” The management thinker Seth Godin is an obsessive chronicler of everyday things he regards as sub-standard. On his blog This Is Broken he publishes examples. For instance, how at the Museum of Natural History, in Washington DC, the garbage overflows the bins onto the floor every day. Or, the coffee holders on a Ford car mean you can’t change gear when used. The Newark Airport example got him particularly animated: “There is a man in a uniform who will get you in trouble if you just get in a cab. If he just said, ‘Everyone, go!’ it would work.” After years of observing broken interactions, Godin came up with a theory of why things go wrong. A key observation was employees saying “Not my job”. The man at the cab rank is only told to keep order, not get people in a cab. He might get fired for breaking protocol, so he doesn’t. The reason the garbage overflows at the museum is because the janitor is paid to pick up the overflow, but not empowered to buy a larger bin. In each case the consumer experience could be improved by an employee taking action. Fear of blame prevents them solving the problem. So the experience remains broken.
The impact of blame culture on risk and responsiveness
Respondents who agreed that blame culture is an inhibitor to their responsiveness, by risk appetite
Inhibits my company’s ability to respond effectively to disruption
Drives my company’s risk appetite
80%
23%
70%
27%
37%
Risk averse
60%
50%
50%
16% 12%
22%
Risk minimising
40%
40%
13%
15%
15%
32%
30%
29%
27%
Risk taking when necessary
24%
4% 20%
8% 10%
22%
20%
7%
2% 16% 6%
18%
16%
‘DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SAME SHIP’
13% 13%
10%
The connection between blame culture and performance is clear. Some 23% of survey respondents believe a blame culture limits the performance of their company. During the pandemic, the pressure on employees came to the fore. When asked which risks caused the greatest pressure, 45% of respondents cited low employee
9%
15%
Risk welcoming
0%
Manufacturing
Private equity
Family business
Renewables
Real estate and construction
Leisure and hospitality
Retail and wholesale
Power and utilities
Healthcare
Technology, media and telecom
Professional services
Oil and gas
Financial services
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