Swap “You messed up” for “We’ve got a problem” and watch how fast people start helping.

GRATITUDE

WHAT THIS MEANS

One of those sentences assigns a person and the other assigns a task. Naming the culprit turns the next ten minutes into a defence, because anybody being blamed has to protect themselves before they can be useful. Describing the situation leaves everyone free to work on it, including whoever caused it, who usually wants it fixed most. Blame can wait, and often turns out not to be needed.

Next time something goes wrong on shift, lead with what is broken and what needs doing. Save the who for afterwards, if it still matters. Watch how much faster people move when nobody is defending themselves.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Who stopped helping you once you made the mistake theirs?

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