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In the aftermath of John Allspaw's hugely influential "Blameless Post-Mortems", blamelessness has become a shibboleth for modern production operations teams. But it seems that something has been lost in translation. Organizations that try to "be blameless" without understanding blame often make activities taboo that can lead to blame. But many of them (like attribution and event analysis) are not inherently harmful — and they are necessary for learning. When we throw the baby of learning out with the bathwater of blaming, we also lose opportunities to become more resilient.
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In the talk "Beyond Blameless" presented by Rein Henrichs at RubyConf 2021, the speaker explores the concept of blame in the context of creating a blameless culture within organizations. The idea of blameless post-mortems, popularized by John Allspaw, aims to reduce punishment for individuals involved in incidents to facilitate learning. However, Henrichs argues that in attempting to eradicate blame entirely, organizations have lost valuable learning opportunities. He identifies several key points regarding the nature of blame, its necessity for learning, and how to create a supportive environment without fostering harmful blame behaviors. Key points discussed include: - **Understanding Blame**: Blame is a cognitive social judgment tied to specific events and acts as a form of social regulation. The misinterpretation of blame leads organizations to avoid asking 'who' questions that could help in understanding what went wrong. - **The Importance of Attribution**: While fear of punishment can lead to a lack of attribution, obtaining insight into events is crucial for learning. Henrichs emphasizes that learning from mistakes requires knowing who was involved and understanding their actions. - **Harmful Behaviors**: The misapprehension of blame can foster a culture where employees fear speaking up or sharing information, thus hindering resilience and improvement. - **Appropriate Sanctioning**: Henrichs proposes that rather than eliminating blame, organizations should learn to apply socially acceptable levels of sanctioning—preferably none—when individuals are identified as contributors to an incident. - **Cognitive Models of Blame**: The talk introduces the 'parallel processes model' of blame, which combines both intuitive and rational aspects of moral judgment, suggesting that enhancing deliberative processes can improve moral outputs and reduce punitive reactions. - **Creating a Supportive Context**: Leaders should focus on building environments that support open discussions about incidents without leading to punitive repercussions. This includes addressing mental states, cognitive resources, and promoting thoughtful responses to moral judgments. The concluding message emphasizes that organizations should not run from blame but rather harness its mechanisms to foster learning. By developing contexts that allow safe questioning and careful consideration of sanctions, organizations can cultivate resilience and growth. In doing so, they fulfill a professional and moral obligation to support their teams effectively rather than stifle them under fear of blame.
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