1. You don’t get in trouble for asking for help or guidance under extraordinary circumstances.

2. You get to be human.  And humans make mistakes.

3. Everybody doesn’t get along with everybody else. You find ways to manage baggage.

4. You only have to say I’m sorry when you intentionally cause someone harm. In most other situations, “excuse me” will do.

5. You get better compliance and fewer issues with a policy of “report everything before it’s a problem so we can stop the *big* problems” than you do with dictating a “zero tolerance” policy. People are still human, and they still make mistakes. A zero tolerance policy emphasizes blame and punishment and actually REDUCES the likelihood problems will be reported when they can be managed.

…more to come…

Thanks, @Ancalime for your input – tedium! Other words that come to mind: stagnation, boring, monochromatic, homogeneous. Others?

Smart as you are, it’s bound to happen. Challenges in the workplace are only getting more complex, and whether it’s an issue with staff, products, or service delivery – not owning up to it can be costly. Learn the importance of acknowledging when it’s “your day to be human” and the importance of allowing others to be human too. Not standing up to a mistake doesn’t make you any more right, and it costs you credibility and respect of those affected. Handled well, acknowledging mistakes can contribute the health of an organization, as well as provide greater opportunity to set things right.

If you have visibility in your organization, you have legend. Do you know – is it good or bad? Are you Superman to your staff, or Martin Milquetoast? How does the legend within your trusted circle compare to that in the rest of the organization? Is the reputation you acquired early in the organization limiting you now? Does your personal legend extend outside your organization? Recognizing – and shaping – your personal legend can strengthen your standing and set the psychic tone for your entire organization.

What’s your legend?

If your work group was formed before your organization learned the “No Asshole Rule” you may find yourself having to cope with people who are abusive, arrogant, bullying, controlling, egotistical, incompetent, manipulative, narcissitic, and/or uncooperative. A healthy, well-tended work group or team can reduce the impact of destructive behaviors by these individuals, saving your sanity – and your team!

Issues in your work group may be caused in part by the way in which you lead, if like most contemporary business managers you follow a hierarchical model of leadership. Hierarchical organizations tend to show intolerance of risk and error; limited creative license in developing new business; high turnover among key performers; paranoia; abuse of trust; difficulty getting cooperation from anyone except your trusted circle; and inability to attract or retain the “whiz kids” who expect to be fully engaged in the enterprise. If your organization is broken, and you can’t see why, it may be you!

The youngest members of the workforce grew up in a world that is light years away from that of the current crop of CEOs. They often function in groups, not solo. With Facebook, Twitter, IM, blogs, and role playing games that span the internet, they are ambassadors of globalization, many already having friends from all over the world. Google and Wikipedia are their primary reference sources. They have processed more information by the time they graduate from college than many of the current workforce will see in a lifetime. They want to be fully engaged in their work groups. Existing organizations are challenged to welcome them without scaring away all the oldsters; smart organizations find opportunities to learn from them.

What would you do to make best use of the skills from all age groups in your organization?

It may be a behavior that’s been reinforced by survival of the fittest – when staff members acknowledge only those at their organizational level and above. They may only “see” others that they believe capable of advancing their interests, or of causing them harm. But for the support part of the team – secretaries, clerks, housekeeping – it equates to being invisible. Many of the people who suffer from Invisibility Syndrome are genuinely not aware of their behavior. In some organizations, it is recognized and condoned. Treating others in your organization as if they don’t matter is not conducive to building strong, diverse teams.

What would you do to eliminate Invisibility Syndrome in your organization?

The plan was to bring in a superstar to fill that strategic niche that none of the rest of the team quite covered. The candidate looked good on paper, and interviewed well. Unfortunately, the new hire has gone from super star to black hole.  The strategic niche is still not covered, and the rest of the team is getting burned.

What would you do?

• The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 2006; New York, New York, Morgan Road Books.