I received a text message recently from a friend in the fire/EMS industry who asked a strange, yet familiar, question: “Have you ever been thrown under the bus by a supervisor?” Sadly my answer was, “of course.” After this exchange, I got to thinking about those situations and then began to wonder if I had ever done the throwing myself or if I had even been the one driving the bus (more on this below). I did not like the answer.
Given the interesting nature of the question, I decided to give my friend a call and scratch below the surface. Within a few moments, it became quite clear that the perception of being thrown under the bus does not always align with the reality of the situation. I kept thinking about the concept. Do we truly understand what we mean when we say we have been “thrown under the bus”?
What is throwing someone under the bus?
We get thrown under the bus when we perceive that someone has turned us in for a wrongdoing, for example by ratting us out to a supervisor or by being punished by a supervisor. We perceive that the situation could have been handled in a less formal manner or when we want more of a teachable moment, not an official action that could hold serious consequences. It is important to understand that what one person views as being thrown under the bus may to the other person be viewed as doing their job.
For example, an employee is seen drinking a beer in the parking lot prior to work. Another employee reports this action to their immediate supervisor. Depending on your role in this scenario, you were either thrown under the bus or you were doing your job.
Does the bus truly exist?
Sometimes there is no reason for being thrown under the bus, and sometimes it is mission critical that you and your actions are reported. However, before we go any further, I need to share a secret with you: There is no such thing as being thrown under the bus. It simply does not exist. There is only reporting of actions and whether you agree with it. If you do not agree with it, you deflect and distract by saying you were thrown under a bus. When you walk around and tell anyone and everyone who is within an earshot that you have been thrown under the bus, what you are actually saying is this: I do not want to be held accountable in the manner you want to hold me accountable.
Organization cultural and expectations
It is important that every member of an organization be in tune with the organization’s culture and expectations. When this information is readily shared and known, it is easier for the members of said organization to avoid being placed in a negative situation. How nice would it be to work in an organization where you knew ahead of time which issues would immediately result in the loss of your career, position, etc., and which issues would be addressed as a teachable moment? “Zero fail” is a term that should be applied to non-recoverable mistakes. This takes any ambiguity out of the situation. Every organization has its issues that are classified as “zero fail,” and these issues should be spelled out in black and white well in advance. I can speak from personal experience, as a leader and a follower, that it sucks when you find out the hard way after the fact. If you are a leader and you have yet to address this issue, you are failing your members and your organization. From the senior leadership seat, I have been there, done that and am sharing some painful teachable moments in the hopes that you avoid making them too; however, I suspect I am not alone. While we could create an endless list, I will give one final comment on the importance of documenting expectations: leadership transition and consistency.
Positional responsibilities and expectations
We have all heard the following after a promotion, “Don’t forget where you came from.” But how many people have heard the saying, “Don’t forget where you are now”? For me, not forgetting where you came from means not forgetting how you felt when you saw someone handle a situation incorrectly. As a leader, you have an obligation to do your job. You are paid to do your job and do what is expected of you. You are not paid to be a buddy first and boss second.
As followers, we cannot forget that our leader has a job to do and the organization has placed certain expectations on that leader, and sometimes this person has little or no wiggle room to operate; they simply have to do their job as expected. They may not have thrown you under the [fictional] bus; they may just be doing their job.
Final thoughts
I acknowledge that many times the things that are reported should NEVER be reported; they should be handled at the appropriate level. In the fire service, I am convinced that 90 percent of all issues can be handled at the company level, 5-7 percent at the battalion level and the remaining percentage needs to find its way to the top. I may live in utopia with this viewpoint; however, I fundamentally believe that with clear expectations, proper leadership mentoring and trust, this can be achieved. Yet, remove one of these and it all falls apart.
In a previous article I wrote, “The process of mentoring or coaching is quite simple. You utilize your education, experience and exposure to offer another suggestion on how to be successful in a wide variety of situations.” So I ask you this: If the “infraction” does not rise to the level of zero fail, why are we not mentoring and coaching to success?
I will leave you with this thought to ponder, if I/we did more mentoring, how much more of a positive difference could we truly make by developing our people rather than holding them accountable to a process?
Stay low, stay safe and train every day!
