- Two out of five are afraid of admitting mistakes, men are more scared
- Germany and us better than UK for IT leaders
- There is a need for a ‘radical light’ revision
Technology solution provider Adaptavist has revealed that two out of five IT leaders fear to admit mistakes due to a culture of guilt and fear, but there are unintended consequences associated with this effect.
Another two out of five (42%) acknowledges that this fear compromises their company’s cyber security and highlights how a basic culture can have a broader influence on an entire organization.
The report also revealed that male IT leaders (45%) are more likely to fear admitting errors compared to their female colleagues (29%).
Workplace culture of fear and guilt has wider effects
According to the study, almost half (44%) of the IT leaders indicate that their organization prioritizes speed over quality, with a sense of urgency to increase the risk of errors, potential security from the case and additional vulnerabilities.
Adaptavist also highlighted a mounting pressure on workers, with two out of five (39%) who were concerned that heavy workloads could distract them from meaningful work, leading to a larger IT event.
Globally, the study found that the United Kingdom was among the worst places to be an IT leader, with 54% noticing that a lack of psychological security hinders innovation compared to 42% in the United States and 37% in Germany. Fear of admitting errors is also higher in the UK (47%) compared to the US (39%) and Germany (36%).
Adaptavist CTO Jon Mort summarized: “The technology sector’s culture for excessive workload, fear and guilt has been allowed to develop in the last few decades because of the high effort.”
Looking ahead, Mort advocates of radical light, which the company describes as a “communication framework for specific and sincere praise and friendly and clear criticism.”
“To adopt a ‘radical light’ approach is the key to creating effective feedback loop that prioritizes efficiency and learning without ever evoking ‘guilt’,” he added.
With 55% of IT leaders who admit that this type of culture is not in place, and many say the blame is more prominent than learning in their organization, Mort believes that a healthier workforce and culture will eventually lead to a stronger company in general.
