Saturday, November 17, 2018

The Fault Finder

We've all lived with or worked with someone who is a fault finder. Rather than focused on working with you to make better, these people enjoy finding and advertising your faults.

I know a person like this and whenever I have to be at a meeting or work with this person, I get an ache in my stomach as I ready myself to hear one fault after another. It's excruciating.

Soon I will meet with this fault finder again--what will I do?

First, I will listen and rather than react as I've done in the past, I'll simply write down the list of faults relayed to think about later on when I am calm and not near this person.

I'll listen to how others define and discuss these faults too. I want to know the truth of the faults, but I also want to be at ease since past history demonstrates that the fault finder sees only faults and never rarely to never any positive action or attributes that exist.

It's awful to be a fault finder and it's similarly awful to have to work with fault finders. I'm sure we can all be fault finders at one time or another as educators, parents, siblings, committee members, and friends, but for the most part, it's a role to steer clear of or replace with titles such as collaborator, supporter, inspirer, mentor and more that define how we can help and work together rather than simply point out the faults of others. Onward.