What Is a Blameless Culture – And Why Should You Care?

How to promote curiosity, experimentation, and learning – without the blame

Yaroslav Danylchenko (Ukraine)/Stocksy

Blaming is a natural human reflex. When things go wrong, we feel the impulse to defend ourselves from repercussions. However, playing the blame game – the urge to find a scapegoat – overshadows the need to address systemic issues.

After the dust settled on Volkswagen's infamous emissions scandal, fingers pointed in various directions. From regulatory boardrooms to coffee shop conversations, everyone was asking, "Who is to blame?"

Was it Martin Winterkorn, the hard-driving CEO? Or perhaps Hanno Jelden, the engineer who designed the software at the heart of the scandal? The blame extended even to most executives who were aware of the issue but remained silent – and coerced others into secrecy.

This search for a culprit, though natural, often overlooks a more complicated and deeply rooted problem: workplace culture. Rather than asking who erred, a better question would be: What systemic flaws allowed such a colossal lapse in judgment?

In Volkswagen's Die…